The Lakeland Foundation

What it reported doing in 2024

Although program expenses are combined, the foundation has successfully supported the college in the three areas described below: 1) student scholarships and grants - the foundation's goal is to ensure that no area student is deprived of a lakeland community college education for financial reasons. While there are a number of government grants and loans available to students, this assistance is not available to all students and almost never pays the full cost of an education. Many of cc's students are often already working but simply, no matter how hard they try, lack sufficient resources to pay the entire cost of tuition and books. The foundation provides scholarship assistance to these students to bridge the gap. 2) faculty development and teaching enhancement programs - a distinguishing mark of lcc's faculty is the quality of their teaching and commitment to innovation in the classroom and community. The foundation supports these efforts by awarding faculty grants for new course/project development, collaborations with community and professional organizations, and professional development. 3) technology upgrades and support to benefit faculty and/or students - training and developing students for the "knowledge economy" cannot take place without regular access to state-of-the-art equipment, software and the internet. Students who can barely afford tuition often do not have resources for a computer that is required for classwork, especially online courses. The foundation awards student grants to help them purchase equipment, software, and maintain internet connections. The foundation also provides funding for classroom technology upgrades so that students and faculty have access to and experience on state-of-the-art equipment specific to the many programs of instruction the college offers.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 73.8%; rating input score 74
• Program expense ratio: 86.7%; rating input score 87
• 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; 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • 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: 35.2%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.07; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.5%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings