Ottawa University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 480543772
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Ottawa, KS, USA
- Phone
- 1-800-755-5200
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $103,739,811
- Expenses
- $104,496,927
- Assets
- $172,891,054
- Liabilities
- $147,612,490
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
40 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DENNIS TYNER (CAMPUS PRESIDENT OUAZ)
- BAMBI BURGARD (INTERIM PRESIDENT OUKS)
Highest reported compensation
- WILLIAM TSUTSUI (CHANCELLOR): $358,164 total reported compensation
- CRAIG KISPERT (VC & CFO): $286,146 total reported compensation
- SUSAN SALAHSHOR (DIR. OF PHYSICIANS ASSISTANT PROGRAM): $244,748 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Ottawa University prepares individuals for a life of significance through a transformative, values-based education that integrates faith, learning, and service.
What it reported doing in 2024
Ottawa university will elevate student learning and deliver exceptional outcomes for our graduates as we embrace innovation and foster a community of openness, collaboration, and respect.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 94% 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 62% for direct work, and 38% 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: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.9%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.58 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: Pass
- 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: 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -0.7%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.65; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.85; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 88.9% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $91.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $358K · 40 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 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: 13 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.
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 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.