Rutgers University Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237318742
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New Brunswick, NJ, United States
Phone
(848) 932-7777
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$137,157,185
Expenses
$150,061,350
Assets
$96,478,926
Liabilities
$32,972,852

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

Leadership & pay

47 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KIMBERLY A HOPELY (PRESIDENT)
  • CHARLES A WRIGHT III (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • IRENE O'BRIEN (OUTGOING VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ROBIN C SEMPLE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHAWN TUCKER (OUTGOING VICE PRESIDENT)
  • WILLIAM J GREEN (OUTGOING VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM J GREEN (OUTGOING VICE PRESIDENT): $468,006 total reported compensation
  • MARK ANTONUCCI (ASSISTANT SECRETARY): $400,659 total reported compensation
  • DENISE P GAVALA (OUTGOING SR. ASSOC. VICE PRESIDENT): $378,947 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Created in 1973, Rutgers University Foundation advances Rutgers pursuit of excellence in education, research, and public service. Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues with Rutgers websites to [email protected] or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier / Provide Feedback form. Copyright ©2026, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved. Contact webmaster | | |. The RUAA recognizes a select group of leaders: former chairs of the RUAA Board of Directors, by honoring them with the title of Director Emeriti. This designation celebrates their distinguished service and helps preserve and amplify the legacy of those who have led before us. Jim Rhodes CCAS’94 _Founding RUAA Board Chair, 2008-2011_.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation serves as the primary fundraising entity for rutgers university. A significant portion of the foundation's expenses consists of distributions to the university for donor-designated purposes, including scholarships, faculty support, capital projects, and other institutional priorities. Accordingly, total expenses include substantial pass-through funding that directly supports the university's mission.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 85% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.8%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 87.5%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $28.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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; 77th 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: -9.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 95.8% of revenue deployed · 87.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $131.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $468K · 47 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.