Samuel Merritt University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942992642
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
9162866665
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$134,762,793
Expenses
$109,097,319
Assets
$595,616,621
Liabilities
$275,679,159

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

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ching-Hua Wang (President)
  • Dave Lawlor (Executive Vice President & Treasurer)
  • Brian Clocksin (Provost Executive Vice President, Academic/Student Affairs)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ching-Hua Wang (President): $989,785 total reported compensation
  • Dave Lawlor (Executive Vice President & Treasurer): $916,575 total reported compensation
  • Brian Clocksin (Provost Executive Vice President, Academic/Student Affairs): $517,608 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Samuel Merritt University is dedicated to training the next generation of healthcare professionals.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule o

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 85% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.6%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 76%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 47th 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: 19%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.46; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 4 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 70.6% of revenue deployed · 76% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $82.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $990K · 34 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.6M reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 45 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.