Baldwin Wallace University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
340714629
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Berea, OH, USA
Phone
(440) 826-2900
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$164,650,505
Expenses
$168,086,581
Assets
$347,243,370
Liabilities
$40,705,999

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

Leadership & pay

57 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gregory Flanik (Interim President (1/25-6/25) / VP OPERATIONS)
  • Thomas Sutton (Interim President (6/24-12/24))
  • Robert C Helmer (President (left 6/24))

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert C Helmer (President (left 6/24)): $498,710 total reported compensation
  • Ellen Zegarra (VP for philanthropy (left 1/25)): $264,659 total reported compensation
  • Thomas Sutton (Interim President (6/24-12/24)): $261,506 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Baldwin Wallace University does not have a single mission statement on its official website; however, its service and leadership programs emphasize fostering civic responsibility and community engagement.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education of 2,770 full-time undergraduate students, 1103 part-time undergraduates, and 445 graduate students, plus certificate programs and faculty scholarly research. Undergraduate degrees offered are the bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of science in education, bachelor of music, bachelor of music education, and bachelor of science in nursing. The graduate programs lead to the degrees of master of accountancy, master of arts in education, master of business administration, master of medical science (physician assistant), master of public health, and master of science (speech language pathology and exercise physiology).

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 88% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 56% for direct work, and 44% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.2%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 85.7%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 97.6%; rating input score 98; 53rd 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: -2.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.07; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 97.2% of revenue deployed · 85.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 40 of 41 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $144M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $499K · 57 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.2M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.