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Minnesota · Nonprofit

BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC

BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC (Minnesota) receives grants from 60 organizations whose IRS filings report $26,952,778 to it, the largest being THE MARVIN M SCHWAN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($21,820,000). 40 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$36M
Funders on record
60
Grants received
$27M
Net assets
$97M
40/60 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 13%
01What it does

What Bethany Lutheran College Inc does

Mission

Bethany lutheran college provides christian higher education in a challenging academic environment where personal mentoring guides students to pursue knowledge, truth, and discernment for productive and fulfilling lives.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Instruction: bethany lutheran college awards the bachelor of arts & science degrees with majors in more than 31 subject areas and a master of divinity and a master of arts degrees. The 2024-2025 academic year enrollment was 769 full time equivalent (fte) students in the fall semester and 689 fte students enrolled in the spring semester. Of the total number of students enrolled in 2024-2025 academic year, 161 met the requirements of graduation.

    $19,450,149 spentof which $10,454,807 as grants$21,125,744 earned by the program
    61% of program spending

  2. Student services & academic support: bethany boasts a long-standing commitment to educating the whole person by nourishing the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social and physical dimensions of students' lives. The college offers a curriculum that challenges students to think critically and express themselves effectively, a campus life that encourages involvement and service (over 25 student organizations), a community of faith that nurtures spiritual growth anddevelops moral responsibility, and co-curricular activities that inspire students to test their own limits and express their individuality.

    $8,836,010 spent$40,474 earned by the program
    28% of program spending

  3. Auxiliary enterprises at bethany lutheran college provides four residence halls on campus, one dining venue, and a spirit store for students, faculty and staff. Of the total student body, 62% of enrolled students lived on-campus and participated in the resident student board plan. 385 students resided in campus housing in the 2024-2025 fall semester and 357 in the spring semester.

    $3,437,325 spent$3,686,813 earned by the program
    11% of program spending

  4. Other program services include operations and maintenance of plant and institutional support. These programs provide services to operate and maintain buildings and grounds and to support institutional operations other

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $31,723,484.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($24M) Expenses 100 ($25M) Net assets 100 ($80M)2018 Revenue 102 ($25M) Expenses 109 ($27M) Net assets 100 ($80M)2019 Revenue 118 ($29M) Expenses 113 ($28M) Net assets 99 ($80M)2020 Revenue 114 ($28M) Expenses 119 ($30M) Net assets 96 ($77M)2021 Revenue 171 ($42M) Expenses 122 ($31M) Net assets 113 ($91M)2022 Revenue 150 ($37M) Expenses 133 ($33M) Net assets 106 ($85M)2023 Revenue 138 ($34M) Expenses 132 ($33M) Net assets 110 ($88M)2024 Revenue 152 ($37M) Expenses 143 ($36M) Net assets 116 ($93M)2025 Revenue 148 ($36M) Expenses 141 ($35M) Net assets 121 ($97M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Revenue (148)Expenses (141)Net assets (121)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $98M to $109M (+12%).

$95M
$93M
$94M
$98M
$109M
$103M
$113M
$117M
$120M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2017 0% · 2018 0% · 2019 0% · 2020 2% · 2021 7% · 2022 4% · 2023 3% · 2024 1% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

21% of BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (23% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 4,254 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.

−$657k
’17
−$2.3M
’18
$454k
’19
−$2.0M
’20
$11M
’21
$3.3M
’22
$679k
’23
$1.0M
’24
$789k
’25
2.3
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Listed201717171617171618
Joined·+1+1+2+0+3+2+3+3
No longer listed·41212241
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 11 funders to 28 funders, grant income rose $141k → $4.2M.

Funder
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
'25*
'26*
total
funders
11
13
17
21
22
27
28
32
21
2

19 of 60 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 9% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 60 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 81% of grant income and the top three 88%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

92% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC.

81%
largest funder
88%
top three
~2
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 27% · 2018 95% · 2019 94% · 2020 93% · 2021 79% · 2022 83% · 2023 75% — growing more concentrated.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

60% of BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC draws 91% of its grant income from funders outside Minnesota, across 15 states in all.

ND
MN
IL
WI
NY
IA
OH
NJ
CO
NE
MO
DE
NC
GA
TX

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Minnesota out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.4M arriving through sponsors registered in 16 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC's funding base is broadening — from 11 funders to 28 as grant income climbed.

Operating margin2% · below the median
Months of reserve2.3mo · below the median
Revenue growth (annualized)5% · below the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,794 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025

Government funding BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.7M on record.

Federal$2.7M
grants $2.7Mcontracts $0
20
21
Top agencies
  • Department of Education$2.7M

Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.

Organizations like BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In Minnesota

Bethel University86%Concordia College Corporation86%Luther Seminary Foundation85%St Olaf College85%College of Saint Benedict84%Benedictine Living Community of St Peter83%Benedictine Living Community - Owatonna83%Carleton College83%

Nationally

Bethany College90%Wisconsin Lutheran College Inc88%Carthage College87%Bennington College Corporation87%Bethel University86%Texas Lutheran University86%Concordia College Corporation86%Benedict College86%
05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

89% of spending goes to programs.

Program 89%Management 8%Fundraising 3%

Governance

14
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

MN

Part of a family of 2 related entities

  • Evangelical Lutheran Synod - 23-7181739 · exempt
  • Charitable Remainder Unitrust (3) · corp_trust

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC?
BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC (Minnesota) receives grants from 60 organizations whose IRS filings report $26,952,778 to it, the largest being THE MARVIN M SCHWAN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($21,820,000). 40 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC have?
IRS filings report 60 organizations giving $26,952,778 in grants to BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC, 40 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC?
THE MARVIN M SCHWAN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $21,820,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Minnesota. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

Play a game about who funds Bethany Lutheran College →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 60 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing