Thomas More University

Legal name: Thomas More University Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
610448560
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Crestview Hills, KY, USA
Phone
859-344-3646
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$83,169,756
Expenses
$67,782,531
Assets
$126,843,899
Liabilities
$57,376,084

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR JOSEPH L CHILLO (PRESIDENT)
  • CHARLENE BARLOW (SECRETARY/ASSIST TO PRESIDENT (LEFT 08/19/25))

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JOSEPH L CHILLO (PRESIDENT): $577,330 total reported compensation
  • DR KEVIN REYNOLDS (VP INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEME): $200,404 total reported compensation
  • DR KELLY FRENCH (VP STRATEGY & IMPACT): $176,667 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Thomas More University is a leading Catholic, liberal arts institution in the Midwest. We take the time to get to know you, challenge you and support you—so you can become your best self, build a meaningful career, and get more out of life.

What it reported doing in 2024

For more than 100 years, thomas more has created a university for the student who wants to be more, do more, seek more, win more, achieve more, and create more. Since its founding in 1921, thomas more has provided a mission-driven, liberal arts education that is based in the catholic intellectual tradition. Students learn to harness the power of human reason to solve problems and discover truth, which allows them to begin the journey to become the person they were created to be. Entering into the second century, it's time for more. Serving approximately 2,000 students, thomas more aspires to be the premier catholic university in the cincinnati and northern Kentucky region.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 73% 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 46% for direct work, and 54% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.5%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.7%; rating input score 96; 49th 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: 18.5%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.87; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 67.5% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $53.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $577K · 30 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13.9M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.