Christendom College

Legal name: Christendom Educational Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
541031437
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Front Royal, VA, USA
Phone
540.636.2900
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Higher Education Institutions
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$45,215,813
Expenses
$34,784,132
Assets
$115,187,315
Liabilities
$9,640,417

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR GEORGE A HARNE PHD (PRESIDENT)
  • DR TIMOTHY O'DONNELL (PRESIDENT EMERITUS (AS OF 7/1/2024))
  • PAUL J JALSEVAC (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR TIMOTHY O'DONNELL (PRESIDENT EMERITUS (AS OF 7/1/2024)): $424,563 total reported compensation
  • DR GEORGE A HARNE PHD (PRESIDENT): $198,307 total reported compensation
  • STEVEN SNYDER (PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY): $187,976 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Christendom College was founded in response to this cultural revolution, providing a fully integrated liberal arts education in fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church.

What it reported doing in 2024

Christendom college is a catholic liberal arts college with undergraduate and graduate programs. Undergraduate students enrolled 553; graduate students enrolled 159.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% 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: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.6%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 23.1%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.31; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 67.6% of revenue deployed · 83.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $29.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $425K · 19 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.5M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

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 23/100.