2023-10-12T11:56:07-05:00 2022-12-31 WithumSmithBrown PC ONE TOWER CENTER BLVD 14TH FL EAST BRUNSWICK NJ 08816 990 2022-01-01 461439784 The Foundation for Excellence in Higher Education % LUIS TELLEZ FOUN 6096888779 16 Stockton Street Princeton NJ 085406813 Luis E Tellez PRESIDENT 6096888779 2023-11-15 true Luis E Tellez 999009999 Israel Tannenbaum P01589203 7328281614 2022 2023-04-26 12:10:37Z X X Luis E Tellez 16 Stockton Street Princeton NJ 085406813 13973671 false X WWW.EXCELLENCEINHIGHERED.ORG X 2012 NJ FEHE Funds and advises programs at elite universities where the next generation of cultural leaders are formed. 10 9 0 9 0 0 12579199 0 0 0 40183 0 0 0 12619382 0 8298749 0 0 0 0 0 0 94955 0 567615 0 8866364 0 3753018 10905740 14426849 5925571 5848421 4980169 8578428 X 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. false false 8588963 8298749 0 In the 2021-22 academic year alone, our network sponsored 53 for-credit courses for over 1,500 students, and hosted over 1,000 seminars, lectures, and conferences with over 18,000 attendees. FEHE currently supports twenty-seven institutes and programs at fourteen 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 alone, our grantees have reached approximately 100,000 students and young scholars through 5,000 events and 217 for-credit courses. The growth of each of these metrics (students and attendees up 177 percent; events up 88 percent; for-credit courses up 400 percent) demonstrates FEHE's success in advancing its goals of forming students and supporting the next generation of scholars and leaders. 8588963 true true false false false false false false false false false false false false false true true false false false true true false false false false false true true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 15 0 true 0 false false false false false false false false false false false false X 10 9 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true false false false CA CT FL MD NJ NY PA WI X LUIS TELLEZ 6096888779 16 STOCKTON STREET PRINCETON NJ 08540 Boyd Smith Chairman, Trustee 1.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Luis Tellez President, Trustee 30.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Peter Brinckerhoff Treasurer, Trustee 1.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Donald Readlinger Secretary, Trustee 1.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 G David Bednar Trustee 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Thalia Considine Trustee 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Francis Hager trustee 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Robert George Trustee 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Steven Justice Trustee 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Thomas Trkla Trustee 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Kelly Hanlon Director of Operations 28.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 John Doherty Assistant Treasurer 18.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 false false false The Witherspoon Institute Inc 16 Stockton Street PRINCETON NJ 08540 Administrative 394296 1 12579199 574 12579199 0 23593 23593 0 0 0 0 0 1370879 1354289 16590 16590 16590 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12619382 40183 5157132 5157132 297454 297454 2844163 2844163 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 394296 222658 113923 57715 374 374 19946 19346 600 0 0 7103 7103 16000 16000 500 500 26105 299 7109 18697 5680 556 5124 0 0 0 66868 48902 23 17943 0 0 0 0 0 1444 1444 RESEARCH 1299 1299 BAD DEBT EXPENSES 28000 28000 8866364 8588963 182446 94955 50956 167530 2186901 2386473 7297004 11872846 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1370879 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10905740 14426849 21457 4429 5904114 5843992 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5925571 5848421 X -2489304 -3740769 7469473 12319197 4980169 8578428 10905740 14426849 X 3753018 -227188 72429 X false true X false false X 10077806 5845844 5881870 10002160 12579199 44386879 0 0 10077806 5845844 5881870 10002160 12579199 44386879 34741090 9645789 33986 62414 42273 28015 23593 190281 0 0 44577160 0.21638 0.00000 X Schedule A, Part II, Section C, Line 17a Facts and Circumstances test This statement is attached in accordance with the instructions for Schedule A, Form 990 regarding an organization that believes it is publicly supported according to applicable regulations. Treas. Reg. Sec 1.170A-9(F)(3) provides that an organization may be treated as "publicly supported" under the facts and circumstances test even if it fails to meet the 33 1/3 percent mechanical test. Under the facts and circumstances test, an organization will be treated as publicly supported if it normally received a substantial part of its support from the general public, or from a combination of these sources, and meets certain other requirements. The pertinent factors set forth in the regulations are discussed below: I,II) Attraction of public support FEHE maintains a continuous and bona fide program for solicitation of funds from the general public. The 10% test is satisfied by support from a number of unrelated donors. In its early existence, FEHE limited the scope of its solicitation to persons who would be most likely to provide seed money sufficient to enable it to begin its charitable activities and has since expanded its solicitation