Spring Arbor University EIN 38-1359569

Spring Arbor University

EIN  38-1359569 Higher education institution Spring Arbor, MI Founded 1873
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 7/7/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Provides Christian post-secondary education to over 2,400 students through on-campus and online programs, granting associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
Leadership
Brent Ellis · President · $326K
Money in and out
$74.6M revenue, $58.6M expenses
Bottom line
+21% operating surplus

Provides Christian post-secondary education to over 2,400 students through on-campus and online programs, granting associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $74.6M in revenue, $58.6M in expenses, and $108.5M in net assets.Pt I

Financial scale & money flow · FY2025
Total revenue
$74.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$58.6M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$108.5M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $15.9M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.91 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.01
Operating surplus
+21%
revenue over expenses, this legal entity▲ +202% vs prior filing year
Payroll share
34%
of this entity's spending is salaries & benefits▲ +4% vs prior filing year
Program spending
91%
of expenses reach program services0% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$74.6M
FY2025▲ +19%
Expenses
$58.6M
FY2025▲ +1%
Total assets
$133.6M
FY2025▲ +8%
Total liabilities
$25.1M
FY20250%
Total revenue
$74.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$58.6M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$108.5M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$15.9M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$133.6M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B91%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 320
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 420
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $53.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Spring arbor university is a christian institution serving over 2,441 students. All program service expenses are related to instruction, academic support, student and auxiliary services for those students who study at our main campus or through our online education program.

$53.1Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CSpring Arbor University
EINHdr · item D38-1359569
Principal addressHdr · item CSpring Arbor, MI
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.springarbor.edu
Year of formationHdr · item L1873
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFColleges & Universities (B430)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMay 1972

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a20
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b20
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
President
$326,066Pt VII · Sec A
Provost/Cao
$145,880Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Vice President
$134,224Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Information Officer
$123,631Pt VII · Sec A
VP for Enrollment and Marketing
$107,680Pt VII · Sec A
VP of Finance & Administration (left 09/24)
$92,362Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Brent Ellis’s $326K as President is at the 70th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3682 $10–100M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Brent Ellis$314,893$405,109$230,987$241,949
Brent Ellis$326,066$319,643
Carol Green$145,880$144,888
Carol Green$139,396$122,353$119,964$122,188
Doug Wilcoxson$134,224$134,047
Kevin Rose$131,707
Doug Wilcoxson$130,205$128,342$127,634$126,671
Randall Melton$119,726$126,686$116,784$111,584

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$55.1M · 74%
Contributions & grants$10.1M · 14%
Investment income$9.2M · 12%
Program service revenue74%$55.1M
Contributions & grants14%$10.1M
Investment income12%$9.2M
Other revenue$132K
— government grantsLn 1e$468K
Total revenueLn 12$74.6M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.91 Management & general $0.08 Fundraising $0.01
Program services91%$53.1M
Management & general8%$4.8M
Fundraising1%$667K
Total functional expensesLn 25$58.6M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$18.3M
Total assetsLn 16$133.6M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$25.1M
Total net assetsLn 32$108.5M
Months of cash on handcomputed3.7

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $57.2M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $58.6M · Less non-cash grants $91K · Cash operating expenses/yr $58.5M
11.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $53.1M · Total expenses $58.6M
91%
Management & General
Management & general $4.8M · Total expenses $58.6M
8%
Fundraising
Fundraising $667K · Total expenses $58.6M
1%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $689K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $7.8M
$0.09 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $10.1M · Total revenue $74.6M
14%
Government reliance
Government grants $468K · Total revenue $74.6M
1%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $55.1M · Total revenue $74.6M
74%
Investment reliance
Investment income $9.2M · Total revenue $74.6M
+12%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $55.1M · Total expenses $58.6M
94%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $74.6M · Prior year $62.4M
+19%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $68.0M · FY2024 $74.6M
+2%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $108.5M · Beginning of year $99.1M
+10%
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $74.6M · Expenses $58.6M
+21%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities $25.1M · Total assets $133.6M
19%
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $108.5M · Total assets $133.6M
81%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $37.1M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $1.8M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $133.6M
29%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Brent Ellis · Reported title President · Highest reported compensation $326K · Total expenses $58.6M
1%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $19.8M · Total expenses $58.6M
34%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 91%
Overhead ratio 8%
Fundraising cost ratio 7%
Revenue growth 19%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$29K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 9 grants · $100.0M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$17,464,574
Unitemized GrantFY2023$16,217,011
Unitemized GrantFY2022$15,758,938
Unitemized GrantFY2021$15,349,437
Unitemized GrantFY2021$2,388,725
Unitemized GrantFY2020$15,268,344
Unitemized GrantFY2020$811,268
Unitemized GrantFY2019$16,004,298
Unitemized GrantFY2019$770,000

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$74.6M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$62.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$57.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$70.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$70.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$68.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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