University of Iowa Strategic Initiatives Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844628214
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone
3193352791
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$66,071,839
Expenses
$25,959,537
Assets
$1,227,119,293
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JC Risewick (Vice President and Director)
  • Rodney Lehnertz (President & Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Erik Lie (Director): $586,758 total reported compensation
  • Terry Johnson (Treasurer): $426,475 total reported compensation
  • Rodney Lehnertz (President & Director): $426,283 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Support the state university of Iowa's strategic plan implementation by providing grants for scientific research and educational activities and subsidizing utility expenses.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grants for Scientific Research and Educational Activities (Growing Iowa into a Leader in Airborne and Ground-based Earth Science Measurement Capability, $1,270,700; The Iowa Health Data Resource: Extending the Impact, $902,890; Enhancing Education Infrastructure, $2,000,000; Relocate Department of Dance, $3,000,000; Implementation of Academic Advising Recommendations, $285,000; Startup Company Patent Support Pilot, $185,000; NIH T32 Training Grant application in Cancer Drug Discovery ad Development, $193,950; AI in Undergraduate Education, $195,000; Launching the Next Phase of Iowa Space Missions, $653,485; Identifying Key Drivers of Cancer in Iowa, $985,417; HIHI: Strategically Retaining and Recruiting Talented Faculty, $4,000,000; A Proposal for Iowa's AI Journey: First Steps in General AI Support, $784,517; Iowa's AI Journey: First Steps in AI Support for Research Scholarly and Creative Activities, $615,000; Return of Unused Funds from Previous Grants, ($70,959))

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 59
  • Accountability: 38
  • Sustainability: 95
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.8%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 98.7%; rating input score 99
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 60.7%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 47.27; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 36% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.8% of revenue deployed · 98.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $587K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 9 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.