program. In 2018, FEHE launched a new website with the capacity to accept online donations. Primarily, however, in 2018 and 2019, FEHE hosted nine in-person fundraising events across the country in locations such as California, Texas, New York, Connecticut, North Carolina, Florida, and Arizona-to attract new donors. During this time, FEHE also created new promotional materials that were mailed to donors and prospects. FEHE's president and senior leadership also made approximately 200 visits to donors and prospective donors in the first two years of FEHE's test period. When the pandemic began in early 2020, FEHE shifted its solicitation program from mostly in person gatherings to virtual meetings and online solicitations. In 2020 and 2021, FEHE hosted or participated in approximately 250 meetings. In addition, FEHE continued its program of regular mailings to our house list of donors and prospective donors while embarking on a more robust electronic solicitation program. Online solicitations included email campaigns and listings on websites of allied non-profits, including universities. By the end of 2021, FEHE had sent more than 12,000 emails to its own list and through partnerships with sister organizations. Several of our grantees (public charities) also listed FEHE on their own websites and donation pages to ask their own donors to consider supporting FEHE directly. In 2022, FEHE brought together its in-person, mail, and electronic solicitation efforts. FEHE sponsored or participated in more than 130 in-person meetings and briefings. In addition, we sent emails to approximately 15,000 individuals and mailed hard copies of collateral materials to about 250 people. III) Sources of support: FEHE's activities appeal to a broad cross-section of persons nationwide who are interested in supporting the advancement of higher education. Currently, donations are solicited from the public on a continuous basis through its website and various outreach programs. IV) Representative Governing Body FEHE's governing body includes ten individuals, all independent from one another and represent the broad interests of the public. Representing multiple disciplines, FEHE brings together a team of thought leaders and doers with unique perspectives and expertise to develop the tools to advance higher education. Trustees are chosen for their interest in enhancing American higher education as an important part of improving American society generally. They specifically appreciate the importance of helping students and professors explore universal questions about truth that cross disciplines. Some of them are even members of academia. Most have been collaborators in the work of FEHE's grantees before joining the board of FEHE. The current trustees are as follows: Boyd C. Smith. Chairman. Mr. Smith is a private investor in commercial real estate and high-tech start-up companies. He and his two business partners founded the California Family Foundation, which funds Beechwood School, an independent K-8 school that serves low-income and minority students. Boyd and his wife, Jill, also founded the Golden Gate Family Foundation, which runs a scholarship and mentoring program for youth who are first generation college bound. He is currently a board member of the Hoover Institution Board of Overseers at Stanford University and the Lucille Packard Foundation for Children's Health. He received a BS in Economics from the University of Utah, and an MBA from Stanford University. Boyd and his wife reside in Palo Alto, California. Luis E. Tellez. President. Mr. Tellez is the President of the Witherspoon Institute, a public charity that, among other things, provides academic programming for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to examine the moral foundations of political, philosophical, and social thought. He spent the early part of his career working in the chemical industry, and subsequently spent over twenty years administering several non-profit corporations before helping to found Witherspoon. Peter R. Brinckerhoff. Treasurer and Chairman of Finance. Mr. Brinckerhoff is a private investor and philanthropist who resides in Florida. He holds a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Columbia University. Before his retirement he spent a career in finance on Wall Street in investment banking, mostly with Merrill Lynch. Donald Readlinger. Secretary. Mr. Readlinger is a partner in the law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP. He has practiced law since 1999, focusing on corporate and transactional matters, and has represented several nonprofit corporations and charitable organizations throughout his career. He routinely advises boards of directors of public and private corporations. Prior to commencing his legal career, Mr. Readlinger held various positions in investment banking and insurance, and with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Morningside Institute (New York, N.Y.) and is a trustee of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life at Princeton University. Mr. Readlinger received a B.A. from Boston College and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law. He lives in Princeton with his wife and three children. G. David Bednar. David Bednar is the Principal of Devotio Capital Management. He is a twenty four-year veteran of global real estate lending and investing, spanning the capital structure from equity to first mortgage