Boston College

Legal name: Trustees of Boston College

Overview

Mission

Boston College, a Catholic and Jesuit university founded to serve society through rigorous teaching and research, works to pursue a just society and foster a mutually illuminating relationship between religious faith and free intellectual inquiry. Boston College builds upon its traditions. It seeks to be the national leader in the liberal arts; to fulfill its Jesuit, Catholic mission of faith and service; to continue to develop model programs to support students in their formation; and to seek solutions—as researchers, educators, leaders, and caregivers—that directly address the world’s most urgent problems. Gasson quad Guiding Our Path. Inspiration for Boston College’s academic and societal mission is drawn from the University’s distinctive religious and intellectual heritage. As a Jesuit, Catholic University, Boston College is rooted in a world view that calls us to learn, to...

What it reported doing in 2024

Student services and academic support - includes activities of which the primary purpose is to contribute to the students' emotional and physical well-being and to his/her intellectual, cultural, and social development. Operated 9 university library facilities containing over 3.400 million volumes, over 205 thousand serial titles serving the university and surrounding community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042103545
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Chestnut Hill, MA, United States
Phone
617-552-2855
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.9%; rating input score 96; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 18.2%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.14; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 80.5% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 47 of 49 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3.4M · 77 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $55.9M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 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: 70 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 46 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

77 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM J O'BRIEN (HEAD COACH, FBALL (FROM 2/24)): $3,396,247 total reported compensation
  • EARL GRANT (HEAD COACH, MEN'S BASKETBALL): $2,643,403 total reported compensation
  • JOHN J ZONA (CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER): $1,179,499 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.