Williston State College Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
456012226
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Williston, ND, USA
Phone
7015729275
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,335,354
Expenses
$9,095,309
Assets
$23,640,977
Liabilities
$11,775,105

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LEE MURPHY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TAYLOR OLSON (PRESIDENT)
  • HUNTER BERG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HUNTER BERG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $195,537 total reported compensation
  • LAURIE FURUSETH (CFO): $75,061 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 foundation supports williston state college by building relationships with alumni, donors, and surrounding communities; generating financial support; funding student and faculty development scholarships; and leading capital expansion to develop a thriving state-of-the-art campus.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation owns property and equipment through their partnership with williston state colllege housing, llc. This property is rented by williston state college employees and other essential personnel and affiliates. Revenues derived from this program service were $1,960,917 and related expenses were $2,021,743. This program rental activity is presented on form 990 in section viii, lines 6a and 6b.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% 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. Some filed totals do not add up and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 94.8%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $47.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 61.2%; rating input score 61; 13th 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; 66th 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: 12%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.6; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.7% of revenue deployed · 94.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $8.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $196K · 13 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 31 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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 — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.