Franciscan University of Steubenville
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 340714818
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Steubenville, OH, USA
- Phone
- 740-284-5210
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $165,043,563
- Expenses
- $145,169,925
- Assets
- $343,422,072
- Liabilities
- $59,558,055
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
39 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Fr David Pivonka TOR (President)
- William Thomas (Executive Director of HR)
Highest reported compensation
- Dr Stephen Hildebrand (VP For Academic Affairs): $292,593 total reported compensation
- Brenan P Pergi (Sr VP/Chief of Staff): $289,530 total reported compensation
- Robert Hickey Jr (VP For Advancement): $288,536 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Franciscan University of Steubenville is a Catholic university that offers a rigorous and faithful education, challenging students intellectually, forming them professionally, and feeding them spiritually.
What it reported doing in 2024
Christian outreach programs provide spiritual formation and education, inviting catholics into a lifelong relationship with christ and his church. Youth and adults participate in annual conferences, events, and seminars in the u.s. And canada. A digital catechetical platform also furthers the university's goals for the new evangelization. Participants totaled 37,601 for 2024-25.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 82% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 61% for direct work, and 39% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.3%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Pass
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: 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: 72.7%; rating input score 73; 22nd 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: 12%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.37; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 82.3% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $127.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $293K · 39 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $32.6M reported
- Consistency: 52 of 53 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 13 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: 14 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 11 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.