Newberry College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570314404
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Newberry, SC, US
Phone
1-800-845-4955
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$66,284,560
Expenses
$79,776,537
Assets
$84,070,913
Liabilities
$63,989,219

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

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR MAURICE SCHERRENS (PRESIDENT (PART YEAR))

Highest reported compensation

  • DR MAURICE SCHERRENS (PRESIDENT (PART YEAR)): $263,661 total reported compensation
  • MR WILLIAM NASH (VP OF ADVANCEMENT): $181,145 total reported compensation
  • DR SIDNEY H PARRISH (VP OF ADMIN/ VP OF OIRE (PART YEAR)): $165,908 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Newberry College prepares students in the Lutheran liberal arts tradition through our supportive academic community for lifelong intellectual and personal development, meaningful vocation, and engaged citizenship in the global society.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instructionnewberry college has a rich tradition of providing personal attention, challenging academic programs, and a close-knit community that welcomes everyone. We combine our strong liberal arts foundation with specialized professional degree programs to prepare students for successful futures. Newberry college prepares students in the lutheran liberal arts tradition through our supportive academic community for lifelong intellectual and personal development, meaningful vocation, and engaged citizenship in the global society.intellectual developmentstudents will acquire, develop, and demonstrate:-knowledge of the arts, sciences, and humanities as ways of understanding the world and our place in it.-effective oral and written communication skills.-critical thinking and quantitative analytical skills necessary for interpreting information and solving problems in a 21st-century global society.-proficiency in information literacy.personal developmentstudents will acquire, develop, and demonstrate:-the ability to work with others as leaders or as members of a team to accomplish common goals in a diverse society.-an understanding of the heritage of the christian faith and its contribution to humane problem solving in the evolving global community.-moral reasoning skills essential for making life choices that balance personal freedoms and societal responsibilities.-the knowledge, attitudes, and habits that contribute to a healthy lifestyle.meaningful vocationstudents will acquire, develop, and demonstrate:-knowledge of the history, methods of inquiry, and current intellectual claims of a chosen specific discipline or interdisciplinary area of study.-knowledge and skills that foster life-long personal growth and professional development in their vocational pursuits.engaged citizenship in a global societystudents will acquire, develop, and demonstrate:-the values necessary for effective citizenship.-the skills and historical knowledge to think critically about complex national and global issues.-the qualities of personal and social responsibility necessary to sustain and deepen democracy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 90% 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: -20.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.05; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $72.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $264K · 34 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $12.7M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 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: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.