Claflin University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570314374
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Orangeburg, SC, USA
Phone
(803) 535-5000
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$69,308,578
Expenses
$69,810,331
Assets
$183,196,040
Liabilities
$38,088,972

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR DWAUN J WARMACK (PRESIDENT)
  • CLETRA PETERS (VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF OF STAFF)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR DWAUN J WARMACK (PRESIDENT): $1,130,322 total reported compensation
  • ZIA HASAN (VP INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS): $225,847 total reported compensation
  • LEROY A DURANT (VP STUDENT DEVELOPMENT): $224,723 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Claflin University will be recognized as a leading 21st Century institution of higher education that develops a diverse and inclusive community of globally engaged visionary leaders.

What it reported doing in 2024

Student services: claflin university is wedded to the idea that academic achievement is facilitated by a well-balanced and well-rounded program of student activities and services. As the name implies, student development and services operates primarily for students. This unit seeks to serve students both directly and indirectly: directly in that it anticipates and provides for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs and indirectly in that, in its totality, it helps to build the morale of the student body. Student services programs include career services, student health services, counseling center, chaplain services, financial aid, admissions, records, residential life and student government.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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

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: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.6%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 61.4%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th 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: 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; 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: -0.7%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.62; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th 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: 63.6% of revenue deployed · 61.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $42.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.1M · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8.1M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 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: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.