Syracuse University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 150532081
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Syracuse, NY, USA
- Phone
- 3154433765
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,968,534,790
- Expenses
- $1,753,093,865
- Assets
- $5,433,960,735
- Liabilities
- $1,805,275,469
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
68 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KENT SYVERUD (CHANCELLOR AND PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- FRANCIS BROWN (FOOTBALL HEAD COACH): $3,136,244 total reported compensation
- ADRIAN AUTRY (BASKETBALL HEAD COACH): $2,199,650 total reported compensation
- KENT SYVERUD (CHANCELLOR AND PRESIDENT): $1,845,442 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Syracuse University is a preeminent and inclusive student-focused research university, preparing engaged citizens, scholars, and leaders for participation in a changing global society. The Syracuse University Mission As a university with the capacity to attract and engage the best scholars from around the world, yet small enough to support a personalized and academically rigorous student experience, Syracuse University faculty and staff support student success by: Encouraging global study, experiential learning, interdisciplinary scholarship, creativity and entrepreneurial endeavors. As a university with the capacity to attract and engage the best scholars from around the world, yet small enough to support a personalized and academically rigorous student experience, Syracuse University faculty and staff support student success by: Encouraging global study, experiential learning...
What it reported doing in 2024
Student services: expenditures in this area include support services for the university's undergraduate freshmen and sophomores. The university has a two-year residence requirement for freshmen and sophomores with the primary purpose of contributing to the students' emotional and physical well-being and their intellectual, and social development outside the formal instruction program.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 85% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% for 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 the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 99
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.3%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 95.1%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Pass
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 97.9%; rating input score 98; 54th 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: 10.9%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.1; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 90.3% of revenue deployed · 95.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 47 of 48 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.7B in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $3.1M · 68 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $11.6M 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 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 30 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 20 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.