Polk State College Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
591819213
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Winter Haven, FL, USA
Phone
8632923613
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,637,603
Expenses
$3,253,341
Assets
$55,385,381
Liabilities
$688,255

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVEN WARNER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN WARNER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $199,236 total reported compensation
  • JOANIE MALONE (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $148,376 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Polk state college foundation works in tandem with polk state college to help it meet its hallmarks and commitment to the community of access and affordability to higher education. (continued on schedule o)scholarships are a key way the foundation accomplishes this and, as such, remains the foundation's number-one fundraising priority. The polk state college foundation is governed by a board of directors comprised of community leaders, as well as a strong management team to ensure that donations are wisely managed and leveraged to maximize the benefit to the students. Gifts at every level are appreciated and truly make a difference in the lives of polk state students. Some students, indeed, need help paying for the majority of their tuition, while others simply need help with the cost of a book to be able to afford taking a class at polk.

What it reported doing in 2025

The polk state college foundation assists more than 1,000 students annually through awarding more than $1.5 million in scholarships. The majority of scholarship awards are donor directed and help lift up students throughout the college population. First generation, allied health, public safety, athletics, the arts and emergency scholarships are a few examples of donor designations. In addition to traditional and non-traditional scholarship awards, the foundation has a popular elementary scholarship program, where at least one graduate of every elementary school in polk county is awarded a scholarship to attend polk state upon graduation from high school. The foundation also helps to elevate the college through an endowed teaching chair program that honors distinguished faculty. (continued on schedule o)polk state college has been further strengthened by donor contributions to the foundation for facilities, equipment, programs and technology.

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 62% of its reported program spending out as 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 77.1%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.6%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.02; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.8% of revenue deployed · 77.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 33 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $120K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.