Nations University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
731518799
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brentwood, TN, USA
Phone
6153098101
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Higher Education Institutions

Reported finances

Revenue
$718,483
Expenses
$710,891
Assets
$967,081
Liabilities
$6,083

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dr John Baxter (Trustee, President, CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr David Srygley (CAO): $69,996 total reported compensation
  • Dr John Baxter (Trustee, President, CEO): $53,064 total reported compensation
  • Jonathan R Sloan (Communication Director): $52,104 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Nations University provides religious education, generally free, through a distance learning model (on-line) to approximately 1800 students in 100 nations.

What it reported doing in 2024

Approximately 1,800 students from 100 countries were enrolled in the study of theology at year end

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 38
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.5%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 40.9%; rating input score 41
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.1%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.36; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 43.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 41.5% of revenue deployed · 40.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $291K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $70K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.