Transylvania University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
610444825
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Lexington, KY, USA
Phone
8592338100
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Reported finances

Revenue
$86,108,052
Expenses
$71,123,064
Assets
$274,609,264
Liabilities
$57,821,828

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM BRIEN LEWIS (PRESIDENT)
  • S REBECCA THOMAS (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN OF TH)
  • KARA COVERT (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT)
  • MICHAEL COVERT (VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT LIFE AND DEAN OF STUDEN)
  • RHYAN CONYERS (VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM BRIEN LEWIS (PRESIDENT): $458,860 total reported compensation
  • LISA CUSTARDO (EVP FOR BUSINESS AFFAIRS, CFO): $252,052 total reported compensation
  • S REBECCA THOMAS (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN OF TH): $235,621 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Through an engagement with the liberal arts, transylvania university prepares its students for a humane and fulfilling personal and public life by cultivating independent thinking, open-mindedness, creative expression and commitment to lifelong learning and social responsibility in a diverse world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Transylvania university, located in the heart of downtown lexington, Kentucky, is a topranked private liberal arts college featuring a community-driven, personalized approach to a liberal arts education. Founded in 1780, it is the 16th oldest institution of higher learning in the country, with approximately 1,000 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% 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 55% for direct work, and 45% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.8%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 17.4%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.86; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.8% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $63M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $459K · 40 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $10.6M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.