Tufts University

Legal name: Trustees of Tufts College

Overview

Mission

Tufts University does not discriminate in admissions, employment or in any of its educational programs or activities. If you leave a Service and visit a website, app or other digital property operated by a third party, Tufts University cannot be held responsible for the protection and privacy of any information that you provide while visiting such third-party services. Accordingly, please exercise caution and review the privacy statement applicable to the website, app or other digital property in question. To the extent permissible under applicable law, by using and/or participating in these Services, you signify that you have read these terms and agree to be bound by and comply with them. If you do not agree to be bound by these terms, please promptly exit all Services. An additional Privacy Statement (The.

What it reported doing in 2024

Research -there were 1,189 government and 701 non-government grants active in fiscal year 2025. Sponsored research at tufts was performed in the medical, dental, and veterinary schools as well as in the basic science departments of arts & science & engineering. Research is also being performed at the usda human nutrition research center on aging. Also, clinical and other research activities include 30 clinics that are operated by the dental and veterinary schools to train students and support their research. Other educational activities include, among others, veterinary school newsletters and continuing education programs for health school professionals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 72% 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
042103634
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Headquarters
Medford, MA, USA
Phone
6176362474
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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.7%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th 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: 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; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.5%; rating input score 92; 40th 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: 5.1%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.34; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 86.7% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 37 of 40 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.4M · 72 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $73.1M reported
  • Consistency: 50 of 50 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: 177 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 160 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

72 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Sunil Kumar (Trustee & University President): $1,356,483 total reported compensation
  • Joshua Else (SVP - University Advancement): $935,605 total reported compensation
  • Caroline Genco (Provost and Senior Vice President): $901,850 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.