York University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237069967
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
Phone
4167365811
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,017,395,087
Expenses
$1,018,036,554
Assets
$2,738,822,163
Liabilities
$1,338,219,105

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

Leadership & pay

53 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR RHONDA L Lenton (President and Vice Chancellor / Professor)
  • Carol McAulay (Vice President Finance and Administration)
  • David Peters (Vice-President Academic and Provost/Professor)
  • Kishinchandani Narinder (Vice-President Office of VPFA)
  • Laina Bay-Cheng (Vice-President Equity, People & Culture (interim))
  • Lisa Colleen Philipps (Provost and Vice President Academic / Senior Advisor / Professor)

Highest reported compensation

  • Steven Hoffman (Professor/Senior Advisor/Advisor/Endowed Chair): $493,410 total reported compensation
  • DR RHONDA L Lenton (President and Vice Chancellor / Professor): $412,037 total reported compensation
  • David Peters (Vice-President Academic and Provost/Professor): $375,789 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

York University’s mission is the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge, with a community committed to academic freedom, social justice, accessible education, and collegial self-governance; York also describes “innovation” as its tradition. Information and support for York employees viewing and applying for jobs. Interior of a university building with students in motion Well-being at York U. Computing Support Concur - Expense Reporting Data Hub - Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis (OIPA). Looking to host an event? Our **revamped catering program** offers exclusive discounts for student organizations. We’re not just about great food—we’re committed to a better planet. Our sustainability efforts include **reusable Friendlier containers** , waste-reduction programs, and support for the **UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)**. Even our coffee makes a difference: it’s...

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2025, York University ranked as one of the world's top 38 universities in The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for advancing the SDGs through world-class research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching. We have also been recognized as a Canada's Best Diversity Employer and one of Canada's Greenest Employers for the 12th year in a row. In November 2024, York University's Markham Campus officially opened its doors welcoming students state-of-the-art building for the start of the academic year. The new campus offers 14 innovative, interdisciplinary programs that focus on technology, entrepreneurship, experiential learning and will educate 4,200 students. In July 2025, York University officially established the School of Medicine as a new academic unit within the Faculty of Health. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at the heart of our current University Academic Plan 2020-2025: Building a Better Future and inform everything we do - from our academic and collaborative endeavors to our goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. As we approach the halfway mark towards the SDGs' deadline, global challenges such as climate crisis, geopolitical conflicts, biodiversity loss, volatile labour markets, and rising inequality continue to present obstacles to the achievement of the SDGs and to the higher education sector more broadly. In Fall 2024, York University's Glendon College launched a new core Curriculum offering all undergraduates a shared foundation in knowledge and skills to foster intercultural competence, intellectual growth and a sense of community. A new library has opened at York University's Markham Campus. A $1.5 million investment from Bank of Montreal has helped launch the BMO Future Leaders Finance Lab at York University's Schulich School of Business. In January 2025, Osgoode Professional Development (OsgoodePD) at York University introduced SIMPLE (SIMulated Professional Learning Environment), an innovative legal simulation platform that is transforming how future lawyers learn.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 60% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 79.6%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $71.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • 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: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd 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%; rating input score 97; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.1%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.69; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.49; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 80.5% of revenue deployed · 79.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 33 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $810.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $493K · 53 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $40.8M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 40 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 33 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.

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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.