MTSU Foundation

Legal name: Middle Tennessee State University Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
620695507
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Murfreesboro, TN, USA
Phone
6154947675
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$29,458,163
Expenses
$22,139,213
Assets
$155,504,448
Liabilities
$210,382

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • William Bales (Vice President University Advancement)
  • Mark Clark (Executive Director Development)
  • Brian Kidd (President)
  • John Ward (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • William Bales (Vice President University Advancement): $256,070 total reported compensation
  • Mark Clark (Executive Director Development): $145,921 total reported compensation
  • Ronda Vaughter (Assistant VP University Advancement): $122,838 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The MTSU Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of Middle Tennessee State University.

What it reported doing in 2024

For the fiscal year ended June 30 2025 the Foundation raised $18,871,613 in contributions and disbursed in program expenses $18,652,369 including $3,749,242 inscholarships and awards.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 80% for direct work, and 20% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.5%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $34.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.8%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.02; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 76.5% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $18.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $256K · 26 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $787K reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.