The Rockefeller University (the University) is a world renowned center for research (see schedule O) and graduate education in the biomedical sciences, chemistry, bioinformatics, and physics. The University's 82 laboratories conduct both clinical and basic research and study a diverse range of biological and biomedical problems with the mission of improving the understanding of life for the benefit of humanity. Laboratories are loosely clustered in nine research areas covering a wide spectrum of disciplines in the life sciences, including neuroscience, immunology, genetics, structural biology and bioinformatics. The University does not charge tuition. Its revenues are derived primarily from investment income, government grants and contracts, and private gifts and grants.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
71¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$10.9M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
0 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $55.4M a year · 11% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 0 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
71%
of spending
Fine: 71% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$10.9M
to officers and key staff · 2% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 2% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $2.34B in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 1.8 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
6
named funders · $327K
Looks good: 6 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.4B
37% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 37% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
40
of 43 voting members
Looks good: 40 of 43 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$455.4M
Spent
$549.3M
To programs
71%
Net assets
$2.5B
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$455.4M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$455.4M
FY2021$530.3M
FY2022$535.3M
FY2023$514.6M
FY2024$501.0M
FY2025$458.4M
Expenses
$549.3M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$549.3M
FY2021$585.0M
FY2022$596.1M
FY2023$521.2M
FY2024$571.3M
FY2025$504.4M
Net assets
$2.5B
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$2.5B
FY2021$3.0B
FY2022$2.7B
FY2023$2.6B
FY2024$2.5B
FY2025$2.6B

From the FY2020 Form 990 (year ending June 2020) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 1938.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

71 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 71% · $387.8M Management & general 28% · $152.3M Fundraising 2% · $9.2M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? Claim to add context

Who runs it and what they're paid

62 people listed on the 990; $10.9M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2020 filing did not itemize Part VII
VP & CIO
$1,452,137Pt VII · Sec A
$1,165,464Pt VII · Sec A
Deputy CIO
$913,988Pt VII · Sec A
SVP, Development
$725,957Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Academic Affairs
$690,053Pt VII · Sec A
VP & Physician-In-Chief
$659,485Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Vice President
$642,401Pt VII · Sec A
VP & General Counsel
$593,133Pt VII · Sec A

Paula Volent’s $1.9M as Chief Investment Officer is at the 89th 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Paula Volent$1,928,555$1,806,255$1,630,953$396,604——
Amy Falls———$200,194—$1,452,137
Amy Falls Till 42021————$1,439,048—
Richard P Lifton MD PHD$1,308,593$1,271,737$1,221,729$1,231,319$1,170,198$1,165,464
Betty Y Chen - Managing$926,322—————
Thomas Lenehan—————$913,988
Thomas Lenehan Till 122020————$911,783—
Maren Imhoff$803,309$731,411$736,718$720,446$689,310$725,957

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 Rockefeller University executive salaries →

On this list? Claim this org

Something off? Claim to add context

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
  • Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II8 listed

Programs and updates

Conducts advanced biomedical and scientific research while providing tuition-free graduate education to improve human health and understand life sciences.

Questions for Rockefeller University

Tap to ask. Rockefeller University sees how many people are interested.

Your first name shows with your question. Rockefeller University answers here, for everyone.

Provided by the organization

Know this org? Add your story

3 programs · $350.2M · in their own filed words · FY2019
01

Research Education

78 laboratories including 90 faculty members, 238 post-doctoral scholars, 218 graduate students and weill medical college of cornell university medical students.

$329.8Mprogram expense
02

Hospital

Consists of 40 beds and serves as a clinical research center for outpatients and inpatients. The rockefeller university hospital exists solely to conduct clinical research. The specialized personnel and other resources available at the hospital facilitate clinical research for both the investigator and the research participant.

$17.3Mprogram expense
03

Library contains 240,948 volumes (of which 189,696 are on-line) and 7,203 on-line subscriptions and is maintained on an open stock policy. The library strives to advance knowledge by supporting our university's world class research community with technology, innovation, and collaboration in the field of science information and…

$3.1Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
See all 6 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $37.3M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$10,585,013
Unitemized GrantFY2024$3,506,984
Unitemized GrantFY2020$7,635,503
Unitemized GrantFY2020$3,914,355
Unitemized GrantFY2019$7,128,097
Unitemized GrantFY2019$4,553,147

