Oakwood University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 630366652
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Huntsville, AL, USA
- Phone
- 256.726.8091
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $76,433,326
- Expenses
- $71,376,645
- Assets
- $110,477,846
- Liabilities
- $28,857,878
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
54 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LESLIE N POLLARD (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- LESLIE N POLLARD (PRESIDENT): $159,751 total reported compensation
- ROBERT EDWARDS (VP): $124,447 total reported compensation
- DARAYAS N PATEL (PROFESSOR): $123,651 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
As a Christian school, we promote strong moral principles and encourage students to develop a close relationship with God. We celebrate the diversity of cultures represented at Oakwood and respect the differences between people groups. We believe in and teach a comprehensive approach to life that balances mind, body, and spirit in such a way that students are fully prepared to serve the world while attending Oakwood and after they complete their studies.
What it reported doing in 2024
To provide undergraduate degree programs in various disciplines including on campus training in selected fields of study for approximately 1300 students
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 64% for direct work, and 36% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 65.4%; rating input score 65
- Program expense ratio: 69.2%; rating input score 69
- Fundraising efficiency: $42.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 6.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.55; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 65.4% of revenue deployed · 69.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 35 of 35 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $49.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 54 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $12M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 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: 10 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.