Roger Williams University

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O.

What it reported doing in 2024

Higher Education: Roger Williams University (the "University"), located in Bristol and Providence, Rhode Island, is a private, coeducational university with programs in the liberal arts and the professions that includes the Feinstein Schools of Humanities, Arts and Education and Social and Natural Sciences, the Cummings School of Architecture, the Mario J. Gabelli School of Business, the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management, the School of Justice Studies and University College. The University offers more than 50 majors and 70 minors of undergraduate study and 13 graduate degrees, along with numerous minors and certificate programs. The University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, Inc, among other accrediting bodies.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 91% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
050277222
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2007
Headquarters
Bristol, RI, USA
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Universities

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.3%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • 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: 93.5%; rating input score 94; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Public governance controls: Limited
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.5%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 1.19; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.3% of revenue deployed · 92.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $226.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.4M · 45 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 51 of 52 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link