Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 391039417
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Madison, WI, USA
- Phone
- 6082567761
- Rating
- 89
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Higher Education Institutions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $8,340,936
- Expenses
- $7,925,932
- Assets
- $27,259,322
- Liabilities
- $2,409,604
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ERIC FULCOMER (PRESIDENT)
- SHANE KELLAR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WBC)
Highest reported compensation
- ERIC FULCOMER (PRESIDENT): $415,744 total reported compensation
- REBECCA LARSON (SR. VP FOR ADVOCACY): $214,441 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER DEHART (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $200,322 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Promote and facilitate services to Wisconsin's private nonprofit colleges and universities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Waicu has organized joint admissions programs since 1978, focusing on contacts with potential students and their parents and counselors each year. Waicu's admission programs are specifically designed to reinforce the student recruitment efforts of members. Waicu's role is to highlight the affordability and quality of Wisconsin's private nonprofit colleges and to create opportunities for students and counselors to consider private nonprofit colleges.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 64% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 88
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.5%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 90.6%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $41.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 5%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.44; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.5% of revenue deployed · 90.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $7.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $416K · 26 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $175K reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 15 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.