Vassar College

Tax-deductible

Poughkeepsie, NY501(c)(3)Since 1861EIN 14-1338587

The mission of vassar college is to make accessible "the means of a thorough, well-proportioned and liberal education" that inspires each individual to lead a purposeful life. The college makes possible an education that promotes analytical, informed, and independent thinking and sound judgment; encourages articulate expression; and nurtures intellectual curiosity, creativity, respectful debate and engaged citizenship. Vassar supports a high standard of engagement in teaching and learning, scholarship and artistic endeavor; a broad and deep curriculum; and a residential campus that fosters a learning community. Founded in 1861 to provide women an education equal to that once available only to men, vassar is now open to all and strives to pursue diversity, inclusion, and equity as essential components of a rich intellectual and cultural environment in which all members, including those from underrepresented and marginalized groups, are valued and empowered to thrive.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
79¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 1,425 volunteers and 3,715 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $2.2M a year · under 1% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
79%
of spending
Looks good: 79% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$5.3M
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
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.1 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
17
named funders · $868K
Looks good: 17 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$355.3M
17% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 17% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
26
of 27 voting members
Looks good: 26 of 27 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$371.1M
+13% vs prior year
Spent
$352.9M
To programs
79%
Net assets
$1.7B
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$371.1M
FY2024▲ +13%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$260.0M
FY2021$315.0M
FY2022$307.2M
FY2023$284.4M
FY2024$327.5M
FY2024$371.1M
Expenses
$352.9M
FY2024▲ +10%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$277.2M
FY2021$284.0M
FY2022$294.8M
FY2023$305.4M
FY2024$321.6M
FY2024$352.9M
Net assets
$1.7B
FY2024▲ +7%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$1.3B
FY2021$1.6B
FY2022$1.4B
FY2023$1.5B
FY2024$1.6B
FY2024$1.7B

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2024 (typical filing lag)
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CVassar College
EINHdr · item D14-1338587
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 1938
Year of formationHdr · item L1861
Latest filingForm 990FY2024 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CPoughkeepsie, NY
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.vassar.edu

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.79 Management & general $0.17 Fundraising $0.04
Program services79%$278.2M
Management & general17%$60.0M
Fundraising4%$14.7M
Total functional expensesLn 25$352.9M

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Operating surplus
+5%
revenue over expenses, this legal entity▲ +173% vs prior filing year
Payroll share
44%
of this entity's spending is salaries & benefits▼ -4% vs prior filing year
Program spending
79%
of expenses reach program services▼ -1% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Total assets
$2.0B
FY2024▲ +6%
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2020$1.7B
FY2021$2.0B
FY2022$1.8B
FY2023$1.8B
FY2024$1.9B
FY2024$2.0B
Total liabilities
$355.3M
FY2024▲ +0.7%
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2020$384.3M
FY2021$378.0M
FY2022$362.3M
FY2023$368.5M
FY2024$352.8M
FY2024$355.3M
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$18.1M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$2.0B
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B79%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 327
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 426

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$61.7M
Total assetsLn 16$2.0B
Total liabilitiesLn 26$355.3M
Total net assetsLn 32$1.7B
Months of cash on handcomputed2.1

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$233.1M · 63%
Contributions & grants$71.1M · 19%
Investment income$63.1M · 17%
Other revenue$3.8M · 1%
Program service revenue63%$233.1M
Contributions & grants19%$71.1M
Investment income17%$63.1M
Other revenue1%$3.8M
— government grantsLn 1e$4.6M
Total revenueLn 12$371.1M

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $1.4B · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $352.9M · Less non-cash grants $18.7M · Cash operating expenses/yr $334.2M
52.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $278.2M · Total expenses $352.9M
79%
Management & General
Management & general $60.0M · Total expenses $352.9M
17%
Fundraising
Fundraising $14.7M · Total expenses $352.9M
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $14.3M · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $60.4M
$0.24 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $71.1M · Total revenue $371.1M
19%
Government reliance
Government grants $4.6M · Total revenue $371.1M
1%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $233.1M · Total revenue $371.1M
63%
Investment reliance
Investment income $63.1M · Total revenue $371.1M
+17%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $233.1M · Total expenses $352.9M
66%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $371.1M · Prior year $327.5M
+13%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $260.0M · FY2024 $371.1M
+7%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $1.7B · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $371.1M · Expenses $352.9M
+5%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $2.0B
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $1.7B · Total assets $2.0B
83%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $355.8M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $1.0B · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $2.0B
68%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Elizabeth Howe Bradley · Reported title PRESIDENT & TRUSTEE · Highest reported compensation $722K · Total expenses $352.9M
0.2%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $156.5M · Total expenses $352.9M
44%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 79%——
Overhead ratio 17%——
Fundraising cost ratio 21%——
Revenue growth 13%——

