Avera Health is a health ministry rooted in the Gospel. Our mission is to make a positive impact in the lives and health of persons and communities by providing quality services guided by Christian values.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
88¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$12.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $26.1M a year · 8% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
88%
of spending
Looks good: 88% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$12.0M
to officers and key staff · 4% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 4% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $1.44B in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 1.0 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $37K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.4B
78% of total assets
Worth a look: liabilities are 78% of assets; over 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
10
of 15 voting members
Looks good: 10 of 15 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$323.6M
+9% vs prior year
Spent
$333.1M
To programs
88%
Net assets
$387.5M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$323.6M
FY2021▲ +9%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$295.6M
FY2021$323.6M
FY2022$441.7M
FY2023$285.3M
FY2024$278.4M
FY2025$359.1M
Expenses
$333.1M
FY2021▲ +25%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$266.7M
FY2021$333.1M
FY2022$292.4M
FY2023$291.9M
FY2024$280.4M
FY2025$362.4M
Net assets
$387.5M
FY2021▲ +12%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$347.0M
FY2021$387.5M
FY2022$458.5M
FY2023$302.4M
FY2024$337.6M
FY2025$390.9M

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 1993.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

88 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 88% · $292.6M Management & general 11% · $38.3M Fundraising 1% · $2.3M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? Claim to add context

Who runs it and what they're paid

27 people listed on the 990; $12.0M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Exec VP - Governance & Strategy
$1,771,632Pt VII · Sec A
President/CEO
$1,749,379Pt VII · Sec A
Pres/CEO - Avera McKennan
$1,275,864Pt VII · Sec A
Pres - Chief Information Officer
$1,086,624Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Medical/Innovation Officer
$905,630Pt VII · Sec A
CFO Avera Health; Sec/Treas
$903,545Pt VII · Sec A
Insurance Svcs & Population
$880,985Pt VII · Sec A
Senior VP - General Counsel
$732,582Pt VII · Sec A

James Dover’s $2.5M as President/CEO is at the 89th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1747 $100M+ health care 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
James Dover$2,453,843$396,393————
David Erickson Left 122022——$2,256,352———
Bob Sutton$247,745$2,080,463$2,078,032$2,049,889$1,749,379$1,759,265
Richard Molseed————$1,771,632—
Thomas Clark Former—$1,666,396————
David Flicek$1,450,140$1,371,591$1,301,962$1,291,126$1,275,864$1,224,706
Julie Lautt$1,274,363$1,203,675$1,086,452$1,051,228$903,545—
Dr Ronald Place$1,093,970$726,858————

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.

See Avera Health executive salaries →

On this list? Claim this org

Something off? Claim to add context

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Provides management, fundraising, and administrative support to affiliated healthcare organizations serving South Dakota and surrounding states.

Questions for Avera Health

Tap to ask. Avera Health sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Avera Health answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this org? Add your story

1 program · $292.6M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Avera Health is a nonprofit corporation jointly sponsored by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Aberdeen, South Dakota and the Benedictine Convent of the Sacred Heart of Yankton, South Dakota, together referenced as the "Sisters." Avera Health acts as the leader of the Avera health ministry, serving as an…

$292.6Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$37K
Grants paid · 687 grants · $49.7M · 2019–2024
Sioux Falls Catholic SchoolsSD · FY2024$850,000
Southeast Technical CollegeFY2024$525,018
South Dakota State UniversityFY2024$395,005
Mount Marty UniversitySD · FY2024$229,000
University of Sioux FallsSD · FY2024$200,000
Feeding South DakotaSD · FY2024$163,250
University of South DakotaFY2024$163,214
Sioux Falls School DistrictFY2024$124,000
Southwest Minnesota State UniversityFY2024$113,000
Sioux Empire United Way INCSD · FY2024$113,000
Mitchell School District 17-2FY2024$102,500
Washington High SchoolFY2024$100,100
See all 687 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$323.6M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$275.7M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$21.8M
Investment incomeLn 3$17.1M
Money outPt IX
$333.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$292.6M
Managementcol C$38.3M
Fundraisingcol D$2.3M
Owns and owesPt X
$387.5M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$28.9M
Total assetsLn 16$1.8B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.4B
PeoplePt VI, VII
27
listed · VII A
PaidVII A13
Voting boardVI 1a15
IndependentVI 1b10
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$21.8M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.8M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$1.7M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$452K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$275.7M
Investment incomeLn 3$17.1M
Other incomeLn 4–11$8.9M
Gains on assetsLn 7$16.9M
Total revenueLn 12$323.6M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
SavingsLn 2$28.9M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$28.9M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.44B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$101.7M
Other assetsLn 15$124.5M
Total assetsLn 16$1.8B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.4B
Net assetsLn 32$387.5M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 52,167
VolunteersI 611
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$25.1M$28.9M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.24B$1.44B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$99.0M$101.7M
Total assetsLn 16$1.51B$1.76B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.17B$1.37B
Net assetsLn 32$347.0M$387.5M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$30.6M$30.6M
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$59K$59K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$7.0M$7.0M
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$130K$130K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$128.5M$108.2M$18.9M$1.4M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$32.3M$31.2M$1.0M$96K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$17.2M$14.0M$2.9M$234K
Payroll taxesLn 10$8.8M$8.3M$446K$98K
Legal feesLn 11b$771K$715K$57K
Accounting feesLn 11c$1.5M$1.5M
Lobbying feesLn 11d$249K$249K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$34.3M$30.5M$3.7M$86K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$8.1M$8.0M$4K$50K
Office expensesLn 13$7.5M$6.7M$724K$104K
Information technologyLn 14$22.0M$21.8M$67K$147K
OccupancyLn 16$6.1M$4.0M$2.1M$36K
TravelLn 17$699K$618K$72K$9K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$554K$540K$14K−$139
InterestLn 20$850K$712K$138K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$19.7M$18.9M$783K$5K
InsuranceLn 23−$482K−$542K$60K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$5.4M$5.3M$167K$489
All other expensesLn 24e$1.1M$1.1M$35K$3K
Total functional expensesLn 25$333.1M$292.6M$38.3M$2.3M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $359.1M$362.4M−$3.3M$390.9M 990 PDF
FY2024 $278.4M$280.4M−$2.0M$337.6M 990 PDF
FY2023 $285.3M$291.9M−$6.5M$302.4M 990 PDF
FY2022 $441.7M$292.4M$149.4M$458.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $323.6M$333.1M−$9.6M$387.5M 990 PDF
FY2020 $295.6M$266.7M$28.9M$347.0M 990 PDF

