Vanderbilt University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
620476822
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
6153436601
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,818,556,976
Expenses
$2,400,025,861
Assets
$14,819,492,400
Liabilities
$3,639,041,938

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

Leadership & pay

57 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Anders W Hall (See Schedule O): $8,427,395 total reported compensation
  • Jerry Stackhouse (See Schedule O): $4,788,385 total reported compensation
  • Clark Lea (See Schedule O): $4,354,357 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See Schedule O

What it reported doing in 2024

See Schedule O - Academic and Scientific Research

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 69% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 70% for direct work, and 30% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.06 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: 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 53rd 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: 14.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.17; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.3% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 34 of 35 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.9B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $8.4M · 57 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $293.6M 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: 233 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 240 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: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.