Wake Forest University, a 501(c)(3) institution of higher education, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts and in graduate and professional education. The organization is comprised of seven constituent parts: Wake Forest College; the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; the School of Law; the School of Medicine; the School of Business; the School of Divinity; and the School of Professional Studies. It seeks to honor the ideals of liberal learning, which entail commitment to transmission of cultural heritages; teaching the modes of learning in the basic disciplines of human knowledge; developing critical appreciation of moral, aesthetic and religious values; advancing the frontiers of knowledge through in-depth study and research; and applying knowledge in the service of humanity.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
86¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$13.8M 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

FY2021 · 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
6 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $56.3M a year · 8% of revenue · last 6 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 6 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
86%
of spending
Looks good: 86% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$13.8M
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
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $1.65B in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 0.7 months of spending in cash, plus $1.65B in investments.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
24
named funders · $1.6M
Looks good: 24 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$810.1M
32% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 32% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
45
of 48 voting members
Looks good: 45 of 48 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$681.7M
+17% vs prior year
Spent
$585.2M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$1.8B
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$681.7M
FY2021▲ +17%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$583.4M
FY2021$681.7M
FY2022$715.4M
FY2023$686.9M
FY2024$764.4M
FY2025$843.2M
Expenses
$585.2M
FY2021▲ +1%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$577.6M
FY2021$585.2M
FY2022$628.0M
FY2023$654.8M
FY2024$705.7M
FY2025$786.3M
Net assets
$1.8B
FY2021▲ +22%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$1.4B
FY2021$1.8B
FY2022$1.8B
FY2023$1.9B
FY2024$2.0B
FY2025$2.1B

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 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 2001.

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

Where the money goes

86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 86% · $500.5M Management & general 11% · $63.9M Fundraising 4% · $20.7M

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

64 people listed on the 990; $13.8M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Football Coach
$3,356,169Pt VII · Sec A
Pres. & Trustee
$1,524,226Pt VII · Sec A
$1,122,469Pt VII · Sec A
Men's Bktball Co
$1,080,624Pt VII · Sec A
VP Career Development
$945,868Pt VII · Sec A
Men's Bktball Co
$769,379Pt VII · Sec A
VP - Advancement
$756,650Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Athletics
$715,044Pt VII · Sec A

David P Clawson’s $4.9M as Football Coach is at the 96th 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
Daniel R Manning———$14,658,459$769,379$2,539,220
David P Clawson$4,869,999$4,774,547$4,709,021$4,220,955$3,356,169$3,553,085
Steve Forbes$2,515,493$2,281,576$3,068,179$1,601,737$1,080,624—
B Hofler Milam$439,002$1,041,654$734,339$2,133,852$617,669$699,913
Nathan O Hatch——$965,961$1,893,057——
Nathan O Hatch PHD————$1,524,226$1,665,827
Susan R Wente PHD$1,519,832$1,473,696$1,398,169$692,191——
John a Currie$1,254,401$1,146,384$954,788$1,094,303$715,044$651,920

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

Provides higher education in the liberal arts, graduate, and professional fields while fostering student-led community service and extracurricular development.

Questions for Wake Forest University

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $460.7M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Founded in 1834, Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational collegiate university based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. One of the leading institutions of its kind, Wake Forest blends the intimacy of a liberal arts college with the academic vitality of a research university.

$278.6Mprogram expense
02

Residence Halls & Dining

In the interest of building community, Wake Forest requires all undergraduates to live on campus for at least three years. The University has done its part in this endeavor by acquiring, building or substantially renovating all residence halls in the past decade.

$117.1Mprogram expense
03

Campus Life

Approximately 200 student organizations are active at Wake Forest, providing extracurricular learning and service opportunities for their members and ancillary benefit to the campus and local communities.

