Virginia Athletics Foundation

Legal name: Virginia Student Aid Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
540517188
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Charlottesville, VA, US
Phone
(434) 982-5555
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,256,478
Expenses
$44,993,376
Assets
$184,583,130
Liabilities
$3,176,527

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RACHEL W SHERIDAN (PRESIDENT)
  • MARVIN P BUSH (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEVIN J MILLER (EXEC DIRECTOR, SEC/TREAS): $545,320 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL T KERSEY (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $257,087 total reported compensation
  • DONNA G MAHAN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $221,928 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 Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF), through its fundraising efforts, strives to support a preeminent intercollegiate athletics program at the University of Virginia by providing student-athletes the opportunity to achieve academic and athletic excellence.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation's primary purpose is to provide funding for scholarships for student athletes. In 2024, 10,152 donors to the foundation, including former student-athletes, parents, alumni, fans, and businesses who recognize the value of the intercollegiate athletics experience at the university of Virginia, enthusiastically provide support in a variety of ways. Through itsfund-raising efforts, the foundation provides the maximum funding for all 316.6 scholarships allowed for 25 of the 27 teams sanctioned by the ncaa at the university. Scholarships for the men's and women's squash teams are funded by a univ endowment provided by a generous donor. Today, there are approx 750 tudent-athletes participating in 27 intercollegiate programs at the university.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 97% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.5%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 96.3%; rating input score 96; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 10.5%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.1; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 79.5% of revenue deployed · 88.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 27 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $39.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $545K · 35 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $483K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.