The Master's University and Seminary

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
956001907
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
Santa Clarita, CA, USA
Phone
6612593540
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$85,143,754
Expenses
$75,532,642
Assets
$166,684,429
Liabilities
$48,196,287

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Todd Kostjuk (CFO & VP of Administration): $313,206 total reported compensation
  • Thomas Hopewell (Provost and Dean of Online): $246,197 total reported compensation
  • Lucas Cherry (University VP of Development): $237,730 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Master's University and Seminary (TMUS) exists to advance the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ through education. This is accomplished through unreserved commitment to worshipping God, authority of Scripture, personal holiness, serving the local church, and penetrating the world with the Truth.

What it reported doing in 2022

Undergraduate liberal arts academic program, MABC and Credential programs, Online Degree programs, and Seminary graduate degrees.The mission of The Master's University is to empower students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, biblical fidelity, moral integrity, intellectual growth and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God worldwide. The Master's Seminary trains men, through an advanced academic program prioritizing biblical authority and local church discipleship, for pastoral ministry--to preach the Word of God, reach the world for Christ, and teach others to do the same.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 72% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% 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: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 19th 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: 11.3%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.21; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.4% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $65.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $313K · 27 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.9M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 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.

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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.