Carleton College EIN 41-0694747 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Carleton College FY2023 filing

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Provides an exceptional undergraduate liberal arts education alongside residential student services, co-curricular activities, and recreational opportunities for over 2,000 students. For fiscal year 2023 it reported $296.5M in revenue, $240.0M in expenses, and $1.6B in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1866
Type
Higher education institution · Colleges & Universities
Location
Northfield, MN
Website
www.carleton.edu
Filings
6 on file (2020–2023)
Revenue
$296.5MFY2023
Expenses
$240.0M
Net assets
$1.6B
People
44
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  41-0694747 Higher education institution Northfield, MN Founded 1866
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 7/4/26 · see original: IRS
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Size
$100M+
What they do
Provides an exceptional undergraduate liberal arts education alongside residential student services, co-curricular activities, and recreational opportunities for over 2,000 students.
Leadership
Kelsey Deshler · Chief Investment Officer · $789K
Money in and out
$296.5M revenue, $240.0M expenses
Bottom line
+19% operating surplus
Financial scale & money flow · FY2023
Total revenue
$296.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$240.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.6B
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $56.5M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.88 Management & general $0.09 Fundraising $0.03
Operating surplus
+19%
revenue over expenses, this legal entity
Payroll share
41%
of this entity's spending is salaries & benefits
Program spending
88%
of expenses reach program services

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Revenue
$296.5M
FY2023▲ +6%
Expenses
$240.0M
FY2023▲ +7%
Total assets
$1.7B
FY2023▲ +4%
Total liabilities
$162.2M
FY2023▼ -3%
Total revenue
$296.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$240.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.6B
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$56.5M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.7B
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B88%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 331
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 430

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CCarleton College
EINHdr · item D41-0694747
Principal addressHdr · item CNorthfield, MN
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.carleton.edu
Year of formationHdr · item L1866
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMN
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFColleges & Universities (B42Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJun 1938

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a31
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b30
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 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Chief Investment Officer
$789,397Pt VII · Sec A
President
$669,567Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Investments
$514,098Pt VII · Sec A
President (former)
$371,884Pt VII · Sec A
VP for External Relations
$365,733Pt VII · Sec A
Dean of the College (former)
$335,585Pt VII · Sec A
VP and Treasurer
$315,339Pt VII · Sec A
VP & Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid
$258,342Pt VII · Sec A

Kelsey Deshler’s $926K as Chief Investment Officer is at the 71st 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
Steven G Poskanzer$191,161$186,576$371,884$929,007$490,860$501,366
Kelsey Deshler$925,537$928,506$789,397$682,497$524,127$662,584
Alison Byerly$736,099$700,689$669,567$309,081
Timothy Griffeth$508,373$597,384$514,098$446,348$362,832$342,367
Thomas Bonner$437,791$365,733$412,431$343,358$348,313
Eric Runestad$368,659$333,913$315,339$288,080$137,094
Frederick a Rogers$345,305$352,662
Beverly Nagel$335,585$337,224$320,902$324,466

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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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $184.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2022.
01

Instruction

Carleton college exists to provide an exceptional liberal arts education for students, preparing them for leadership in their communities, countries and the world (2,007 students). A student - faculty ratio of 8:1 supports classroom, laboratory, off-campus study and research opportunities, average class size is 16, student financial aid…

$132.7Mprogram expense
02

Academic Support

Programs to enhance the carleton liberal arts experience with library and information technology resources (2,007 students).

$32.1Mprogram expense
03

Auxiliary Enterprises

Carleton college maintains a rural residential campus to enhance the educational experience of the student body with room and board programs designed to encourage a spirit of collegiality and conversation beyond the classroom and laboratory (1,931 students).

$19.4Mprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$153.6M · 52%
Investment income$92.5M · 31%
Contributions & grants$46.0M · 15%
Other revenue$4.5M · 2%
Program service revenue52%$153.6M
Investment income31%$92.5M
Contributions & grants15%$46.0M
Other revenue2%$4.5M
— government grantsLn 1e$8.3M
Total revenueLn 12$296.5M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.88 Management & general $0.09 Fundraising $0.03
Program services88%$210.7M
Management & general9%$22.3M
Fundraising3%$6.9M
Total functional expensesLn 25$240.0M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$31.7M
Total assetsLn 16$1.7B
Total liabilitiesLn 26$162.2M
Total net assetsLn 32$1.6B
Months of cash on handcomputed1.6

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $1.3B · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $240.0M · Less non-cash grants $11.6M · Cash operating expenses/yr $228.3M
69.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $210.7M · Total expenses $240.0M
88%
Management & General
Management & general $22.3M · Total expenses $240.0M
9%
Fundraising
Fundraising $6.9M · Total expenses $240.0M
3%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $6.6M · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $53.0M
$0.13 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $46.0M · Total revenue $296.5M
15%
Government reliance
Government grants $8.3M · Total revenue $296.5M
3%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $153.6M · Total revenue $296.5M
52%
Investment reliance
Investment income $92.5M · Total revenue $296.5M
+31%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $153.6M · Total expenses $240.0M
64%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $296.5M · Prior year $281.0M
+6%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $1.6B · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $296.5M · Expenses $240.0M
+19%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.7B
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $1.6B · Total assets $1.7B
91%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $563.3M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $735.5M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.7B
75%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Kelsey Deshler · Reported title CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER · Highest reported compensation $789K · Total expenses $240.0M
0.3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $98.9M · Total expenses $240.0M
41%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 88%
Overhead ratio 9%
Fundraising cost ratio 15%
Revenue growth 6%
Investment management fee ratio 0.4%
Legal fee ratio 0.06%
Accounting fee ratio 0.04%

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 7 funders →
Grants paid · 39 grants · $337.3M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$68,060,091
Northfield Public SchoolsFY2024$1,000,000
University of ConnecticutFY2024$227,555
University of Wisconsin - MadisonFY2024$159,981
BiodiversityME · FY2024$110,594
University of California - DavisFY2024$90,117
City of NorthfieldFY2024$85,000
University of WashingtonFY2024$41,251
University of San DiegoCA · FY2024$35,547
Unitemized GrantFY2023$61,540,680
University of ConnecticutFY2023$200,180
University of Wisconsin - MadisonFY2023$127,156
City of NorthfieldFY2023$80,000
University of WashingtonFY2023$27,119
University of California - DavisFY2023$24,206
BiodiversityME · FY2023$23,613
Unitemized GrantFY2022$56,677,887
City of NorthfieldFY2022$80,000
See all 39 grants →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$315.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$279.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$296.5M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$281.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$320.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$240.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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