Elon University

Tax-deductible

Elon, NC501(c)(3)Since 1901Colleges & UniversitiesEIN 56-0532303Revenue $441.4M in FY2025

On file with the IRSelon.eduPo Box 398, 27244-0398 · Elon, NCTax-exempt since May 1939School — 170(b)(1)(A)(ii)

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Elon university's mission is to transform the mind, body, and spirit and encourage freedom of thought and liberty of conscience. The University provides a liberal arts undergraduate curriculum and graduate programs.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
86¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 3,582 volunteers and 4,885 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · 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 $25.6M a year · 7% 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
$4.5M
to officers and key staff · 1% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 56% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 1% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.4 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
9
named funders · $197K
Looks good: 9 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$290.0M
23% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 23% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
37
of 37 voting members
Looks good: 37 of 37 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$441.4M
+7% vs prior year
Spent
$435.5M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$960.0M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$441.4M
FY2025▲ +7%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$328.5M
FY2021$352.2M
FY2022$374.2M
FY2023$389.1M
FY2024$413.0M
FY2025$441.4M
Expenses
$435.5M
FY2025▲ +9%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$314.8M
FY2021$303.1M
FY2022$328.2M
FY2023$364.6M
FY2024$398.3M
FY2025$435.5M
Net assets
$960.0M
FY2025▲ +6%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$646.3M
FY2021$770.6M
FY2022$803.2M
FY2023$834.8M
FY2024$905.4M
FY2025$960.0M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending May 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 1939.

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% · $374.2M Management & general 12% · $52.2M Fundraising 2% · $9.1M

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

49 people listed on the 990; $4.5M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$646,310Pt VII · Sec A
Head Men's Basketball Coach
$467,446Pt VII · Sec A
Football Coach
$393,001Pt VII · Sec A
VP for Finance and Administration
$382,676Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Pres - Uni. Advancement
$379,079Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Athletics
$366,581Pt VII · Sec A
Provost, VP Academic Affairs
$360,739Pt VII · Sec A
Dean-School of Bus.
$357,812Pt VII · Sec A

Dr Constance L Book’s $646K as President is at the 56th 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
Dr Constance L Book$646,310$624,612$603,569$569,548$556,791$562,734
Dr Leo Lambert—$306,116$298,411$287,022$284,841$547,265
Dr Steven House—$122,242$124,432$217,414$471,190$348,250
William Taylor$467,446$455,250$310,415———
Gerald Whittington—$146,606$263,389$430,452$441,386$434,965
James Piatt$379,079$406,393$384,422$320,333$317,985$313,822
Tony Trisciani$393,001$379,053$353,521$349,034$344,293$334,362
Mike Schrage———$389,173$379,194$309,919

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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Provides a liberal arts undergraduate curriculum and graduate programs to transform students' minds, bodies, and spirits while encouraging freedom of thought.

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3 programs · $361.0M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Instruction

Expenses related to providing the primary purpose of education for undergraduate and graduate students.

$242.5Mprogram expense
02

Student Services

Expenses related to the primary purpose of contributing to students' emotional and physical well-being and intellectual, cultural, and social development. Athletics is included within this division.

$60.6Mprogram expense
03

Auxiliary Services

Expenses related to the function of furnishing goods or services to students, faculty, or staff. Examples are residence halls and food services.

$57.9Mprogram 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 9 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $439.0M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$98,401,943
Unitemized GrantFY2023$82,635,678
Unitemized GrantFY2022$72,218,357
Unitemized GrantFY2021$64,271,164
Unitemized GrantFY2020$62,203,963
Unitemized GrantFY2019$59,253,332