lending. Mr. Bednar received a BA and MBA from Harvard University and served for four years as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. Thalia ''Tay'' Considine. Thalia Considine is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of the Considine Family Foundation. She is also on the board of the Abigail Adams Institute and the advisory board of the Human Flourishing Program, both FEHE affiliates at Harvard University. Thalia comes to the nonprofit world after teaching elementary school for several years. She holds an A.B. in history from Harvard College and an M.A. in Medieval History from King's College, London. Robert P. George. Dr. George is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence in the Department of Politics and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He is also the Herbert W. Vaughan Senior Fellow of the Witherspoon Institute. Francis Hager. Mr. Hager is a Managing Partner of OppCAP Group LLC. Previously he was a Partner at Stone Tower Capital and before that co-head of the Credit Suisse "cash" CLO/CDO group. He began his career in corporate finance at Citibank before moving to Morgan Stanley. He has served on boards of several non-profits and is currently a member of the IESE (Barcelona) Business School U.S. Advisory Council, the board of the Collegium Institute and the advisory council of the Penn Initiative for the Study of Markets (both at the University of Pennsylvania). Mr. Hager holds a BS summa cum laude in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MPhil in economics from Oriel College, University of Oxford. Steven V. Justice. Dr. Justice is Professor emeritus of English at UC Berkeley, where he taught topics in medieval literary history and literary criticism. He is also a Senior Fellow and former President of the Berkeley Institute. Justice has been a fellow at the Stanford Humanities Center, Council of the Humanities Fellow at Princeton University, and Senior Fellow of the Witherspoon Institute, and has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Huntington Library, and the University of California. Thomas Trkla. Mr. Trkla is the founding member and majority owner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Brookwood Financial Partners, and Chairman and Chie RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 0 0 X 11776450 -227188 -227188 12003638 7103 608641 615744 12619382 8178191 8178191 7103 681070 688173 8866364 Part X, line 2 The Foundation is classified for tax purposes as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC"). Upon its formation in 2012, the Foundation was determined to be a private foundation within the meaning of 509(a) of the IRC. In an application to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), the Foundation requested to terminate its private foundation status under IRC Section 507(b)(1)(B) and operate as a public charity. Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America require management to evaluate tax positions taken by the Foundation and recognize a tax liability (or asset) if the Foundation has taken an uncertain position that more likely than not would not be sustained upon examination by the IRS. Management has analyzed the tax positions taken by the Foundation, and has concluded that as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there are no uncertain positions taken or expected to be taken that would require recognition of a liability (or asset) or disclosure in the financial statements. There has been no tax related interest or penalties for the periods presented in these financial statements. Part XI Line 4b Discount on promises to give receivable 608,641. Part XII Line 4b discount on promises to give payable - 106,540, Grants cancelled - 574,530. true Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland) 0 0 Grantmaking 2844163 0 0 0 0 2844163 2844163 Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland) General operations 360000 check Europe (Including Iceland and Greenland) Scholarship, general 2484163 check 2 false false false false false false Schedule F, Part I, Line 2 Most of FEHE's grants are awarded to a fixed group of about two dozen programs for their general operations. These receive grants annually in two disbursements. Before each disbursement is made, the grantees are required to submit reports to FEHE on their activities and expenses during the preceding six months. In addition, all executive directors of these grantees, including some of their supporting staff, normally attend an annual conference to discuss their experiences in the previous year and their objectives for the future. FEHE's management are also in continual contact with these same executive directors throughout the year to advise them on their fundraising and operations. Finally, either the President or the Director of Operations of FEHE sits on the boards or advisory councils of all these grantees and regularly attends their meetings. FEHE also awards grants to support postdoctoral fellowships at about a dozen universities in the United States and Great Britain. The departments or institutes that host these fellowships are required to submit reports to FEHE on the activities and expenses of the fellow at the end of each year of the fellowship. In addition, FEHE's management are in continual contact with the scholars who oversee the fellows' work; these scholars are also affiliated with one of the programs or institutes