Liberty University

Legal name: Liberty University Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
540946734
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Lynchburg, VA, United States
Phone
(434) 582-2000
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,939,920,591
Expenses
$1,528,685,670
Assets
$5,085,879,052
Liabilities
$299,310,059

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

Leadership & pay

58 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dr Dondi Costin (Trustee/President)
  • Dr Jerry Prevo (Trustee/President Emeritus)
  • Mr Shawn Crawford (CEO, Collaborative Health Partners, LLC)

Highest reported compensation

  • Mr Jerry Falwell Jr (Former Trustee/Officer): $9,781,223 total reported compensation
  • Mr James Chadwell (Head Football Coach): $5,052,103 total reported compensation
  • Mr Ritchie McKay (Head Basketball Coach): $1,681,228 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Liberty University describes its mission as developing Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world for Christ, training students as “Champions for Christ.”. A pioneer in distance education since 1985, Liberty University offers online programs widely recognized for academic quality, affordability, and accessibility. Liberty also provides exceptional online student support, including electronic and print resources through the Jerry Falwell Library, the Online Writing Center, a partnership with Tutor.com, the Office of Online Student Life, and knowledgeable, accessible academic advisors. Liberty University Online University Leadership.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instruction of approximately 140,000 students in undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for both the online and residential programs. Scholarships, grants and other financial assistance are awarded to eligible students based on program criteria, which included scholastic merit, athletic excellence, artistic performance, financial need, high school attended and field worked.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 59
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.5%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 33rd 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 29%; rating input score 29; 10th 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: 21.2%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.33; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 73.5% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.3B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $9.8M · 58 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $133.7M reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 58 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 48 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 29/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.