Simpson University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 941339635
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Redding, CA, USA
- Phone
- (530) 226-4600
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $43,528,233
- Expenses
- $43,111,415
- Assets
- $53,685,746
- Liabilities
- $33,537,987
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
28 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR NORMAN D HALL (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DR NORMAN D HALL (PRESIDENT): $271,383 total reported compensation
- LISA SCOTT (DEAN OF SCHOOL OF NURSING): $162,686 total reported compensation
- TIMOTHY N DIETZ (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $149,729 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Simpson university is a christ-centered learning community committed to developing each student in mind, faith, and character for a life-time of meaningful work and service in a constantly changing world.
What it reported doing in 2024
Simpson university is an institution of higher learning offering liberal arts and professional studies degrees and a graduate school. The university served approximately 741 traditional undergraduate students and 280 other education and graduate level students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 83% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 63% for direct work, and 37% for grants.
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: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 41
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.6%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 25th 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 1%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.62; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 86.6% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $37.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $271K · 28 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.7M reported
- Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
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 20/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.