Evangel University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
440589787
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Springfield, MO, USA
Phone
4178652815
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$81,140,664
Expenses
$71,260,139
Assets
$117,210,751
Liabilities
$43,755,267

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR MICHAEL RAKES (PRESIDENT)
  • DESTINY DEAS (VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT)
  • WADE MUMM (VICE PRESIDENT AGTS)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR MICHAEL RAKES (PRESIDENT): $365,757 total reported compensation
  • DESTINY DEAS (VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT): $260,505 total reported compensation
  • LINDA ALLEN (VP OF BUSINESS & FINANCE/CFO): $235,833 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Evangel University is a comprehensive Christian university committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become Spirit-empowered servants of God who impact the Church and society globally. and values provide the foundation for four University Learning Goals that all undergraduate and graduate degree programs are designed to support. Christ-Centered**. The Christ-centered theme highlights the centrality of the person and teachings of Jesus Christ to the Christian’s life and education. Exploratory**. The exploratory theme affirms that all truth is God’s truth, regardless of where it is found, opening all academic disciplines as avenues for the curious Christian scholar to explore.

What it reported doing in 2024

There were 437 undergraduates, 434 graduates, and 172 doctoral students enrolled in the summer 2024 semester; 1,843 undergraduates, 570 graduates, and 208 doctoral students in the fall 2024 semester; 1,751 undergraduates, 522 graduates, and 194 doctoral students in the spring 2025 semester. A total of 556 graduated in the 2024-25 school year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 69% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% for grants.
  • 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 some related-organization disclosures are missing.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.4%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 82.4%; rating input score 82; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 12.2%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.64; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 72.4% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $58.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $366K · 24 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $9.7M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.