Hardin-Simmons University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 750808791
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Abilene, TX, USA
- Phone
- 325-670-1000
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $82,365,273
- Expenses
- $90,547,033
- Assets
- $421,483,585
- Liabilities
- $74,049,494
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
58 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ERIC BRUNTMYER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ERIC BRUNTMYER (PRESIDENT): $479,257 total reported compensation
- MATTHEW JACKSON (DEAN MATH & SCIENCE): $248,694 total reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER MCNAIR (PROVOST/CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER): $234,873 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 Hardin-Simmons University is to be a community dedicated to providing excellence in education enlightened by Christian faith and values.
What it reported doing in 2024
For more than 135 years, hardin-simmons university (hsu) has been providing excellence in education, enlightened by christian faith and values. Hsu's 200 acre campus provides a family-style community to more than 1,200 undergraduate students and over 350 graduate and doctoral students. Through its seven academic divisions, hsu offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and minors as well as approximately 10 graduate degrees.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 72% 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 65% for direct work, and 35% 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: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 41
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 95.6%; rating input score 96
- Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 35th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -9.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.65; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 95.6% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 36 of 36 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $78.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $479K · 58 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $18.3M 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: 15 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.