Morningside University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
420680400
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Sioux City, IA, USA
Phone
712-274-5000
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$72,930,259
Expenses
$68,509,005
Assets
$128,062,889
Liabilities
$16,621,220

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

Leadership & pay

49 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALBERT MOSLEY (PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN REYNDERS (FORMER PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALBERT MOSLEY (PRESIDENT): $383,874 total reported compensation
  • JOHN REYNDERS (FORMER PRESIDENT): $282,026 total reported compensation
  • JACKLYN BARBER (DEAN OF NURSING): $247,038 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Morningside University is a private, four-year university that provides a transformative educational experience, preparing students for lifelong learning and success.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provides residence hall (living quarters) for full time under graduate students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 83% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 57% for direct work, and 43% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 85.6%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 95%; rating input score 95; 47th 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: 6.1%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.87; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 85.8% of revenue deployed · 85.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 38 of 40 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $58.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $384K · 49 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $3.4M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 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: 11 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.