The University Foundation at Sacramento State

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943001359
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9162787326
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,059,066
Expenses
$9,181,518
Assets
$146,251,337
Liabilities
$881,117

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • LUKE WOOD (SAC STATE PRES.): $683,665 total reported compensation
  • JONATHAN BOWMAN (SAC STATE CFO, DIRECT. (THRU 7/24)): $433,400 total reported compensation
  • MACHELLE MARTIN (VP, PEOPLE & CULT./CFO (7/24-2/25)): $308,699 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Raise private resources to advance the mission and priorities of the university and serve as ambassadors in the community. Provide stewardship in the prudent investment of resources and ensure the integrity of the foundation through accountability and transparency.

What it reported doing in 2024

The university foundation at sacramento state invests and distributes funds for the benefit of the university. Since its inception in 1987, the university foundation promotes philanthropy to provide a level of excellence beyond what is possible through state funds. Led by a volunteer board of directors comprised of prominent professionals and business leaders, the university foundation is the university's primary philanthropic auxiliary and is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization. The board of directors meets regularly to offer guidance on investments and thoroughly manage the gift funds to ensure that they can fulfill their designated purposes. The foundation accounts for gifts and contributions to the university, ensuring that the funds are applied to the purposes for which the donor intended. Continued on schedule o.funds may be expended or endowed, per donor directions; earnings from endowed funds are generally expendable and distributed to student scholarships or programs in accordance with specifications provided by the donor. The university foundation at sacramento state is dedicated to supporting students to further the university's mission to provide an excellent education to those who aspire to expand their knowledge and prepare themselves for meaningful lives, careers and service to their community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Multi-channel. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 34% for direct work, 50% for grants, and 16% for affiliated organizations.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. 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: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 90
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.3%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $77.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 78.3%; rating input score 78; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • 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: 61.8%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.93; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.3% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 23 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $684K · 30 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 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: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.