University of Notre Dame

Legal name: University of Notre Dame Du Lac

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
350868188
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Notre Dame, IN, USA
Phone
5746317575
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,418,676,076
Expenses
$2,370,240,201
Assets
$29,638,395,911
Liabilities
$5,091,089,171

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

Leadership & pay

50 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Rev Robert A Dowd CSC MDiv PhD (President, Fellow & Trustee)
  • Rev John I Jenkins CSC PhD (Fellow & Trustee, Former President)
  • Shannon B Cullinan MBA (Executive Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Marcus L Freeman (Head Coach, Football): $8,137,948 total reported compensation
  • Michael D Donovan JD MBA (VP & Chief Investment Officer (until 6/30/24)): $3,893,759 total reported compensation
  • Timothy W Dolezal CFA (VP & Chief Investment Officer (as of 7/1/2024)): $3,302,187 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A Catholic university draws its basic inspiration from Jesus Christ as the source of wisdom and from the conviction that in him all things can be brought to their completion. As a Catholic university, Notre Dame wishes to contribute to this educational mission. Mission Statement The University of Notre Dame is a Catholic academic community of higher learning, animated from its origins by the Congregation of Holy Cross. The University is dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of truth for its own sake. As a Catholic university, one of its distinctive goals is to provide a forum where, through free inquiry and open discussion, the various lines of Catholic thought may intersect with all the form.

What it reported doing in 2024

Academic Programs & Research - Provided academic instruction, support services, and public service and research opportunities to over 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students pursuing courses of study within six undergraduate colleges, a business school, a law school, an architecture school, a school of global affairs, and a graduate school. Instructional services resulted in the conferral of over 3,800 baccalaureate, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees. Academic support services included providing world-class library facilities, the publishing of numerous academic periodicals and volumes, and the operation of a museum of art. Additionally, the University provided students with numerous volunteer opportunities as well as financial support for other non-profit organizations, both directly and through its donor advised fund program. Finally, University researchers administered around 1,400 awards for studies based within the disciplines of engineering, science, and humanities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th 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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • 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: 89.7%; rating input score 90; 37th 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: 30.7%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.5; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 84.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 35 of 39 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $8.1M · 50 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $129M reported
  • Consistency: 53 of 53 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 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: 478 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 498 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.