$65.0Mprogram 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 24 funders →
Grants paid · 382 grants · $688.1M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$126,052,920
Unitemized GrantFY2024$6,461,465
Unitemized GrantFY2024$4,521,256
Unitemized GrantFY2024$1,679,390
Reynolda House INCNC · FY2024$1,346,455
Unitemized GrantFY2024$1,190,052
Unitemized GrantFY2024$916,634
Montclair State UniversityFY2024$507,500
Trustees of Purdue UniversityIN · FY2024$500,000
Arizona State UniversityFY2024$500,000
See all 382 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$681.7M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$479.0M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$120.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$71.2M
Money outPt IX
$585.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$500.5M
Managementcol C$63.9M
Fundraisingcol D$20.7M
Owns and owesPt X
$1.8B
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$34.6M
Total assetsLn 16$2.6B
LiabilitiesLn 26$810.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
64
listed · VII A
PaidVII A15
Voting boardVI 1a48
IndependentVI 1b45
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$120.0M
Government grantsLn 1e$18.0M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$19.9M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$30K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$479.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$71.2M
Other incomeLn 4–11$11.6M
Gains on assetsLn 7$66.6M
Total revenueLn 12$681.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
SavingsLn 2$34.6M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$34.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.65B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$678.0M
Other assetsLn 15$40.3M
Total assetsLn 16$2.6B
LiabilitiesLn 26$810.1M
Net assetsLn 32$1.8B
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 56,118
VolunteersI 62,200
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 FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$53.6M$34.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.17B$1.65B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$701.0M$678.0M
Total assetsLn 16$2.14B$2.57B
LiabilitiesLn 26$697.7M$810.1M
Net assetsLn 32$1.44B$1.76B
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$3.8M$3.8M
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$127.1M$127.1M
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$877K$877K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$9.6M$3.8M$4.8M$962K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$217.3M$177.4M$28.8M$11.1M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$18.0M$14.6M$2.5M$959K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$29.7M$21.5M$4.7M$3.5M
Payroll taxesLn 10$14.3M$11.6M$2.0M$755K
Legal feesLn 11b$1.9M$900K$1.0M
Accounting feesLn 11c$290K$13K$277K
Investment management feesLn 11f$7.1M$4.6M$2.5M
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$15.4M$12.7M$1.3M$1.4M
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2.3M$1.9M$129K$192K
Office expensesLn 13$8.1M$6.9M$550K$690K
Information technologyLn 14$3.0M$2.5M$430K$67K
RoyaltiesLn 15$88K$88K
OccupancyLn 16$7.7M$6.3M$1.5M
TravelLn 17$3.4M$3.2M$212K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$4.4M$3.8M$635K$29K
InterestLn 20$15.8M$15.1M$685K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$49.9M$44.5M$5.4M
InsuranceLn 23$2.2M$777K$1.4M
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$34.9M$31.5M$2.9M$475K
All other expensesLn 24e$7.9M$5.1M$2.1M$695K
Total functional expensesLn 25$585.2M$500.5M$63.9M$20.7M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $843.2M$786.3M$56.9M$2.1B 990 PDF
FY2024 $764.4M$705.7M$58.7M$2.0B 990 PDF
FY2023 $686.9M$654.8M$32.1M$1.9B 990 PDF
FY2022 $715.4M$628.0M$87.5M$1.8B 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $681.7M$585.2M$96.5M$1.8B 990 PDF
FY2020 $583.4M$577.6M$5.8M$1.4B 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $681,736,258 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $86,034,682$119,975,960
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $463,431,893$478,997,743
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $19,653,042$71,186,988
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $14,324,110$11,575,567
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $583,443,727$681,736,258
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $124,978,047$131,751,719
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $278,237,874$288,956,082
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $174,381,397$164,480,640
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $577,597,318$585,188,441
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $5,846,409$96,547,817
Part VI · Governance 45 of 48 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body48
VI-1b Independent voting members45
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 $681,736,258 across 14 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $8,008,477 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$30,287
VIII-1d Related organizations$1,059,042
VIII-1e Government grants$18,001,680
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$100,884,951
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$19,881,019
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$119,975,960
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $474,065,130$474,065,130
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business −$1,107,674 · Excluded from tax $5,681,823$4,574,149
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $2,482,462$2,482,462
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossUnrelated business $295,490 · Excluded from tax $2,095,588$2,391,078
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $66,612,839$66,612,839
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $929$929
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $2,015,064 · Excluded from tax $1,610,170$3,625,234
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $480,925,407 · Unrelated business $877,511 · Excluded from tax $79,957,380$681,736,258
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $585,188,441 across 24 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $3,792,866$3,792,866
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $127,081,874$127,081,874
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $876,979$876,979
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $3,849,834 · Management $4,812,293 · Fundraising $962,459$9,624,586
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $177,446,148 · Management $28,816,225 · Fundraising $11,052,823$217,315,196
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $14,566,308 · Management $2,502,042 · Fundraising $959,169$18,027,519
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $21,475,930 · Management $4,687,073 · Fundraising $3,488,356$29,651,359
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $11,584,280 · Management $1,997,669 · Fundraising $755,473$14,337,422
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $899,995 · Management $1,007,009$1,907,004
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $13,385 · Management $276,627$290,012
IX-11f Investment management feesPrograms $4,618,664 · Management $2,486,973$7,105,637
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $12,720,010 · Management $1,317,554 · Fundraising $1,379,924$15,417,488
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,935,890 · Management $129,403 · Fundraising $191,532$2,256,825
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $6,908,859 · Management $549,624 · Fundraising $690,280$8,148,763
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $2,503,987 · Management $430,439 · Fundraising $66,638$3,001,064
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $88,459$88,459
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $6,291,565 · Management $1,456,237$7,747,802
IX-17 TravelPrograms $3,184,835 · Management $212,274$3,397,109
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $3,781,808 · Management $634,655 · Fundraising $28,924$4,445,387
IX-20 InterestPrograms $15,066,426 · Management $685,050$15,751,476
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $44,471,774 · Management $5,446,297$49,918,071
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $776,813 · Management $1,440,227$2,217,040
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $31,518,245 · Management $2,897,349 · Fundraising $474,986$34,890,580
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $5,061,198 · Management $2,141,702 · Fundraising $695,023$7,897,923
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $500,516,132 · Management $63,926,722 · Fundraising $20,745,587$585,188,441
Part X · Balance sheet $2,570,183,256 assets, 21 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $15,283,313; see the IRS return.
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $53,553,830$34,574,723
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $120,904,564$130,868,473
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $22,317,614$15,517,908
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $736,642$799,304
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $4,872,645$5,530,407
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $701,043,892$678,020,843
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $237,999,279$459,533,537
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $935,474,894$1,189,791,612
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $43,812,070$40,263,136
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $2,139,822,388$2,570,183,256
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $35,898,493$65,378,912
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $4,533,130$2,049,160
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $24,026,032$29,033,914
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $254,480,295$252,489,967
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $125,000,000$250,000,000
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $138,995,176$138,269,432
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $697,653,121$810,138,099
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $645,487,121$755,194,751
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $796,682,146$1,004,850,406
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,442,169,267$1,760,045,157
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $2,139,822,388$2,570,183,256
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,760,045,157 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$681,736,258
XI-2 Total expenses$585,188,441
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$96,547,817
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,442,169,267
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$221,328,073
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,760,045,157

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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