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$441.4M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$402.6M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$24.2M
Other incomeLn 4–11$14.6M
Money outPt IX
$435.5M
Ln 25
Programscol B$374.2M
Managementcol C$52.2M
Fundraisingcol D$9.1M
Owns and owesPt X
$960.0M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$85.6M
Total assetsLn 16$1.2B
LiabilitiesLn 26$290.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
49
listed · VII A
PaidVII A12
Voting boardVI 1a37
IndependentVI 1b37
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$24.2M
Government grantsLn 1e$4.4M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$3.0M
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$499K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$402.6M
Other incomeLn 4–11$14.6M
Gains on assetsLn 7−$465K
Total revenueLn 12$441.4M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
SavingsLn 2$85.6M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$85.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$554.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$570.5M
Other assetsLn 15$29.5M
Total assetsLn 16$1.2B
LiabilitiesLn 26$290.0M
Net assetsLn 32$960.0M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 54,885
VolunteersI 63,582
Fiscal year endsHeaderMay
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 FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$74.5M$85.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$531.2M$554.8M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$559.1M$570.5M
Total assetsLn 16$1.21B$1.25B
LiabilitiesLn 26$301.6M$290.0M
Net assetsLn 32$905.4M$960.0M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$98.4M$98.4M
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$3.0M$733K$1.6M$693K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$143.4M$119.5M$18.8M$5.1M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$8.8M$7.5M$1.2M$182K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$21.3M$17.0M$3.5M$765K
Payroll taxesLn 10$10.5M$8.6M$1.6M$331K
Management feesLn 11a$19K$19K
Legal feesLn 11b$1.6M$68K$1.5M$21K
Accounting feesLn 11c$112K$112K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$48K$48K
Investment management feesLn 11f$1.9M$1.6M$299K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$30.2M$25.8M$4.1M$260K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2.1M$1.5M$544K$130K
Office expensesLn 13$9.6M$7.4M$1.9M$331K
Information technologyLn 14$3.9M$1.6M$2.2M$12K
RoyaltiesLn 15$15K$3K$12K
OccupancyLn 16$12.1M$11.9M$204K$33K
TravelLn 17$29.2M$27.3M$1.5M$372K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$2.3M$1.5M$570K$138K
InterestLn 20$1.1M$1.1M
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$17.7M$17.4M$277K
InsuranceLn 23$4.3M$426K$3.8M$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$27.8M$24.7M$2.3M$740K
All other expensesLn 24e$6.2M$0$6.2M$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$435.5M$374.2M$52.2M$9.1M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $441.4M$435.5M$5.9M$960.0M 990 PDF
FY2024 $413.0M$398.3M$14.7M$905.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $389.1M$364.6M$24.5M$834.8M 990 PDF
FY2022 $374.2M$328.2M$46.1M$803.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $352.2M$303.1M$49.1M$770.6M 990 PDF
FY2020 $328.5M$314.8M$13.7M$646.3M 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
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $441,401,510 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $20,232,847$24,183,747
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $380,639,035$402,610,014
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $8,194−$465,416
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $12,113,899$15,073,165
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $412,993,975$441,401,510
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $82,635,678$98,401,943
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $176,807,090$187,009,311
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $29,000$48,000
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $138,860,985$150,022,523
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $398,332,753$435,481,777
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $14,661,222$5,919,733
Part VI · Governance 37 of 37 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body37
VI-1b Independent voting members37
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
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 $441,401,510 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $128,676 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$499,096
VIII-1e Government grants$4,435,679
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$19,248,972
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$3,045,143
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$24,183,747
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $402,610,014$402,610,014
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $512,202 · Excluded from tax −$512,202$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax −$465,416−$465,416
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $22,210$22,210
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $8,033,603 · Unrelated business $6,888,676$14,922,279
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $410,643,617 · Unrelated business $7,529,554 · Excluded from tax −$955,408$441,401,510
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $435,481,777 across 24 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $98,401,943$98,401,943
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $733,328 · Management $1,551,825 · Fundraising $693,011$2,978,164
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $119,539,420 · Management $18,779,231 · Fundraising $5,078,982$143,397,633
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $7,477,345 · Management $1,189,602 · Fundraising $182,405$8,849,352
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $16,996,457 · Management $3,495,334 · Fundraising $765,371$21,257,162
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $8,557,474 · Management $1,638,128 · Fundraising $331,398$10,527,000
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $18,565$18,565
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $67,763 · Management $1,486,580 · Fundraising $20,678$1,575,021
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $111,976$111,976
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $48,000$48,000
IX-11f Investment management feesPrograms $1,644,447 · Management $299,168$1,943,615
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $25,807,815 · Management $4,115,034 · Fundraising $259,898$30,182,747
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,459,560 · Management $543,720 · Fundraising $130,051$2,133,331
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $7,394,799 · Management $1,868,621 · Fundraising $331,018$9,594,438
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $1,643,994 · Management $2,249,159 · Fundraising $11,851$3,905,004
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $2,923 · Management $11,988$14,911
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $11,897,547 · Management $203,947 · Fundraising $32,775$12,134,269
IX-17 TravelPrograms $27,311,769 · Management $1,514,709 · Fundraising $371,826$29,198,304
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $1,545,720 · Management $570,353 · Fundraising $137,984$2,254,057
IX-20 InterestPrograms $1,134,811$1,134,811
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $17,376,804 · Management $276,971$17,653,775
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $425,626 · Management $3,825,298 · Fundraising $2,353$4,253,277
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $24,742,433 · Management $2,271,172 · Fundraising $740,403$27,754,008
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $0 · Management $6,160,414 · Fundraising $0$6,160,414
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $374,180,543 · Management $52,163,230 · Fundraising $9,138,004$435,481,777
Part X · Balance sheet $1,249,999,745 assets, 20 lines filed
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $74,507,681$85,592,976
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $465,080$27,270
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $4,276,986$3,520,418
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $123,492$68,651
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $7,593,085$6,004,713
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $559,083,094$570,461,730
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $189,106,606$176,230,107
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $341,196,558$377,782,185
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $945,952$821,760
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $29,736,556$29,489,935
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,207,035,090$1,249,999,745
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $29,071,115$30,543,795
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $6,461,174$5,571,573
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $211,928,579$200,325,201
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $54,169,126$53,579,666
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $301,629,994$290,020,235
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $660,611,887$695,458,731
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $244,793,209$264,520,779
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $905,405,096$959,979,510
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,207,035,090$1,249,999,745
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $959,979,510 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$441,401,510
XI-2 Total expenses$435,481,777
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$5,919,733
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$905,405,096
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$47,431,389
XI-7 Investment expenses$1,943,615
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$720,323
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$959,979,510

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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