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.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & Trustee
$722,334Pt VII · Sec A
VP for Advancement
$407,033Pt VII · Sec A
VP for Finance & Administration
$370,963Pt VII · Sec A
Professor of Sociology
$315,064Pt VII · Sec A
Tech. & HR / Chief Info. Officer
$307,200Pt VII · Sec A
Dean of College
$304,569Pt VII · Sec A
General Counsel
$293,094Pt VII · Sec A
Professor of History
$292,628Pt VII · Sec A

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

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Elizabeth Howe Bradley$722,334—————
Elizabeth Howe Bradley—$673,418$641,989$570,677$545,652$530,528
Timothy Kane$407,033—————
Bryan a Swarthout$370,963—————
Timothy Kane—$364,752$352,350$332,982$332,614—
Bryan a Swarthout—$337,048$304,063$287,597$277,255—
Tim Kane—————$336,464
Stephen Dahnert - Through 01 2020————$188,217$315,255

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 Vassar College executive salaries →

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Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 27Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 26Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

What it does.

Provides a liberal education to inspire purposeful lives and engaged citizenship.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Vassar College claims this page.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $251.5M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Instruction

See schedule oinstruction - vassar fosters intellectual openness and exploration through its varied course offerings which includes 30 departments, 3 interdepartmental programs, 14 multidisciplinary programs, the interdisciplinary independent program, study abroad programs and 50 majors offering over 1,000 courses.

$176.9Mprogram expense
02

Academic Services

See schedule oacademic services - the college provides significant academic support services to enhance and strengthen students' educational experiences and outcomes. This includes faculty advising from new student orientation through graduation, a library with more than a million books and access to thousands of online journals, an art…

$39.9Mprogram expense
03

Student Services

See schedule ostudent services - as a residential college, vassar is committed to providing support services to help students make the most of their time at vassar. The division of the dean of the college provides and coordinates services that improve the quality of academic and co-curricular student life.

$34.7Mprogram expense

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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 17 funders →
Grants paid · 45 grants · $440.0M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$83,027,730
Unitemized GrantFY2024$874,397
Climate Vault INCIL · FY2024$101,230
Unitemized GrantFY2024$38,918
Angels of Light INCNY · FY2024$6,610
Unitemized GrantFY2023$73,557,040
Unitemized GrantFY2023$1,051,176
Unitemized GrantFY2023$142,846
Climate Vault INCIL · FY2023$98,770
Hudson River HousingNY · FY2023$8,568
Community Matters 2 INCNY · FY2023$5,500
Unitemized GrantFY2022$70,422,205
See all 45 grants →

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2024 $327.5M$321.6M+15% 990 PDF
FY2023 $284.4M$305.4M-7% 990 PDF
FY2022 $307.2M$294.8M-2% 990 PDF
FY2021 $315.0M$284.0M+21% 990 PDF
FY2020 $260.0M$277.2M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

Full filing: Form 990 for FY2024

Every line we hold from the return, cited to its Part and line.
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $352,948,624 across 26 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $210,168$210,168
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $83,941,045$83,941,045
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $858,195$858,195
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $2,922,933 · Management $1,227,502 · Fundraising $686,808$4,837,243
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $86,235,054 · Management $16,169,072 · Fundraising $5,389,691$107,793,817
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $7,191,901 · Management $1,089,682 · Fundraising $435,873$8,717,456
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $22,279,156 · Management $3,375,630 · Fundraising $1,350,252$27,005,038
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $6,489,411 · Management $1,216,764 · Fundraising $405,588$8,111,763
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $338,039$338,039
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $407,768$407,768
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $77,083$77,083
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $33,000$33,000
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $18,429,731$18,429,731
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $5,172,136 · Management $437,435 · Fundraising $3,062,044$8,671,615
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $148,104 · Management $10,285 · Fundraising $47,311$205,700
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $6,360,815 · Management $3,627,342 · Fundraising $470,432$10,458,589
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $5,376,821 · Management $1,527 · Fundraising $296$5,378,644
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $3,535 · Management $3,133$6,668
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $6,075,923 · Management $3,625,954 · Fundraising $97,999$9,799,876
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,680,508 · Management $475,574 · Fundraising $1,167,318$4,323,400
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $1,339,532 · Management $1,105,956 · Fundraising $812,083$3,257,571
IX-20 InterestPrograms $9,163,586 · Management $1,785,476 · Fundraising $198,386$11,147,448
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $15,771,975 · Management $3,073,808 · Fundraising $341,534$19,187,317
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $541,649 · Management $1,034,724 · Fundraising $192,245$1,768,618
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $13,296,208 · Management $1,975,207 · Fundraising $36,944$15,308,359
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $2,068,357 · Management $590,154 · Fundraising $15,962$2,674,473
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $278,204,095 · Management $60,000,763 · Fundraising $14,743,766$352,948,624

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

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