Alvernia University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231522643
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2007
Location
Reading, PA, United States
Phone
610-796-8259
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$120,653,139
Expenses
$116,621,137
Assets
$227,647,098
Liabilities
$107,706,329

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

56 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GLYNIS FITZGERALD (PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN LOYACK (CONSULTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • GLYNIS FITZGERALD (PRESIDENT): $526,097 total reported compensation
  • JOHN MCCLOSKEY (SVP, COO, SECRETARY): $323,227 total reported compensation
  • LEAMOR KAHANOV (SVP, PROVOST): $265,402 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Alvernia University defines the community as a vibrant intellectual environment where students learn, discover, give and grow as leaders with moral courage, guided by Franciscan values rooted in Catholic and liberal arts traditions, committed to academic excellence and fostering broadly educated life-long learners; reflective professionals and engaged citizens; and ethical leaders with moral courage.

What it reported doing in 2024

Conduct, operate and maintain a college for the education, training and spiritual guidance of men and women, with the power to confer upon students, who have successfully completed the required courses, the degree of bachelor of arts and the degree of bachelor of science, and such other degrees as may be approved and authorized by the department of education of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The college has approximately 3,000 students, including undergraduates, graduates, and phd students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% 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 61% for direct work, and 39% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.95; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 82.2% of revenue deployed · 84.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 36 of 38 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $98.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $526K · 56 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.2M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 20 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.