Northwestern University

Overview

Mission

Vision & Priorities Our Mission Northwestern is committed to excellent teaching, innovative research and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community. Northwestern is committed to excellent teaching, innovative research and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community. University Priorities. Enhance the student-athlete experience Guiding Principles These principles provide the foundation for our University priorities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education of students: for the 2025 academic year, 8,961 undergraduates and 11,228 graduates and professional school students enrolled full-time at the university. The exempt purpose of northwestern university is to provide educational services to its students. This includes superior undergraduate education for a diverse student body in a comprehensive range of academic and professional fields. At the graduate level, northwestern's role encompasses offerings in the major academic and professional fields, closely related to research, creative activities, and clinical services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 83% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 80% 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
362167817
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Headquarters
Evanston, IL, United States
Phone
847-491-HELP (4357)
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Recreational l Clubs

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: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.6%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.85; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 36 of 36 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.9B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $4M · 71 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $234M reported
  • Consistency: 49 of 49 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: 418 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 395 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

71 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Christopher Ryan Collins (Head Men's Basketball Coach): $3,976,787 total reported compensation
  • Amy Falls (VP & Chief Investment Officer): $3,662,057 total reported compensation
  • David Braun (Head Football Coach): $3,106,090 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.