Creighton University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
470376583
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Omaha, NE, USA
Phone
4022804076
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$818,149,970
Expenses
$697,145,374
Assets
$2,174,543,732
Liabilities
$491,430,857

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

Leadership & pay

60 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Rev Daniel S Hendrickson SJ (President)
  • Jan Madsen (Executive Vice President)
  • Derek Scott (Associate Vice President, Facilities Management)
  • Matt Gerard (Vice President, University Relations)

Highest reported compensation

  • Gregory McDermott (Athletic Coach): $3,997,008 total reported compensation
  • Nicholas Townley MD (Professor): $1,171,242 total reported compensation
  • John Schmidt MD (Professor): $1,118,556 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Creighton University is a Catholic and Jesuit comprehensive university committed to excellence in its selected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. As Catholic, Creighton is dedicated to the pursuit of truth in all its forms and is guided by the living tradition of the Catholic Church. As Jesuit, Creighton participates in the tradition of the Society of Jesus which provides an integrating vision of the world that arises out of the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. As comprehensive, Creighton's education embraces several colleges and professional schools and is directed to the intellectual, social, spiritual, physical and recreational aspects of students' lives and to the promotion of justice. Creighton exists for students and learning. Members of the Creighton community are challenged to reflect on transcendent values, including their relationship with God, in an atmosphere of freedom of inquiry, belief and religious worship.

What it reported doing in 2024

Student Life Programs (including Auxiliary Services) - Guided by Jesuit, Catholic values and in support of Creighton University's mission, the Division of Student Life fosters holistic student development in the Ignatian tradition through its programs and services, to produce students engaged in their communities with compassion, confidence, and character. Student Life programs include Student Counseling Services; Student Health Education and Compliance; Community Standards and Student Conduct; New Student Orientation and Transition Programs; Student Leadership and Involvement Center - includes oversight of Creighton Students Union (student government), Fraternity and Sorority Life, and nearly 400 registered student organizations; Recreation and Wellness - includes intramural/club sports and fitness programs; Housing & Residential Life (approximately 2,200 students live in one of the eight residence halls on campus); Dining Services; Student Centers; Conference & Event Services; Business Operations (including Financial Operations, Communications, and Technology); and Creighton University's Retreat Center in Griswold, IA. Student Life services are provided on both the Omaha, NE campus as well as the Phoenix, AZ Health Sciences campus.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 74% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 69% for direct work, and 31% 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: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.3%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 70.7%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th 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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.1%; rating input score 95; 48th 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: 14.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.12; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.3% of revenue deployed · 70.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 39 of 41 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $492.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $4M · 60 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.2M reported
  • Consistency: 50 of 50 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 14 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: 32 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 16 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.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.