WSU Foundation

Legal name: Washington State University Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911075542
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Pullman, WA, USA
Phone
1-800-GIV-2-WSU (448-2978)
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$125,178,582
Expenses
$113,687,205
Assets
$840,658,296
Liabilities
$13,960,290

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael C Connell (Vice President, Chief Executive Officer)
  • Harold Don Shearer (Senior Associate Vice President & COO)
  • Julie Benson (Associate Vice President)
  • Victoria Miles (Associate Vice President)
  • Alex Pietsch-start Dec 24 (Associate Vice President)
  • Juan Zavala (Associate Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michael C Connell (Vice President, Chief Executive Officer): $485,722 total reported compensation
  • Harold Don Shearer (Senior Associate Vice President & COO): $376,467 total reported compensation
  • Julie Benson (Associate Vice President): $280,084 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 WSU Foundation exists solely for the benefit of WSU and serves as the preferred conduit for private gifts to all areas of the University.

What it reported doing in 2024

Scholarships & Fellowships: The Foundation does not directly award scholarships and fellowships. However, contributions for these purposes were distributed to the University for use in accordance with donor agreements. Student financial aid was received for loans, graduate fellowships, general scholarships and scholarships with specific criteria, such as merit, need, and multiculturalism.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.39; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 82.1% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $85.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $486K · 40 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 47 of 47 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.