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.
$17.6M 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

FY2023 · 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
$17.6M
to officers and key staff · 3% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 3% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $1.69B in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 1.1 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
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
$802.5M
30% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 30% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
46
of 48 voting members
Looks good: 46 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
$686.9M
-4% vs prior year
Spent
$654.8M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$1.9B
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$686.9M
FY2023▼ -4%
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
$654.8M
FY2023▲ +4%
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
$1.9B
FY2023▲ +4%
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 FY2023 Form 990 (year ending June 2023) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 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% · $560.6M Management & general 11% · $69.7M Fundraising 4% · $24.5M

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

63 people listed on the 990; $17.6M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Football Coach
$4,709,021Pt VII · Sec A
Men's Bktball Co
$3,068,179Pt VII · Sec A
President & Trustee
$1,398,169Pt VII · Sec A
F'Ball Offensive Coordinator
$1,053,375Pt VII · Sec A
Former President
$965,961Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Athletics
$954,788Pt VII · Sec A
Former Provost
$872,064Pt VII · Sec A
$826,580Pt 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 · $536.8M · in their own filed words · FY2022
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.

$331.0Mprogram 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. The Division of Residence Life and Housing (RLH) maintains 27 facilities.

$124.1Mprogram expense
03

Campus Life

Wake Forest is committed to putting the spirit of its motto, Pro Humanitate, in action. Student Organizations: 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.

$81.7Mprogram 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 FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$686.9M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$541.0M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$74.1M
Investment incomeLn 3$48.4M
Money outPt IX
$654.8M
Ln 25
Programscol B$560.6M
Managementcol C$69.7M
Fundraisingcol D$24.5M
Owns and owesPt X
$1.9B
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$60.0M
Total assetsLn 16$2.7B
LiabilitiesLn 26$802.5M
PeoplePt VI, VII
63
listed · VII A
PaidVII A15
Voting boardVI 1a48
IndependentVI 1b46
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$74.1M
Government grantsLn 1e$12.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$11.3M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$126K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$541.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$48.4M
Other incomeLn 4–11$23.4M
Gains on assetsLn 7$21.7M
Total revenueLn 12$686.9M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$1
SavingsLn 2$60.0M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$60.0M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.69B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$728.5M
Other assetsLn 15$26.9M
Total assetsLn 16$2.7B
LiabilitiesLn 26$802.5M
Net assetsLn 32$1.9B
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 FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$44.6M$60.0M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.62B$1.69B
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$704.3M$728.5M
Total assetsLn 16$2.57B$2.66B
LiabilitiesLn 26$782.6M$802.5M
Net assetsLn 32$1.79B$1.85B
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$5.6M$5.6M
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$127.6M$127.6M
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$1.4M$1.4M
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$9.0M$3.6M$4.5M$898K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$238.9M$197.8M$29.2M$11.9M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$17.2M$13.7M$2.5M$1.0M
Other employee benefitsLn 9$30.2M$21.9M$4.7M$3.7M
Payroll taxesLn 10$16.0M$12.6M$2.5M$866K
Legal feesLn 11b$1.7M$1.1M$594K
Accounting feesLn 11c$250K$250K
Investment management feesLn 11f$9.2M$6.0M$3.2M
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$27.6M$22.5M$2.9M$2.2M
Advertising and promotionLn 12$4.2M$3.5M$416K$249K
Office expensesLn 13$10.8M$9.2M$589K$943K
Information technologyLn 14$4.1M$3.4M$613K$128K
RoyaltiesLn 15$2K$2K
OccupancyLn 16$10.3M$10.2M$99K$6K
TravelLn 17$16.0M$15.3M$196K$568K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$5.7M$5.0M$629K$107K
InterestLn 20$20.1M$19.4M$747K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$51.8M$45.6M$6.1M
InsuranceLn 23$3.4M$951K$2.5M
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$33.1M$25.6M$6.8M$736K
All other expensesLn 24e$10.6M$8.8M$641K$1.2M
Total functional expensesLn 25$654.8M$560.6M$69.7M$24.5M

