Yale University
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
SEE SCHEDULE O
- Income
- $8.5 billion
- Spending
- $6.7 billion
- Spent on programs
- 87%
- Reserves
- 6.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- investment income, 44%
- Employees
- 35,714
- Volunteers
- 15,000
- Highest pay
- $5.4 million, chief investment officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 89 out of 100. Higher than 81% of charities in its peer group (education, over $100m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 6.7 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 18% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 21% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 24% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1587% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 14% of charities in its peer group (education, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2516 of 17 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
0 of 10Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (5)
- $2.9 billion spent. Instruction: The program service costs include salaries, fringe benefits and supplies of teaching approximately 15,500 students including 6,741 undergraduates and 8,750 graduate and professional school students. A faculty of nearly 5,750 teach and administer programs across a range of disciplines in the sciences and engineering, the social sciences, the humanities, and the various learned professions. More than 80 majors are available in the undergraduate college and more than 35 different degree programs are offered by the university. In addition to the graduate school of arts and sciences, the university has professional schools in disciplines of architecture, art, divinity, drama, engineering and applied science, global affairs, the environment, law, management, medicine, music, nursing, and public health. (Expenses $ 880,290,172 including grants of $ 31,127,183)(Revenue $ 136,383,045) OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE ACADEMIC SUPPORT, PUBLIC SERVICE, AND OTHER INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT.
- $1.1 billion spent. Student financial aid and services: Yale college admits students for their academic and personal promise without regard to their ability to pay. Yale is committed to an admissions policy that does not consider a student's ability to pay, and a financial aid policy that meets the full need of all students with no loans required. These two principles: need-blind admissions and need-based financial aid, ensure that a Yale education is affordable for everyone. With this policy, Yale strives to create a learning environment accessible to the most talented students from around the world and that incorporates the widest possible range of student backgrounds. In FY2025, 3,801 or 56% of undergraduates received need-based scholarships or grants from Yale sources of $68,129 on average. All of Yale's graduate and professional schools provide financial aid to their students based on their individual policies and procedures. (Continued on Schedule O) This category of expenditures also includes: the operation of dining halls that provided 3,007,780 meals to students, faculty, and staff; maintenance of dormitories housing 5,057 undergraduates and 954 graduate and professional school students; operation and maintenance of athletic facilities for the 35 intercollegiate sports, over 20 intramural sports, and approximately 49 club sports teams offered at Yale. Also included are fitness, wellness, and instructional programs, parking facilities, laundry facilities, student centers, and other facilities and programs (including extracurricular activities and student health services) that provide support, services, and academic/cultural enrichment to the University's students.
- $936.0 million spent. Research: The University engages in extensive research in medicine, science, engineering, the arts, social sciences, and humanities. The University's research activities are aimed at the advancement of knowledge as well as training students in the research process. As integral parts of a unified, innovative, and accessible student-centered research University, Yale's labs and classrooms are turning out groundbreaking medical and scientific discoveries and the next generation of innovators in many areas of research excellence. The University's outstanding facilities devoted to research are comprised of myriad laboratories, centers, libraries, collections, and institutes that focus on research in geology, chemistry, biology, engineering and applied science, anthropology, paleontology, psychology, molecular and structural biology, nuclear structure, child development, social policy, biospheric studies and numerous biomedical sciences, to name but a few. (Expenses $ 880,290,172 including grants of $ 31,127,183)(Revenue $ 136,383,045) OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE ACADEMIC SUPPORT, PUBLIC SERVICE, AND OTHER INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT.
- $880.3 million spent. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE ACADEMIC SUPPORT, PUBLIC SERVICE, AND OTHER INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT.
- THE AMOUNTS REPORTED IN COLUMNS (C) AND (D) REPRESENT AN ESTIMATE OF TOTAL AWARDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2025 BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY'S UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS. SOME STUDENTS RECEIVED MORE THAN ONE AWARD DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2025.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since October 1992.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.