Boston University

Overview

Mission

Boston University is an international, comprehensive, private research university, committed to educating students to be reflective, resourceful individuals ready to live, adapt, and lead in an interconnected world. Boston University is committed to generating new knowledge to benefit society. We remain dedicated to our founding principles: that higher education should be accessible to all and that research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice should be conducted in the service of the wider community—local and international. These principles endure in the University’s insistence on the value of diversity, in its tradition and standards of excellence, and in its dynamic engagement with the City of Boston and the world. Boston University comprises a remarkable range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs built on a strong foundation of the liberal...

What it reported doing in 2024

Research - what sets boston university apart as a research university is the breadth and depth of its research and the uniquely entrepreneurial spirit of its faculty. Researchers at bu are not afraid to cross disciplinary boundaries, as can be seen by strategic efforts to support interdisciplinary research and education in neuroscience, religion and world affairs, integrative biology, clean energy, sustainability and the environment, health care delivery, and global health, to name a few. In each case, the emphasis is not on interdisciplinarity for its own sake, but on using a multifaceted approach to solve the important and complex problems facing society today.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 73% 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 70% for direct work, and 30% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042103547
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Website reviewed
Jun 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2024
Headquarters
Boston, MA, USA
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

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The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
  • 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
  • Public monitoring controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public policy transparency: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public financial transparency: 0 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Impact reporting controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Public governance controls: 1 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 25
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.7%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 2.71; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 91.8% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 34 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.1B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.7M · 52 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 47 of 48 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 14 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Money network: 285 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 304 filed related-organization links