Samford University: $281.6M Revenue, $211.3M Program Expenses

Samford University grades a B on the nonprofit efficiency rubric. 68/100 on the composite — above the national median, with strong performance on some factors balanced by middling performance on others.

Annual revenue at Samford University runs $281.6M (2023), placing it among the larger U.S. nonprofits in the IRS Form 990 dataset. Samford University directs 80% of its expenses to programs — above the third-party-rater threshold for an efficient organization.

Revenue trend is mildly positive across the five-year filing window — modest growth, consistent with stable funding sources keeping pace with organizational costs. CEO compensation is reported as zero in the filing — typical for nonprofits where the chief executive is paid through a related entity (parent system, university, or foundation) rather than the filing organization itself, or for small organizations whose chief is a volunteer or board member. In the Education category, Samford University sits alongside universities, K-12 systems, scholarship funds, and education-research organizations. Education-sector nonprofits often hold large endowments, which affects how the reserves-and-revenue ratios should be read.