Our Lady of the Lake University
Legal name: Our Lady of the Lake University of San Antonio
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 741109631
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas, USA
- Phone
- 210-434-6711
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $84,669,218
- Expenses
- $77,927,378
- Assets
- $112,369,015
- Liabilities
- $31,672,429
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Dr Abel A Chavez (President/ Ex Officio)
Highest reported compensation
- Dr Abel A Chavez (President/ Ex Officio): $424,809 total reported compensation
- Dr George A Williams Jr (Chief of Staff): $224,737 total reported compensation
- Dr Candace DeLeon-Zepeda (Dean of Academics/Associate Provost): $164,177 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) is a Catholic university that provides a transformative education rooted in the liberal arts and professional studies, serving a diverse student body with a focus on social justice and community engagement.
What it reported doing in 2024
Our lady of the lake university of san antonio (university) was founded in 1895 by the congregation of divine providence which continues as its sponsoring organization. It is a private, catholic, coeducational institution with an enrollment of more than 2,000 students. The university's main residential campus is in san antonio, Texas, and it has nontraditional programs in san antonio, houston, the rio grande valley (la feria), and online. The university is accredited by the commission on colleges of the southern association of colleges and schools to award bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 66% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 93
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.5%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 95.8%; rating input score 96; 49th 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: 8%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.44; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 90.5% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 23 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $69M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $425K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.3M reported
- Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- 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: 8 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.
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.