Ndscs Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450407617
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Wahpeton, ND, USA
Phone
7016712270
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,498,879
Expenses
$4,317,813
Assets
$85,960,538
Liabilities
$8,168,731

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Chad Wehri (President)
  • Paige Kjesbo (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Matthew Hallaway (Executive Dir.): $198,781 total reported compensation
  • Kim Nelson (Executive Dir.): $37,271 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The North Dakota State College of Science Foundations primary mission is to support the financial needs of the school and students through prudent investing of resources and to ensure that the Foundation honors the requests of donors.

What it reported doing in 2025

Support and activities that develop and strengthen the North Dakota State College of Science.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 97% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.5%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 73.1%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 49.2%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 19.91; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.3% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.5% of revenue deployed · 73.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.