University of California Irvine Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952540117
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Irvine, CA, USA
Phone
9498241509
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$230,713,203
Expenses
$107,337,083
Assets
$1,204,172,937
Liabilities
$3,156,136

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

Leadership & pay

79 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRIAN T HERVEY (PRESIDENT)
  • JACQUELINE MARIE BARBERA (SECRETARY/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HOWARD GILLMAN PHD (CHANCELLOR): $854,690 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN T HERVEY (PRESIDENT): $724,526 total reported compensation
  • SHANTE CARTER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $293,267 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 university of California, irvine foundation (uc irvine foundation) is to raise and manage private funds to support uc irvine's broader mission of excellence in teaching, research and public service. To this end, the uc irvine foundation advises university leadership in all areas related to public trust, investments and philanthropy; mobilizes existing and potential supporters to help grow the university's endowment; and engages with appropriate stakeholders to advance fundraising efforts aligned with the university's strategic plan. The uc irvine foundation also aims to build stronger networks of support around deans, directors and health leaders to advance uci's contributions to the region; engages with the schools, units and departments in strategic advisory and advocacy roles; and facilitates regional and global partnerships that expand uci's capacity to improve lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

The uci foundation creates opportunities for the recruitment of faculty, support of students and the building of facilities that allows uc irvine to solidify its steady growth as one of the nation's premier research universities. Grant support has been given for a vast array of research including medicine, science, humanities and technology as well as merit based scholarships and fellowships and instruction. The uci foundation has endowed chairs, supported new research, teaching facilities and other campus improvements.during the year ending june 30, 2025 the foundation provided the following to the university.school of medicine $ 20,971,105other 18,506,590college of health science 11,898,676uci medical center 11,553,646henry samueli school of engineering 10,823,508non-academic units 6,072,413office of research 2,765,072social sciences 1,577,161social ecology 1,497,246charlie dunlop school of biological sciences 1,441,388school of law 1,424,534paul merage school of business 1,299,999claire trevor school of the arts 1,229,729physical sciences 1,187,439humanities 1,185,077donald bren school of information and computer science 1,000,264athletics 792,914school of education 775,604pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences 455,323wen school of public health 437,791center for neurobiology of learning & memory 299,003uci libraries 261,713sue & bill gross school of nursing 124,409total $ 97,580,594

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 95
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.5%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 93.1%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $359.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.9%; rating input score 96; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 53.5%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.22; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.3%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.5% of revenue deployed · 93.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 70 of 73 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $100M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $855K · 79 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $245K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, 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: 4 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.