The Rockefeller University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 131624158
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Aug 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, United States
- Phone
- 2123278000
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $458,410,394
- Expenses
- $504,447,980
- Assets
- $4,127,223,897
- Liabilities
- $1,498,629,556
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
69 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RICHARD P LIFTON MD PHD (PRESIDENT)
- TIMOTHY O'CONNOR (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- PAULA VOLENT (CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER): $2,257,458 total reported compensation
- RICHARD P LIFTON MD PHD (PRESIDENT): $1,593,942 total reported compensation
- BETTY Y CHEN - MANAGING (DIRECTOR, INVESTMENTS (THRU 10/24)): $967,093 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Rockefeller draws top scientists and graduate students from around the world in pursuit of one mission: to conduct science for the benefit of humanity. In the early 1970s, Dr. Svetlana Mojsov joined Merrifield’s laboratory as a graduate student with the aim of synthesizing different forms of glucagon, a hormone that increases blood sugar levels, as a possible means for treating diabetes. Mojsov’s studies with glucagon set the stage for her discovery of GLP-1. Mojsov left Merrifield’s laboratory in 1983 to assume a position at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where she used Merrifield’s chemistry and the synthetic strategy she developed for the synthesis of glucagon to synthesize GLP-1. She secured funding to begin clinical trials of how the peptide helps control blood sugar regulation in diabetic patients. Mojsov’s studies with.
What it reported doing in 2024
Library contains 648,432 volumes (of which 370,028 are on-line) and 8,383 on-line subscriptions and is maintained on an open stock policy. The library strives to advance knowledge by supporting our university's world class research community with technology, innovation, and collaboration in the field of science information and communication.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 90
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 99
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $20.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th 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: 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: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 97.8%; 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%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.18; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 45 of 46 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $424M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $2.3M · 69 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $23.1M reported
- Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
- Schedules: 14 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: 30 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.