Foundation for Excellence in Higher Education Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
ESTABLISHED IN 2012 AS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-PARTISAN, GRANT-MAKING ORGANIZATION, THE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION, INC ("FEHE") FUNDS AND ADVISES PROGRAMS AT ELITE UNIVERSITIES WHERE THE NEXT GENERATION OF CULTURAL LEADERS ARE FORMED. WE ADVANCE OUR MISSION OF ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL RENEWAL BY BUILDING INTERNAL UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY EXTERNAL INSTITUTES, FORMING EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS IN CHARACTER AND VIRTUE THROUGH CLOSE MENTORSHIP AND INTELLECTUAL FRIENDSHIP, NETWORKING THESE STUDENTS WITH SELECT FACULTY, INDUSTRY LEADERS, AND WITH EACH OTHER, AND MULTIPLYING THEIR IMPACT ACROSS INDUSTRIES, GEOGRAPHIES, AND GENERATIONS.
- Income
- $5.0 million
- Spending
- $5.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 91%
- Reserves
- 0.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 95%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 8
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 33 out of 100. Higher than 2% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.9 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 49% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 12% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 31% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1591% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 258 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $5.2 million spent. In the 2024-25 academic year, FEHE's network sponsored 85 for-credit courses for almost 3,500 students, and hosted over 1,650 seminars, lectures, and conferences for about 40,000 attendees. FEHE currently supports twenty-five institutes and programs at fifteen elite universities. These programs are forming exceptional students through intellectual friendship, connecting them with each other, and positioning them at key points of cultural influence in academia, law, politics, business, media, finance, and medicine. FEHE's impact on elite universities and the broader culture is significant and growing. In the past five years, our grantees have reached approximately 140,000 students and young scholars through 6,680 events and 329 for-credit courses. The year-over-year growth of each of these metrics (students and attendees up 143 percent; events up 6 percent; for-credit courses up 12 percent) demonstrates FEHE's success in advancing its goals of forming students and supporting the next generation of scholars and leaders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since May 2014.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.