Belhaven University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
640303069
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Jackson, MS, US
Phone
601-968-5940
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$59,144,390
Expenses
$62,530,759
Assets
$82,976,010
Liabilities
$22,328,153

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROGER PARROTT (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • CAL WELLS (PAST CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD)
  • CHARLES CANNADA (VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD)
  • JAMES HOOD (CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Belhaven University is a Christian university committed to Biblical Truth and Godly Grace, helping students understand the world as God designed it and experience the fullness of a life modeled upon Jesus.

What it reported doing in 2023

Belhaven university is a christian liberal arts university dedicated to excellence in christian higher education. Belhaven's rich legacy with a christian curriculum is centered on the biblical worldview. This unique worldview curriculum seamlessly intertwines history, literature, art, music, and philosophy into a chronological core curriculum for all incoming freshmen and sophomores. Belhaven has received national recognition for its academic programs and affordability, and the college has earned regional accreditation by the commission on colleges of the southern association of colleges and schools (sacs). Belhaven is nationally accredited in all four of the arts: dance, music, theatre, and visual art. Offering 70 areas of study including academic majors and concentrations and a 13:1 student to faculty ratio for the traditional undergraduate program, belhaven provides a close-knit learning community where students see the college's vision and mission lived out in the lives of faculty members. Accredited online degree programs are also available for students who desire distance learning with a christian curriculum. Belhaven has an enrollment of approximately 6,000 students, including approximately 3,500 students enrolled in its nontraditional program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 95% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.3%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 89.3% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 26 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $52.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 35 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $279K reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.