Freed-Hardeman University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
620518288
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Henderson, TN, USA
Phone
1-800-FHU-FHU1 ext. 6651
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$78,463,666
Expenses
$60,067,649
Assets
$236,190,303
Liabilities
$46,763,596

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

Leadership & pay

42 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID R SHANNON (PRESIDENT)
  • JASON BRASHIER (VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE)
  • LEANN DAVIS (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMICS)
  • DAVID CLOUSE (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID R SHANNON (PRESIDENT): $327,534 total reported compensation
  • JASON BRASHIER (VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE): $181,401 total reported compensation
  • LEANN DAVIS (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMICS): $173,663 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of Freed-Hardeman University is to help students develop their God-given talents for His glory by empowering them with an education that integrates Christian faith, scholarship, and service.

What it reported doing in 2024

The university conducted classes for approximately 2,100 students and graduated approximately 450 during the fiscal year. The expenses included faculty salaries and benefits, auxiliary enterprises, staff, and operations and maintenance to support them.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 66% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% for grants.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 93.5%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93.2%; rating input score 93; 25th 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: 23.4%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.93; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 77.4% of revenue deployed · 93.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 32 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $56.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $328K · 42 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $14.6M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 12 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: 10 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.