Huntington University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
350868101
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Huntington, IN, USA
Phone
(800) 642-6493
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$53,770,484
Expenses
$56,615,719
Assets
$100,861,595
Liabilities
$36,601,406

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

Leadership & pay

39 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHERILYN EMBERTON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHERILYN EMBERTON (PRESIDENT): $315,322 total reported compensation
  • JEANNE SOWERS (ASSOCIATE PROFESSOER OT): $164,549 total reported compensation
  • STEPHEN WEINGART (VP FOR ADVANCEMENT): $164,163 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian university of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. We are committed to academic excellence and equipping students with a comprehensive, nationally-recognized education. We help them discover who God wants them to be along the way.

What it reported doing in 2024

Huntington university is a christian university with the primary purpose of educating and developing individuals. The university has approximately 1,700 students and offers more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. As a christian university, huntington is committed to developing the whole person assisting students with understanding all areas of human knowledge from the perspective of a christian world view, and preparing them to impact their world for christ.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 81% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • 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: 96.7%; rating input score 97; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -5.3%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.78; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 93.2% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 30 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $49.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $315K · 39 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.9M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.