Cornell University

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

Cornell university is renowned for its academic rigor, intellectual vibrancy, entrepreneurial character, and the diversity and quality of its curricula and areas of multidisciplinary research and study. The university's undergraduate, graduate, professional, post-doctoral, and continuing education programs have a global reputation for excellence and innovation. Cornell's main campus is in ithaca, New York, with an agritech campus in geneva, ny and weill cornell medical college and cornell tech in New York city. The university has a significant international educational presence, including weill cornell medical college's campus in doha, qatar. During the reporting year, the university granted the following degrees: undergraduate (4,188); masters (4,015); d.v.m. (121); j.d. (197), and ph.d., j.s.d., and d.m.a. (634).

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 75% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
150532082
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2010
Headquarters
Ithaca, NY, USA
Phone
6072553790
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.2%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.6%; rating input score 91; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.6; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.2% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 58 of 64 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $6.3B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $9.7M · 81 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $91.7M reported
  • Consistency: 54 of 54 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 14 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 361 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 359 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

81 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ZEV ROSENWAKS MD (ACADEMIC PROFESSOR - WCM): $9,740,096 total reported compensation
  • LEONARD GIRARDI MD (ACADEMIC CHAIR - WCM): $6,751,176 total reported compensation
  • HEY-JOO KANG MD (ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR - CLINICAL): $5,976,241 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.