USA Research and Technology Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020617779
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Mobile, AL, USA
Phone
2514148297
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,909,895
Expenses
$3,696,480
Assets
$34,527,704
Liabilities
$31,005,505

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JO BONNER (PRESIDENT/VI)

Highest reported compensation

  • JO BONNER (PRESIDENT/VI): $836,808 total reported compensation
  • ANDREA KENT (DIRECTOR): $751,931 total reported compensation
  • KRISTEN ROBERTS (SECRETARY/TR): $400,358 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 primary mission is to further the educational and scientific research missions of the university of south Alabama by seeking to enhance the learning, training, and overall academic experience.

What it reported doing in 2024

The primary exempt purpose of the organization is to further the educational and scientific research missions of the university of south Alabama, an institution of higher learning and a governmental unit of the state of Alabama. More specifically, the organization seeks to enhance the learning, training and overall academic experience of the university's students and members of its faculty. The pursuit of these exempt purposes should produce the additional benefit to the university of creating attractive internships and career opportunities for the university's students, faculty and graduates with academic backgrounds that are needed both within the university and the state of Alabama. Additionally, the organization strives to create areas of research collaboration between the university and private enterprise in addition to fostering a community of innovation in which private enteprises may collaborate among themselves. The organization has accomplished, and is continuing to accomplish, its exempt purpose by operating a research and technology campus in which technology-based enterprises with substantial research and development activities have located. Students and faculty of the university are able to be directly involved in the research and development activities of the technology-based enterprises; involvement that supplements and enhances the traditional in-classroom experience available to students and faculty within the university. The technology-based enterprises also offer scholarships to gifted students and collaborate with the university on work-study opportunities, internships and other collaborative programs involving university students and faculty.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 51
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 97.7%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 55.6%; rating input score 56; 9th 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: 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.34; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.9; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.7% of revenue deployed · 97.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $837K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $211K reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 10 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: Independent voting board scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.