mentioned above whose general operations FEHE supports. FEHE also sponsors the Barry Center at the Morningside Institute, whose staff are in continual contact with the postdoctoral fellows themselves to advise them on their work; FEHE's management are in continual contact with the Barry Center's staff. true Academic Freedom Alliance 10 Nassau Street Unit 33 Princeton NJ 08542 853780742 501c3 90061 General Operations Austin Institute FSOFC 3206 Fairfax walk Austin TX 78705 462082757 501c3 325000 General operations Collegium Institute 3814 WALNUT STREET Philadelphia PA 191046197 463047945 501c3 275000 General operations Duke University 324 Blackwell Street Durham NC 27701 560532129 501c3 205000 Civil Discourse Project Elm Institute 31 whitney avenue suite 1 new haven CT 06510 471625610 501c3 250000 General operations Forbes Avenue Foundation PO Box 7126 337 bouquet st pittsburgh PA 15213 824121313 501c3 50000 Beatrice Institute General Operations Harvard University 124 mount auburn street cambridge MA 02138 042103580 501c3 1036250 Scholarship, general, human flourishing program Hyde Park Institute 1407 E 60TH STREET Chicago IL 60637 475549775 501c3 250000 General operations Johns Hopkins University 550 N Broadway Ste 912 Baltimore MD 21205 520595110 501c3 410000 Paul Mchugh program for human flourishing The Abigail Adams Institute 14 arrow street G10 Cambridge MA 02138 471495965 501c3 490000 General operations The Berkeley Institute 2134 ALLSTON WAY Berkeley CA 94704 463482813 501c3 301577 general operations The Houston Institute 2101 Dryden Rd Houston TX 77030 474634060 501c3 125000 General operations The Morningside Institute 490 RIVERSIDE DRIVE FLOOR 11 new york NY 10027 821094056 501c3 233695 General operations, barry center The Witherspoon Institute 16 stockton street princeton NJ 08540 550835528 501c3 844615 General Operations Zephyr Institute 560 COLLEGE AVENUE Palo Alto CA 94306 471979289 501c3 200000 General operations The University of Texas at Austin 110 Inner Campus Drive Austin TX 78712 746000203 N/A 72358 Postdoc Fellowship 15 1 Fellowships 4 297454 Schedule I, Part I, Line 2 Most of FEHE's grants are awarded to a fixed group of about two dozen programs for their general operations. These receive grants annually in two disbursements. Before each disbursement is made, the grantees are required to submit reports to FEHE on their activities and expenses during the preceding six months. In addition, all executive directors of these grantees, including some of their supporting staff, normally attend an annual conference to discuss their experiences in the previous year and their objectives for the future. FEHE's management are also in continual contact with these same executive directors throughout the year to advise them on their fundraising and operations. Finally, either the President or the Director of Operations of FEHE sits on the boards or advisory councils of all these grantees and regularly attends their meetings. FEHE also awards grants to support postdoctoral fellowships at about a dozen universities in the United States and Great Britain. The departments or institutes that host these fellowships are required to submit reports to FEHE on the activities and expenses of the fellow at the end of each year of the fellowship. In addition, FEHE's management are in continual contact with the scholars who oversee the fellows' work; these scholars are also affiliated with one of the programs or institutes mentioned above whose general operations FEHE supports. FEHE also sponsors the Barry Center at the Morningside Institute, whose staff are in continual contact with the postdoctoral fellows themselves to advise them on their work; FEHE's management are in continual contact with the Barry Center's staff. Occasionally FEHE will make one-time grants to certain grantees whose missions are partially aligned with FEHE's. FEHE will also require these organizations to submit reports on their activities. CORE FORM 990 PART VI, SECTION B; QUESTION 11B FEHE's FEDERAL FORM 990 WAS PROVIDED TO EACH VOTING MEMBER OF ITS GOVERNING BODY, ITS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, PRIOR TO FILING WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. PART VI, SECTION B; QUESTION 12 FEHE HAS A WRITTEN CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY. ANNUALLY, ALL OFFICERS OF THIS ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE REQUIRED TO REVIEW THE EXISTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY AND DISCLOSE ANY APPLICABLE CONFLICTS. CONFLICTS ARE REVIEWED BY THE ORGANIZATION'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES. ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A CONFLICT OF INTEREST RECUSES THEMSELF FROM THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS. DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS ARE REVIEWED FOR FULL COMPLIANCE WITH FEHE's POLICIES. Part VI, Section B, Question 15 FEHE officers are paid through the witherspoon institute, an unrelated not for profit organization. PART VI, SECTION C; QUESTION 19 GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS, SUCH AS THE CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST POLICY ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. Part XI, Line 9 Other changes in net assets consist of the following: discount on promises to give receivable - (608,641), discount on promises to give payable - 106,540, Grants cancelled - 574,530.