More to add? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $323,568,990 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $23,574,843$21,836,149
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $257,966,861$275,697,373
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,602,327$17,107,893
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $12,456,161$8,927,575
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $295,600,192$323,568,990
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $15,871,633$30,646,490
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $143,987,528$194,034,408
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $106,869,460$108,462,349
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $266,728,621$333,143,247
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $28,871,571−$9,574,257
Part VI · Governance 10 of 15 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body15
VI-1b Independent voting members10
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $323,568,990 across 14 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $184,371 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$199,382
VIII-1c Fundraising events$451,874
VIII-1d Related organizations$16,372
VIII-1e Government grants$1,815,012
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$19,353,509
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$1,735,275
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$21,836,149
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $269,461,468 · Unrelated business $6,051,534$275,513,002
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $199,301$199,301
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossUnrelated business $165,643$165,643
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsUnrelated business $422,265 · Excluded from tax $16,486,327$16,908,592
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $197,164$197,164
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $8,564,768$8,564,768
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $278,210,607 · Unrelated business $6,639,442 · Excluded from tax $16,882,792$323,568,990
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $333,143,247 across 23 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $30,587,047$30,587,047
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $59,443$59,443
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffManagement $7,015,041$7,015,041
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $129,740$129,740
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $108,205,966 · Management $18,892,633 · Fundraising $1,448,640$128,547,239
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $31,194,896 · Management $1,037,478 · Fundraising $95,932$32,328,306
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $14,012,853 · Management $2,936,641 · Fundraising $233,733$17,183,227
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $8,286,838 · Management $446,135 · Fundraising $97,882$8,830,855
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $714,581 · Management $56,832$771,413
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $1,531,254$1,531,254
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $249,325$249,325
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $30,515,769 · Management $3,682,616 · Fundraising $85,534$34,283,919
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $8,039,091 · Management $4,103 · Fundraising $50,116$8,093,310
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $6,676,308 · Management $724,229 · Fundraising $104,084$7,504,621
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $21,827,351 · Management $66,637 · Fundraising $147,345$22,041,333
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,974,599 · Management $2,123,670 · Fundraising $35,728$6,133,997
IX-17 TravelPrograms $618,465 · Management $71,618 · Fundraising $9,000$699,083
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $540,080 · Management $13,616 · Fundraising −$139$553,557
IX-20 InterestPrograms $711,914 · Management $138,269$850,183
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $18,871,580 · Management $782,743 · Fundraising $5,282$19,659,605
IX-23 InsurancePrograms −$542,330 · Management $60,322−$482,008
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $5,271,864 · Management $167,192 · Fundraising $489$5,439,545
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $1,095,430 · Management $34,674 · Fundraising $3,108$1,133,212
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $292,572,064 · Management $38,254,449 · Fundraising $2,316,734$333,143,247
Part X · Balance sheet $1,761,941,902 assets, 21 lines filed
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $25,050,804$28,905,697
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $524,649$1,742,261
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $30,791,487$29,283,558
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $584,602$396,483
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $8,136,519$15,988,570
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $98,966,598$101,695,308
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $1,070,788,545$1,294,673,040
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $165,755,052$148,615,736
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $12,588$32,516
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $16,139,552$16,139,552
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $96,296,689$124,469,181
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,513,047,085$1,761,941,902
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $25,278,499$34,826,307
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $7,439,578$6,753,531
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $23,209,808$20,936,012
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $124,113,683$169,538,746
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,166,092,281$1,374,402,196
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $340,335,399$379,904,627
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $6,619,405$7,635,079
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $346,954,804$387,539,706
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,513,047,085$1,761,941,902
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $387,539,706 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$323,568,990
XI-2 Total expenses$333,143,247
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$9,574,257
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$346,954,804
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$44,963,019
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$5,196,140
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$387,539,706

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

Your org? Add context

Made it to the end? Claim this org

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.