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$455.4M
Ln 12
Investment incomeLn 3$180.3M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$176.9M
Other incomeLn 4–11$65.8M
Money outPt IX
$549.3M
Ln 25
Programscol B$387.8M
Managementcol C$152.3M
Fundraisingcol D$9.2M
Owns and owesPt X
$2.5B
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$82.6M
Total assetsLn 16$3.9B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.4B
PeoplePt VI, VII
62
listed · VII A
PaidVII A17
Voting boardVI 1a43
IndependentVI 1b40
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$176.9M
Government grantsLn 1e$86.8M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$25.6M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$2.2M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$32.5M
Investment incomeLn 3$180.3M
Other incomeLn 4–11$65.8M
Gains on assetsLn 7$178.6M
Total revenueLn 12$455.4M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$38K
SavingsLn 2$82.6M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$82.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.34B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.17B
Other assetsLn 15$20.2M
Total assetsLn 16$3.9B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.4B
Net assetsLn 32$2.5B
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 51,717
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$72.9M$82.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.31B$2.34B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.21B$1.17B
Total assetsLn 16$3.90B$3.88B
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.32B$1.42B
Net assetsLn 32$2.59B$2.46B
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$11.7M$11.7M
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$7.2M$1.5M$5.0M$675K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$130.5M$111.7M$14.7M$4.1M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$11.8M$9.9M$1.4M$531K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$41.6M$34.0M$6.2M$1.4M
Payroll taxesLn 10$8.7M$7.3M$1.0M$304K
Legal feesLn 11b$1.2M$1.2M
Accounting feesLn 11c$443K$69K$374K
Investment management feesLn 11f$1.4M$1.4M
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$22.1M$21.3M$623K$128K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1.1M$442K$540K$162K
Office expensesLn 13$47.1M$46.0M$993K$96K
Information technologyLn 14$3.3M$2.9M$2K$440K
RoyaltiesLn 15$31.9M$31.9M
OccupancyLn 16$10.5M$9.9M$482K$115K
TravelLn 17$884K$802K$78K$4K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$1.3M$1.2M$117K$6K
InterestLn 20$36.7M$35.4M$1.3M
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$55.3M$50.3M$3.8M$1.2M
InsuranceLn 23$3.6M$905K$2.7M
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$121.0M$10.6M$110.3M
Total functional expensesLn 25$549.3M$387.8M$152.3M$9.2M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $458.4M$504.4M−$46.0M$2.6B 990 PDF
FY2024 $501.0M$571.3M−$70.3M$2.5B 990 PDF
FY2023 $514.6M$521.2M−$6.6M$2.6B 990 PDF
FY2022 $535.3M$596.1M−$60.7M$2.7B 990 PDF
FY2021 $530.3M$585.0M−$54.7M$3.0B 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $455.4M$549.3M−$93.9M$2.5B 990 PDF

More to add? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $455,447,251 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $206,273,540$176,863,709
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $33,258,211$32,531,806
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $169,023,416$180,279,702
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $51,666,548$65,772,034
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $460,221,715$455,447,251
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $12,027,771$11,681,244
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $187,601,553$199,725,366
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $382,495,600$337,902,695
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $582,124,924$549,309,305
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$121,903,209−$93,862,054
Part VI · Governance 40 of 43 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body43
VI-1b Independent voting members40
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $455,447,251 across 13 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $360,029 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$2,222,893
VIII-1e Government grants$86,812,921
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$87,827,895
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$25,635,652
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$176,863,709
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $8,917,871 · Excluded from tax $23,613,935$32,531,806
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $1,711,415$1,711,415
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $56,772,759$56,772,759
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $6,170,487$6,170,487
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsUnrelated business −$2,223,384 · Excluded from tax $180,791,671$178,568,287
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$198,642−$198,642
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $2,667,401$2,667,401
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $8,917,871 · Unrelated business −$2,223,384 · Excluded from tax $271,889,055$455,447,251
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $549,309,305 across 21 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $11,681,244$11,681,244
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $1,538,034 · Management $4,981,157 · Fundraising $674,600$7,193,791
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $111,669,870 · Management $14,702,305 · Fundraising $4,121,210$130,493,385
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $9,856,435 · Management $1,415,895 · Fundraising $530,675$11,803,005
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $33,974,689 · Management $6,196,751 · Fundraising $1,400,375$41,571,815
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $7,333,649 · Management $1,025,487 · Fundraising $304,234$8,663,370
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $1,209,217$1,209,217
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $68,533 · Management $374,487$443,020
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $1,439,238$1,439,238
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $21,341,555 · Management $623,205 · Fundraising $127,678$22,092,438
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $441,997 · Management $540,078 · Fundraising $161,747$1,143,822
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $45,992,853 · Management $993,126 · Fundraising $96,394$47,082,373
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $2,866,560 · Management $2,147 · Fundraising $439,536$3,308,243
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $31,922,373$31,922,373
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $9,919,152 · Management $481,692 · Fundraising $115,184$10,516,028
IX-17 TravelPrograms $802,065 · Management $77,887 · Fundraising $4,125$884,077
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $1,203,097 · Management $116,831 · Fundraising $6,187$1,326,115
IX-20 InterestPrograms $35,396,307 · Management $1,283,640$36,679,947
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $50,295,254 · Management $3,838,831 · Fundraising $1,204,247$55,338,332
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $904,946 · Management $2,658,896$3,563,842
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $10,613,311 · Management $110,340,319$120,953,630
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $387,821,924 · Management $152,301,189 · Fundraising $9,186,192$549,309,305
Part X · Balance sheet $3,879,645,094 assets, 22 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $37,155,889; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $33,230$38,433
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $72,839,187$82,573,981
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $243,701,417$213,249,491
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $6,802,748$8,789,670
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $756,195$1,023,791
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $3,254,069$3,515,408
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,205,856,387$1,171,360,181
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $1,279,900,855$1,142,058,651
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $1,026,023,689$1,195,688,985
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $3,985,948$3,979,320
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $23,904,536$20,211,294
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $3,904,497,928$3,879,645,094
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $55,110,334$42,196,323
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $6,710,849$14,912,836
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $704,232,262$795,709,598
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $5,115,000$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $522,992,531$464,419,781
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,319,160,976$1,417,583,538
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $635,867,644$362,918,488
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,949,469,308$2,099,143,068
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $2,585,336,952$2,462,061,556
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $3,904,497,928$3,879,645,094
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,462,061,556 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$455,447,251
XI-2 Total expenses$549,309,305
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$93,862,054
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$2,585,336,952
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$36,735,298
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$66,148,640
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,462,061,556

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

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.

Your org? Add context

Made it to the end? Claim this org

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 pay comparisons above.