Furman University

Overview

Mission

Furman students are academically challenged and leave Furman as lifelong learners who are changing the communities around them. Whether alumni of Furman, the parent of a Furman alumni or a friend of Furman, we consider everyone who supports this institution a member of the Furman family. Mentorship Career Resources. Experience firsthand how Furman propels you toward personal and professional success. Our beautiful 940-acre campus sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by diverse industries and Fortune 500 companies. This setting provides the perfect backdrop for our high-impact programs, student-centered support, and vibrant community. SCHEDULE A VISIT Bell tower at dusk.

Operating model

Revenue model

Earned-program. 78% 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 63% for direct work, and 37% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

• Financial Efficiency: 89
• Transparency & Controls: 68
• Accountability: 91
• Sustainability: 67
• Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Details

• What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
• Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
• Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
• Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $250.2M in reported program spending
• Leadership: top reported pay $828K · 50 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
• Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $81.8M reported
• Consistency: 41 of 42 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: 31 filed money-flow records
• Related organizations: 14 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.
• Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
• Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
• Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
• Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
• Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
• High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.