Bridgewater College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
540506306
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Bridgewater, VA, USA
Phone
540-828-5609
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$52,172,366
Expenses
$60,089,542
Assets
$211,825,436
Liabilities
$64,371,339

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID W BUSHMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL POST (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLM)
  • CHRISTOPHER MEACHAM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID W BUSHMAN (PRESIDENT): $385,916 total reported compensation
  • LEONA SEVICK (PROVOST & EXECUTIVE VICE P): $236,086 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL POST (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLM): $228,342 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Bridgewater College empowers students to lead principled lives of purpose and consequence marked by professional accomplishment and personal fulfillment.

What it reported doing in 2024

Located only two hours southwest of the Washington, d.c., metro area, bridgewater college has a total enrollment of approximately 1,400 students and offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in more than 60 majors and minors, along with pre-professional programs such as medicine and law and teacher licensure. The college also offers masters degree programs in athletic training, digital media strategy, human resource management and non-profit management. Grounded in liberal arts, students at bridgewater college learn about a variety of disciplines, enabling them to become articulate, analytical and assertive. They are challenged by rigorous academics in a close-knit community and collaborate with faculty to create personalized and unique learning experiences.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • 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: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th 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: Missing
    • 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: 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: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 50th 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: -15.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.53; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $52.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $386K · 36 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8.8M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.