Benedictine University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362722198
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Lisle, IL, US
Phone
6308296000
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$91,328,886
Expenses
$90,118,540
Assets
$156,874,906
Liabilities
$65,915,966

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSEPH FOY (PRESIDENT)
  • CHARLES GREGORY (Advisor to the President)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSEPH FOY (PRESIDENT): $401,059 total reported compensation
  • Christopher Duffrin (PROFESSOR): $231,795 total reported compensation
  • Olga Lambert (Dean): $217,980 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Benedictine University is a Catholic, Benedictine institution of higher education dedicated to the education of undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds, preparing them for a lifetime of learning, work, and service.

What it reported doing in 2024

Benedictine University believes that a broad-based, liberal arts education provides students with a concrete foundation for a lifetime of change and is the best preparation for life-long learning. A Benedictine education prepares students to communicate effectively, to reason and make informed judgments, to identify and solve problems, to develop a sense of intellectual curiosity, to pursue and communicate the truth, and to confront and resolve ethical issues. The University's student-to-faculty ratio of 11:1 promotes a learning environment in which students can form and nurture relationships with instructors and classmates. The University offers 43 major programs, 13 masters + doctoral programs, and 13 certificate programs to students, with enrollment of 2,917 undergraduate and graduate students during the 2024-2025 academic year. These programs are supplemented through the University's 40 student organizations, 6 club sport programs, and 19 NCAA Division III Intercollegiate Athletic Programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 59% for direct work, and 41% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.4%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 94.4%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st 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: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.74; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 94.4% of revenue deployed · 94.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 26 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $85.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $401K · 35 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.4M 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: 9 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.