Technical College of the Lowcountry Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570767384
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Beaufort, SC, USA
Phone
8435258294
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community or Junior Colleges

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$571,466
Expenses
$671,163
Assets
$7,706,642
Liabilities
$4,317,817

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARD GOUGH (TCL PRESIDEN): $18,737 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 mission of the tcl foundation is to foster enduring relationships that build advocacy and support for various college programs and services to advance all constituencies within the service district. The tcl foundation supports the technical college of the lowcountry in a variety of areas. Raising funds for student assistance including tuition and books, aiding the college in maintaining state-of-the-art instructional equipment, funding special capital projects, and raising funds for special projects including new program development to promote a better understanding of the college, its mission, and the value to the lowcountry.

What it reported doing in 2024

To provide grants and scholarships to students to attend the technical college of the low country

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 92% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.3%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: -17.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.48; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $586K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $19K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.