Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 1959.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
84 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
43 people listed on the 990; $3.4M paid to officers and key staff.
Jay Bernhardt’s $860K as President is at the 68th percentile of top reported officer pay among 674 $100M+ education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Gilligan | — | $463,837 | $934,593 | $632,465 | $290,638 | $277,333 |
| Jay Bernhardt | $859,615 | $512,601 | — | — | — | — |
| M Lee Pelton | — | — | — | $381,041 | $755,038 | $754,208 |
| Paul Dworkis | $452,976 | $456,992 | $436,023 | $359,120 | $356,922 | $52,154 |
| David Christopher Howse | — | $428,403 | $293,271 | $248,906 | — | — |
| Ronald Korvas | — | — | — | — | — | $410,563 |
| Michaele Whelan | — | — | — | $367,060 | $334,794 | $335,095 |
| Allison Dawson | $354,187 | — | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Educates and trains artists, communicators, and professionals through experiential teaching, inclusive performances, and supportive campus services to prepare them for impactful careers.
Questions for Emerson College
Your first name shows with your question. Emerson College answers here, for everyone.
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Emerson college provides undergraduate and graduate programs challenging students to think and communicate with clarity, substance and insight. The curriculum integrates communication with liberal arts and emphasizes a global outlook and practical experience to help develop the inherent capacities of each student.
Auxiliary enterprises provide services for the students to ensure they are appropriately supported. The services predominantly include room, board, theatre operations and the bookstore.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $69.4M | $73.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $200.3M | $183.9M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $763.4M | $774.0M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.05B | $1.05B |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $608.3M | $596.3M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $441.8M | $451.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $50.5M | $50.5M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $1.7M | $1.7M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $2.2M | $1.4M | $263K | $605K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $46K | $46K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $83.8M | $68.1M | $12.9M | $2.7M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $5.0M | $4.0M | $762K | $194K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $12.5M | $9.8M | $1.9M | $914K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $5.9M | $4.7M | $905K | $229K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $1.5M | $1.5M | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $316K | $316K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $50 | $50 | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $379K | $379K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.6M | $1.2M | $360K | $1K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.6M | $1.3M | $254K | $51K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $7.2M | $6.0M | $1.1M | $74K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $3.4M | $2.8M | $535K | $71K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $8.5M | $6.7M | $1.3M | $601K |
| TravelLn 17 | $2.0M | $1.6M | $310K | $53K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1.3M | $976K | $186K | $122K |
| InterestLn 20 | $22.0M | $18.5M | $3.5M | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $20.3M | $17.0M | $3.2M | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $5.0M | $4.2M | $793K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $33.3M | $27.2M | $5.8M | $300K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $270.1M | $227.7M | $36.4M | $6.0M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $340.2M | $348.8M | −$8.5M | $606.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $345.5M | $342.5M | $3.0M | $584.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $331.8M | $319.0M | $12.9M | $550.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $331.2M | $308.0M | $23.2M | $515.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $275.7M | $275.2M | $465K | $526.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $281.1M | $270.1M | $11.0M | $451.5M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $281,067,638 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 31 of 32 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $281,067,638 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $270,076,577 across 23 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,047,810,953 assets, 20 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $451,492,357 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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