Olivet Nazarene University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362191252
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Bourbonnais, IL, United States
Phone
800-648-1463
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$147,907,715
Expenses
$148,049,079
Assets
$245,287,838
Liabilities
$130,088,734

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

Leadership & pay

85 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR GREGG CHENOWETH (PRESIDENT)
  • MR MATTHEW FOOR (VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE, CFO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR GREGG CHENOWETH (PRESIDENT): $422,971 total reported compensation
  • MR MARCUS REDDY (VP OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT): $186,089 total reported compensation
  • DR STEPHEN LOWE (VP OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS): $184,233 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Fueling the Mission Olivet Nazarene University provides academic instruction for the purpose of personal development and career preparedness, with students embarking upon lives of service to God and humanity (“Education With a Christian Purpose”). Fueling the Mission Olivet’s 2022 Annual Report is a snapshot of what _has been_ — all that the generous support of alumni and friends has made possible. I hope it inspires you. Many prayers and gifts sustained Olivet Nazarene University this past year; God is with us and for us! You can always join us in what _will be_. I invite you to read through the 2022 Annual Report and afterwards, consider helping us fuel a great mission: “ _Education With a Christian Purpose._ ”.

What it reported doing in 2024

Tuition and fees - instruction of students in a program of higher education, covering over 140 areas of study and serving 3,332 students in the fiscal year ending 6/30/25.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.4%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 89.8%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.8%; rating input score 92; 40th 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: -0.1%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.66; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 90.4% of revenue deployed · 89.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 56 of 61 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $133M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $423K · 85 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $10.8M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.