Southwestern Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742736740
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Georgetown, TX, USA
Phone
5128631930
Rating
38
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Grantmaking Foundations N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,291
Expenses
$0
Assets
$82,340
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Laura Skandera Trombley (Trustee & President)
  • Christopher E Cragg (Trustee and Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Laura Skandera Trombley (Trustee & President): $900,154 total reported compensation
  • Lenora Chapman (Trustee and Secretary): $333,224 total reported compensation
  • Kent Huntsman (Trustee & Assistant Secretary): $206,061 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To support Southwestern University. The purposes for which Southwestern Foundation is organized and operated are exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes, and in accomplishment of such purposes, the Foundation is administered solely for the benefit and support of Southwestern University. In doing so, the Foundation also maintains real or personal property, or both, and uses and applies the income there from and the principal thereof exclusively for charitable and educational purposes for the benefit of Southwestern University.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Foundation, as described in the mission statement in Part III above, in part, manages real property for the benefit of Southwestern University. The Foundation is the legal owner of a 76.85% percent undivided interest in land near Leander, Texas. The only expense paid in 2024 was for property taxes on real estate held for investment purposes. This is reported as an investment expense on Part XI, Line 7.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up and most filed governance safeguards are in place. 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: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 8
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: Limited
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -13.9% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $900K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 11 of 11 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.