AAUP Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
800320933
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
202-737-5900
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$740,726
Expenses
$38,283
Assets
$1,438,586
Liabilities
$290,579

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TODD WOLFSON (PRESIDENT)
  • ROTUA LUMBANTOBING (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • IRENE MULVEY (PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL DAVIS (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • TODD WOLFSON (PRESIDENT)
  • ROTUA LUMBANTOBING (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DANIELLE AUBERT (SECRETARY-TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The AAUP Foundation is the charitable arm of the AAUP enterprise. With the AAUP (a professional association), it shares a commitment to academic freedom and shared governance, defines fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, and ensures higher education’s contribution to the common good.

What it reported doing in 2024

The other grants program consists of several restrictively purposed funds. The mary burgan fund subsidizes travel by aaup staff or members to conferences relevant to aaup issues. The konheim travel fund helps chapters send members to the aaup biennial conference. The legal defense fund supports faculty members in cases at the trial and appellate levels that implicate important legal rights, involve legal issues of national significance in higher education, and affect the careers of academics. And the contingent faculty fund supports work on issues relating to contingent faculty appointments through research, publication, leadership development, and other assistance to faculty when need arises.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 96% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 32
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 89
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 4.7%; rating input score 5
  • Program expense ratio: 59.8%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $68.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 94.8%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 37.58; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 4.7% of revenue deployed · 59.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $23K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.