Grand Canyon University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 472507725
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2017
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Phone
- 8554285673
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Higher Education Institutions
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,009,925,571
- Expenses
- $1,974,185,329
- Assets
- $2,090,273,231
- Liabilities
- $1,543,098,562
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Brian Mueller (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Bryce Drew (Head Basketball Coach): $1,731,242 total reported compensation
- Daniel Majerle (Former Head Basketball Coach): $1,000,000 total reported compensation
- Brian Mueller (President): $799,495 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Gcu is a premier christian university, educating people to lead and serve by providing post-secondary education services on its traditional arizona campus as well as online. Choosing what to study and where to spend your college years isn't easy. You want to find the right degree program, the right club to join, the right dorm to live in — all in an environment that you can call your own. **As a private, nonprofit university, GCU is committed to providing an educational experience focused on student growth, academic quality and long-term achievement**. College is an experience that can prepare you for the rest of life. If you've made it here, now ask, what makes GCU stand apart from the rest? We know you have questions, and we want to help you find the answers. Explore Grand Canyon University.
What it reported doing in 2024
Instructional program services - instructional program services include all activities directly tied to the educational services provided by the university. Gcu has approximately 123,000 enrolled students (on campus and online) in undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level programs. Gcu provides scholarships, grants, and other financial assistance to eligible students based on financial need and academic measures.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 98% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 80% for direct work, and 20% 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 96
- Accountability: 78
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 96%; rating input score 96
- Program expense ratio: 97.7%; rating input score 98
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 17th 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: 1.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.06; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.74; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 96% of revenue deployed · 97.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.9B in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $1.7M · 19 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1B reported
- Consistency: 47 of 47 current checks pass
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 24 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 9 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.