William F Vilas Trust Estate

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
390678406
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Oregon, WI, USA
Phone
6088352000
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,747,937
Expenses
$7,191,577
Assets
$135,625,226
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT R STROUD (SECRETARY): $11,000 total reported compensation
  • GEORGE E AUSTIN (CHAIRMAN): $3,600 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN R STEINGASS (TRUSTEE): $3,600 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 for faculty, students and arts at uw-madison (primarily) and uw-milwaukee (secondarily).

What it reported doing in 2024

The trust is operated for the benefit of uw-madison and uw-milwaukee. The principal purpose of the trust is to provide professorships, scholarships and fellowships, and to fund capital projects.

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

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • 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: 17.8%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.86; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $11K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $418K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.