Union Theological Seminary

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131624238
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2126627100
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$27,757,884
Expenses
$32,942,777
Assets
$228,878,006
Liabilities
$31,456,741

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THE REV DR SERENE JONES (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • THE REV DR SERENE JONES (PRESIDENT): $527,494 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM PEABODY (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $334,033 total reported compensation
  • SU YON PAK (VP OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS & DEAN): $268,945 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of union theological seminary, an independent, multi-denominational seminary in the city of New York, derives from a christian heritage that is at once progressive and evangelistic: to educate leaders for ministry in churches and related organizations, to extend the work of social justice and to enrich the academy through teaching and research.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide graduate degree and non-degree programs to more than 265 full-time and part-time students

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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.
  • 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: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 30th 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: -18.7%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.95; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93% of revenue deployed · 70.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $23.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $527K · 40 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.3M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.