McKendree University

Overview

Mission

The mission of McKendree University is to provide a high quality educational experience to outstanding students. We guide our students in the pursuit of academic excellence, which will prepare them for leadership roles in our society. To achieve this end we encourage broader vision, enriched purpose, engagement with community, commitment to responsible citizenship, openness to new ideas and dedication to lifelong learning. In keeping with our history and traditions, we provide our students with a rigorous, broadly based liberal arts curriculum joined with specialization in a specific discipline. We cherish our historical relationship with the United Methodist Church and its tradition of Judeo-Christian ideals. Therefore, we encourage an atmosphere of open dialogue, free inquiry, and mutual respect, conducted among students from diverse backgrounds.

Operating model

Revenue model

Other-operating. 92% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.

Distribution model

Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 54% for direct work, and 46% 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

• Financial Efficiency: 85
• Transparency & Controls: 88
• Accountability: 98
• Sustainability: 37
• Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Details

• What they do: 2 operating locations identified
• Where the money goes: 94.7% of revenue deployed · 91.7% of spending went to programs
• Governance: 34 of 35 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
• Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $68.8M in reported program spending
• Leadership: top reported pay $395K · 42 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
• Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8.8M reported
• Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
• Schedules: 10 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: 7 filed money-flow records
• Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
• 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.

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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
• High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
• High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
• Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
• Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.
• High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.