Great Northern University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 823882005
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Spokane, WA, USA
- Phone
- (509) 284-7100
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,026,366
- Expenses
- $985,519
- Assets
- $555,025
- Liabilities
- $185,544
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- WENDY LIDDELL (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- WENDY LIDDELL (PRESIDENT): $49,560 total reported compensation
- KATHY HILLS (COO/CFO): $40,055 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 Trustees of Great Northern University serve as the custodians of the founding mission and vision of the university. They are entrusted with: sustaining the biblical foundations upon which the university is founded; actively promoting a thoroughly and uniquely Christian worldview; enforcing biblical principles in all aspects of the organization; and in all other ways ensuring, in this age and in the ages to come, that GNU is a university that brings honor and glory to the name of Jesus Christ.
What it reported doing in 2024
The core values of great northern university give shape to how we pursue our mission. They can be summarized in three words: community, scholarship, and wisdom. When these values are embraced and purposefully carried out in our work, our mission will be successful, and our vision will be realized. We strive to instill these values in our students so that they will continue to practice them throughout their lives.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 81% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.6%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 79.6% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $817K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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 9/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.