Bellarmine University
Legal name: Bellarmine University Incorporated
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 610482955
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Louisville, KY, US
- Phone
- 502.272.8000
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $144,540,978
- Expenses
- $148,595,955
- Assets
- $195,882,019
- Liabilities
- $70,262,696
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
39 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SUSAN M DONOVAN (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- SUSAN M DONOVAN (PRESIDENT): $493,939 total reported compensation
- SCOTT DAVENPORT (HEAD COACH MEN'S BASKETBAL): $404,106 total reported compensation
- SEAN RYAN (SR. VP ADMIN, STRATGETIC I): $264,166 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Bellarmine University is a private university in Louisville, Kentucky, offering an education rooted in the liberal arts and the Catholic intellectual tradition.
What it reported doing in 2024
Student services: the following departments encompass the major areas of the university student services division: student affairs, admissions and enrollment services, office of financial aid, registrar's office, health and counseling services, recreation, and intramural offices.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 86% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 50% for direct work, and 50% 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: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 92.3%; rating input score 92
- Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: -2.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.32; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 92.3% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $130.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $494K · 39 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8.9M reported
- Consistency: 41 of 41 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: 13 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.