Worcester Polytechnic Institute EIN 04-2121659 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Worcester Polytechnic Institute FY2021 filing

Not yet claimed Claim this org →

Provides higher education and conducts applied science and engineering research to develop technological innovations that benefit society. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $398.2M in revenue, $398.5M in expenses, and $804.0M in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1865
Type
Higher education institution · Nonprofit
Location
Worcester, MA
Website
www.wpi.edu
Filings
5 on file (2020–2021)
Revenue
$398.2MFY2021
Expenses
$398.5M
Net assets
$804.0M
People
48
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  04-2121659 Higher education institution Worcester, MA Founded 1865
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
Compare with another nonprofit →
Figures match the IRS filing checked 7/4/26 · see original: IRS
Is this your organization?
Claim this profile to manage it and share your story.
Claim
Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Worcester Polytechnic Institute claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Size
$100M+
What they do
Provides higher education and conducts applied science and engineering research to develop technological innovations that benefit society.
Leadership
Laurie Leshin · President · $991K
Money in and out
$398.2M revenue, $398.5M expenses
Bottom line
-0.09% operating surplus
Financial scale & money flow · FY2021
Total revenue
$398.2M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$398.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$804.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$362K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.81 Management & general $0.17 Fundraising $0.02
Operating surplus
-0.09%
revenue over expenses, this legal entity
Payroll share
41%
of this entity's spending is salaries & benefits
Program spending
81%
of expenses reach program services

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$398.2M
FY2021▲ +4%
Expenses
$398.5M
FY2021▲ +2%
Total assets
$1.3B
FY2021▲ +12%
Total liabilities
$505.1M
FY2021▼ -1%
Total revenue
$398.2M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$398.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$804.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$362K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.3B
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B81%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 330
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 428

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CWorcester Polytechnic Institute
EINHdr · item D04-2121659
Principal addressHdr · item CWorcester, MA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.wpi.edu
Year of formationHdr · item L1865
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
Ruling yearIRS BMFAug 1934

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a30
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b28
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
President
$990,672Pt VII · Sec A
VP University Advancement
$571,124Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer, Executive VP, CFO
$493,020Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary & General Counsel
$449,315Pt VII · Sec A
$443,922Pt VII · Sec A
Dept Head Mechanical Eng
$353,091Pt VII · Sec A
Dean of Arts & Sciences
$349,395Pt VII · Sec A
Professor - Mechanical Eng
$330,984Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Laurie Leshin$1,146,542$1,905,265$990,672
Laurie Leshin$1,206,233
Jinliu Wang$995,961$807,682
Jeffrey Solomon$276,084$738,198$493,020
Stephen Flavin$729,114
Winston Soboyejo$540,190$726,939$564,121$443,922
David Bunis$552,517$574,842$571,132$608,493$449,315
Michael Horan$589,073$577,082$476,179$194,712

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.

See Worcester Polytechnic Institute executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $324.5M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

The university provides education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to approximately 4,900 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students. In addition, housing and board auxiliary services are provided for approximately 1,900 students.

$280.8Mprogram expense
02

At the university, 221 faculty and post doc researchers, and 546 students are engaged in cutting-edge research across a broad range of disciplines. The university receives research funding from a variety of sources, primarily from governmental organizations such as the national science foundation, department of defense, national…

$38.4Mprogram expense
03

The university's graduate studies division provides tailor-made programs to approximately 370 students, mainly at corporate student sites, using industry experts and dedicated program support staff.

$5.3Mprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$362.0M · 91%
Contributions & grants$32.5M · 8%
Investment income$3.5M · 1%
Program service revenue91%$362.0M
Contributions & grants8%$32.5M
Investment income1%$3.5M
Other revenue$228K
— government grantsLn 1e$1.5M
Total revenueLn 12$398.2M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.81 Management & general $0.17 Fundraising $0.02
Program services81%$324.5M
Management & general17%$66.3M
Fundraising2%$7.8M
Total functional expensesLn 25$398.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$58.1M
Total assetsLn 16$1.3B
Total liabilitiesLn 26$505.1M
Total net assetsLn 32$804.0M
Months of cash on handcomputed1.8

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $710.2M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $398.5M · Less non-cash grants $5.5M · Cash operating expenses/yr $393.0M
21.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $324.5M · Total expenses $398.5M
81%
Management & General
Management & general $66.3M · Total expenses $398.5M
17%
Fundraising
Fundraising $7.8M · Total expenses $398.5M
2%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $8.3M · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $31.1M
$0.27 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $32.5M · Total revenue $398.2M
8%
Government reliance
Government grants $1.5M · Total revenue $398.2M
0.4%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $362.0M · Total revenue $398.2M
91%
Investment reliance
Investment income $3.5M · Total revenue $398.2M
+0.9%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $362.0M · Total expenses $398.5M
91%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $398.2M · Prior year $384.5M
+4%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $804.0M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $398.2M · Expenses $398.5M
-0.09%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.3B
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $804.0M · Total assets $1.3B
61%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $78.6M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $573.4M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.3B
50%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Laurie Leshin · Reported title PRESIDENT · Highest reported compensation $991K · Total expenses $398.5M
0.2%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $164.6M · Total expenses $398.5M
41%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 81%
Overhead ratio 17%
Fundraising cost ratio 24%
Revenue growth 4%
Investment management fee ratio 0.09%
Legal fee ratio 0.4%
Accounting fee ratio 0.07%
Fundraising fee ratio 0.03%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 6 funders →
Grants paid · 251 grants · $785.0M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$155,149,656
Unitemized GrantFY2023$144,171,767
Assistments Foundation INCMA · FY2023$1,107,292
City of WorcesterFY2023$795,713
WestedCA · FY2023$613,927
Nc A&t State UniversityFY2023$408,750
University of IllinoisFY2023$313,431
University of MinnesotaFY2023$309,254
West Virginia UniversityWV · FY2023$295,310
Drexel UniversityPA · FY2023$291,080
Gdb InternationalFY2023$281,267
Lesley UniversityMA · FY2023$241,053
Institute of Gas TechnologyIL · FY2023$224,641
Univ of Massachusetts Medical SchoolFY2023$189,919
Trustees of Purdue UniversityIN · FY2023$175,452
University of MarylandFY2023$163,552
University of FloridaFL · FY2023$159,152
See all 251 grants →

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$490.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$462.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$444.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$398.2M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$384.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.