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 Viewing $686.9M$654.8M$32.1M$1.9B 990 PDF
FY2022 $715.4M$628.0M$87.5M$1.8B 990 PDF
FY2021 $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 FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $686,860,190 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $123,550,270$74,090,708
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $510,330,123$541,023,038
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $61,644,679$48,365,539
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $19,913,432$23,380,905
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $715,438,504$686,860,190
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $135,909,105$134,557,551
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $307,076,529$311,342,799
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $184,980,150$208,892,391
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $627,965,784$654,792,741
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $87,472,720$32,067,449
Part VI · Governance 46 of 48 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body48
VI-1b Independent voting members46
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 $686,860,190 across 14 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $13,314,880 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$126,324
VIII-1d Related organizations$1,000,000
VIII-1e Government grants$12,296,465
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$60,667,919
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$11,301,250
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$74,090,708
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $536,087,627$536,087,627
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $544,822 · Excluded from tax $26,099,998$26,644,820
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $4,417,383$4,417,383
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossUnrelated business $1,289,111 · Excluded from tax $429,955$1,719,066
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $21,720,719$21,720,719
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $22,170$22,170
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $4,884,236 · Excluded from tax $3,958,581$8,842,817
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $545,180,381 · Unrelated business $8,110,860 · Excluded from tax $59,478,241$686,860,190
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $654,792,741 across 24 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $5,590,261$5,590,261
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $127,602,439$127,602,439
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $1,364,851$1,364,851
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $3,590,544 · Management $4,488,181 · Fundraising $897,636$8,976,361
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $197,774,947 · Management $29,204,733 · Fundraising $11,912,982$238,892,662
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $13,699,274 · Management $2,537,537 · Fundraising $1,004,256$17,241,067
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $21,915,895 · Management $4,664,079 · Fundraising $3,664,994$30,244,968
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $12,585,568 · Management $2,536,518 · Fundraising $865,655$15,987,741
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $1,122,166 · Management $593,905$1,716,071
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $250,491$250,491
IX-11f Investment management feesPrograms $5,986,965 · Management $3,223,751$9,210,716
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $22,549,201 · Management $2,886,593 · Fundraising $2,196,633$27,632,427
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $3,499,275 · Management $416,115 · Fundraising $248,850$4,164,240
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $9,222,492 · Management $588,885 · Fundraising $942,965$10,754,342
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $3,378,935 · Management $612,671 · Fundraising $128,120$4,119,726
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $1,527$1,527
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $10,184,946 · Management $98,860 · Fundraising $6,060$10,289,866
IX-17 TravelPrograms $15,266,528 · Management $196,458 · Fundraising $567,931$16,030,917
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $5,011,049 · Management $629,287 · Fundraising $106,822$5,747,158
IX-20 InterestPrograms $19,361,348 · Management $746,679$20,108,027
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $45,647,784 · Management $6,114,946$51,762,730
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $951,403 · Management $2,467,226$3,418,629
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $25,568,075 · Management $6,752,541 · Fundraising $736,127$33,056,743
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $8,758,777 · Management $640,904 · Fundraising $1,229,100$10,628,781
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $560,634,250 · Management $69,650,360 · Fundraising $24,508,131$654,792,741
Part X · Balance sheet $2,655,159,124 assets, 21 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $7,819,939; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearing$1
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $44,579,369$59,977,241
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $142,015,776$118,779,415
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $16,434,847$20,521,856
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $927,945$841,896
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $5,336,212$6,179,658
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $704,264,389$728,541,500
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $436,077,165$460,124,525
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $1,181,992,165$1,225,505,150
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $29,488,952$26,867,943
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $2,572,484,456$2,655,159,124
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $55,228,308$51,876,837
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $32,411,634$73,530,983
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $251,304,389$250,056,162
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $250,000,000$250,000,000
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $124,336,475$114,906,033
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $782,553,773$802,519,631
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $763,494,514$824,360,176
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,026,436,169$1,028,279,317
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,789,930,683$1,852,639,493
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $2,572,484,456$2,655,159,124
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,852,639,493 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$686,860,190
XI-2 Total expenses$654,792,741
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$32,067,449
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,789,930,683
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$30,641,361
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,852,639,493

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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