Grace Christian University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381673400
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2022
Location
Wyoming, MI, USA
Phone
6165382330
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,783,323
Expenses
$14,589,534
Assets
$16,930,095
Liabilities
$6,568,432

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR KEN KEMPER (PRESIDENT)
  • JEFF VANDYKE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT ELUSKIE (IT DIRECTOR): $138,893 total reported compensation
  • DR KEN KEMPER (PRESIDENT): $133,544 total reported compensation
  • KIMBERLY PILIECI (PROVOST): $122,429 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Grace christian university seeks to develop passionate servants of jesus christ by personally educating students in an educational program that emphasizes the integration of biblical truth, ministry experience, and character transformation. This emphasis pervades the entire campus as the university strives to cultivate a caring learning community where jesus christ is exalted and students are equipped for serving the needs of church and society.

What it reported doing in 2024

Scholarships - the majority of students attending grace christian university present some level of unmet financial need. The university provides scholarships to these students based on the scholarship policy adopted by the board.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.7%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 76.6%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.8%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.7% of revenue deployed · 76.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $11.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 23 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.