Fresno State Foundation put millions in grants and donations at risk, CSU says

A Cal-State system review of the Fresno State Foundation, the nonprofit that manages hundreds of millions in donor gifts and endowments, uncovered egregious weaknesses in its operations that increased its exposure to financial fraud, according to a 32-page report outlining the findings.

The review, which was conducted by the CSU at the request of Fresno State president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, was designed as an assessment of board governance and structure, financial practices and endowment management. It was not a full forensic audit and did not find any instances of fraud.

The report, which examined Foundation practices over the 2024 fiscal year, cited 46 areas that require action, with a number of highly problematic issues, including incomplete documentation for some Foundation payments, including wire transfers to the university from scholarship and trust accounts that ranged from $2.2 million to $5.3 million .

The review also found that the Foundation did not have an adequate system to oversee its 22 operating and investment accounts, which increased the risk of fraud or the misappropriation of funds. Seven of those accounts were balanced and reconciled only once per year, at year-end close.

The internal review also cited the slow turnover on the Foundation’s 25-member board of governors as a problem — one member had served for more than 30 years, and there was no faculty representation or board member with experience or direct engagement in research administration at the time of the review, despite the Foundation’s handling of tens of millions a year in academic grants.

“Taken together, these weaknesses leave the Foundation vulnerable to financial and reputational risk, hinder its ability to safeguard assets, and impact its ability to support the university’s missions,” the report says.

The CSU’s review, the findings outlined in a 32-page report released Friday, was launched last year. It was conducted by Audit and Advisory Services at the California State University chancellor’s office.

The Foundation has an endowment of more than $250 million, the third largest in the CSU system, and it oversees around $65 million in post-grant awards and programs. It manages funding for scholarships and student loans and provides money for campus programs and projects.

The Foundation was under the direction of former university vice president Deborah Adishian-Astone over the period of the review. Vinci Ricchiuti was chair of the Foundation board, and Eric Hanson was the vice chair

Jiménez-Sandoval, who is attempting to set the university on more solid financial footing as he navigates state budget cuts, declined to comment to The Bee.

The CSU found no instances of fraud in its review, which examined operations during the 2024 fiscal year. That time period covers July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, according to Fresno State.

The university released a statement and the full report to campus on Friday afternoon. In the statement, Jiménez-Sandoval commits to modernizing governance structures and strengthening oversight at the Foundation.

“These issues developed over many years and across administrations,” Jiménez-Sandoval said. “These are structural and governance-related issues, not allegations of wrongdoing. I have full confidence that we will be stronger once these issues are resolved.”

The Fresno State president, who serves on the board as the only representative employed by Fresno State, cited priorities, including establishing board and officer term limits, revising board composition to ensure appropriate university representation, and aligning the composition of the Foundation audit committee with regulatory requirements.

Other than the released statement, Fresno State officials did not immediately comment to The Bee about the review or its findings.

The Foundation, a tax exempt 501 c (3), operates independently from the university. It’s audited annually by Fresno-based Moore Grider & Company. A special audit in light of the review’s findings would need to be approved by the board of governors.

Adishian-Astone served as executive director among a wide portfolio as vice president of administration and chief financial officer, before retiring at the end of 2024. She was appointed to the VP and CFO positions in 2016, after serving in an interim role for more than a year.

The long-time Fresno State administrator is now listed on the faculty and administration directory at San José State as a special assistant to the president, administration and finance. The president there is Cynthia Teniente-Matson, who was the vice president for administration and chief financial officer at Fresno State from 2004 to 2015, prior to Adishian-Astone.

The CSU review also found:

• The Foundation’s committees were not always in compliance with applicable laws or committee charters.
• Endowment payments, sometimes in the millions of dollars, relied on manual procedures and informal consultation with account owners, resulting in inconsistent practices that did not always follow the endowment agreements.
• Trust account agreements were not always renewed in accordance with Foundation policies. The Foundation also maintained high balances in trust accounts that may not have been spent promptly, raising concerns about the timely fulfillment of donor intent. 

The CSU’s Audit and Advisory Services reviewed eight Foundation areas — governance and board operations, organizational structure, management services agreement, budget and financial practices, indirect cost recovery, non-endowed cash fund, endowment management, and operational areas — and each was found to require some sort of reform.

The review also found that the board’s slow turnover and rotation of officers limited critical insight from different perspectives and a refresh of leadership approaches. One board member served for more than 30 years, four had served for more than 20 years, and 11 for more than 10 years, at the time of the review.

Fresno State Foundation bylaws do not explicitly state the number of allowable terms to be served by board members, but the CSU reviewed seven philanthropic foundation boards across the system and all seven had a stated maximum number of years or terms that were allowed and six set a maximum of three, three-year terms.

Foundation bylaws do establish an expectation for annual elections for officers, but turnover has been rare. Ricchiuti and Hanson, the chair and vice chair, have served in those roles since 2016-17, according to the report.

This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Fresno State Foundation put millions in grants and donations at risk, CSU says."