Ave Maria University Inc

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.

What it reported doing in 2024

Operating a university dedicated to instructing and training individuals towards a baccalaureate, masters or doctorate degree. 1,329 students were seeking degrees at amu during the fall 2024-2025 school year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030482006
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Ave Maria, FL, USA
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Universities
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

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The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing reports few safeguards for setting executive pay.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 83.4%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited
  • Public monitoring controls: Limited
  • Public policy transparency: Limited
  • Public financial transparency: Limited
  • Impact reporting controls: Limited
  • Public relationship transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
  • Public governance controls: Limited
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 3.21; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.9% of revenue deployed · 83.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $70.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $507K · 34 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link