The Tower Foundation of San José State University
Legal name: The Tower Foundation of San Jose State University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 830403915
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- San José, CA, US
- Phone
- 408-924-1120
- Rating
- 68
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $50,066,974
- Expenses
- $27,210,727
- Assets
- $364,329,702
- Liabilities
- $46,053,082
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
34 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CYNTHIA TENIENTE-MATSON (SJSU PRESIDENT)
- JUDY NAGAI (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- KENNETH NIUMATALOLO (HEAD COACH, FOOTBALL): $1,481,789 total reported compensation
- TIMOTHY MILES (HEAD COACH, BASKETBALL): $1,016,081 total reported compensation
- BRENT BRENNAN (FORMER HEAD COACH, FOOTBALL): $831,958 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 San José State University by raising and managing philanthropic gifts that enhance student success, academic excellence, and community engagement.
What it reported doing in 2024
The tower foundation of san jose state university is organized exclusively for educational purposes of promoting and advancing the objectives of san jose state university. Primary purposes include providing assistance to academic programs, libraries, classrooms, laboratories, student scholarships, faculty fellowships and professorships, faculty research and community projects, and athletics programs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for 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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 72
- Sustainability: 82
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.6%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 94.8%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 45.7%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.39; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 63.6% of revenue deployed · 94.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 24 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $25.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $1.5M · 34 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 7 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.