Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 2001.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
43 people listed on the 990; $512K paid to officers and key staff.
Dr Donald V Dowless’s $179K as President is at the 28th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Donald Dowless | — | — | $181,812 | $195,647 | $164,733 | $173,222 |
| Dr Donald V Dowless | $179,346 | $180,334 | — | — | — | — |
| Dr Donald Martin | — | — | — | $109,133 | $142,324 | $134,776 |
| Michelle Stricklin | $124,510 | $122,457 | $113,403 | $101,777 | $79,433 | — |
| Susan Zeird Part Year | — | — | — | — | — | $107,237 |
| Dr Ben Bruce | $105,540 | $106,623 | $104,244 | $101,256 | — | — |
| Dr John Reams | $102,553 | $103,122 | $100,322 | — | — | — |
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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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
Educates students in a private Christian liberal arts setting.
Questions for Shorter University INC
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Instructional
Funds expended for instructional activities in associate, bachelor, and master degree programs. Enrollment in 2024-2025 included 1490 STUDENTS.SCHOLARSHIP and financial aid - comprehensive financial assistance program includes scholarships, grants, loans and part-time campus employment.
Student Support
Funds expended for activities contributing to students' well being and intellectual, cultural, and social development outside of formal instruction.
Academic Support
Expenditures integral to the operation and support of the academic services of the UNIVERSITY.AUXILIARY enterprises - expenditures to provide services to student, faculty, and staff including housing, cafeteria, and bookstore.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $6.8M | $5.0M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $18.8M | $19.0M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $35.9M | $35.2M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $62.9M | $61.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $16.2M | $15.9M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $46.7M | $45.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $12.7M | $12.7M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $347K | $347K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $10.8M | $8.1M | $2.5M | $168K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $1.4M | $1.1M | $281K | $8K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $772K | $646K | $113K | $14K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $21K | $21K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $153K | $153K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.3M | $604K | $683K | $7K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $142K | $8K | $124K | $10K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $2K | $2K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $1.2M | $68K | $1.1M | |
| TravelLn 17 | $677K | $669K | $7K | $1K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1.5M | $526K | $916K | $47K |
| InterestLn 20 | $892K | $687K | $205K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $1.6M | $1.3M | $378K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $937K | $478K | $460K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.3M | $970K | $282K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $1.2M | $955K | $229K | $40K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $36.9M | $28.7M | $7.9M | $295K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $35.8M | $36.9M | −$1.1M | $45.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $42.6M | $38.4M | $4.1M | $46.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $39.4M | $37.6M | $1.8M | $42.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $39.8M | $38.9M | $950K | $40.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $36.1M | $34.6M | $1.5M | $39.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $36.7M | $35.1M | $1.7M | $37.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $35,826,070 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 30 of 30 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $35,826,070 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $36,882,316 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $61,746,392 assets, 20 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $45,873,991 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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