Northern Illinois University Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE NIU FOUNDATION'S MISSION IS TO ENERGIZE AND CONNECT THE PRIVATE SECTOR WITH THE NIU COMMUNITY TO SECURE AND STEWARD RESOURCES THAT SUPPORT THE FUTURE AND GROWTH OF NIU.
- Income
- $60.3 million
- Spending
- $18.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 71%
- Reserves
- 17.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 83%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 1,670
- Highest pay
- $362,060, president/ceo, secretary-thru 6/30/25
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 94% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 17.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 7% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 69% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 214% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1571% 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: 95 out of 100. Higher than 44% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2529 of 29 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or 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 (1)
- $13.3 million spent. THE NIU FOUNDATION: ADVANCING NIU, MOVING FORWARD THE NIU FOUNDATION IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ENTITY THAT ENGAGES FRIENDS AND ALUMNI AND SECURES AND MANAGES GIFTS IN SUPPORT OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. THE NIU FOUNDATION AND DIVISION OF UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT ALIGN THE PHILANTHROPIC ENTERPRISE WITH INSTITUTIONAL PRIORITIES TO DRIVE STRATEGIC, TRANSFORMATIONAL GROWTH. CREATING LIFE-CHANGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR HARDWORKING STUDENTS AND FACULTY IS THE NIU FOUNDATION'S HIGHEST PRIORITY. EACH YEAR, THOUSANDS OF ALUMNI AND DONORS JOIN US IN THIS ENDEAVOR BY PROVIDING GIFTS THAT SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIPS, PROGRAMS, AND FACILITIES. FY25 WAS A HISTORIC YEAR, MARKED BY RECORD-SETTING GENEROSITY AND THE PUBLIC LAUNCH OF FORWARD: THE CAMPAIGN FOR NIU. FORWARD: THE CAMPAIGN FOR NIU ON JUNE 14, 2025, HUNDREDS OF MEMBERS OF THE NIU COMMUNITY GATHERED AT THE NIU CONVOCATION CENTER TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF THE LARGEST FUNDRAISING EFFORT IN UNIVERSITY HISTORY. WITH A BOLD $300 MILLION GOAL, FORWARD IS A COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN TO ACCELERATE STUDENT SUCCESS, EMPOWER FACULTY EXCELLENCE, AND EXPAND NIU'S REGIONAL AND GLOBAL IMPACT. THE CAMPAIGN IS ANCHORED BY THREE COMMITMENTS: EXPANDING TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO EDUCATION AND EMPOWERING STUDENTS THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS, MENTORING, AND HANDS-ON LEARNING. INSPIRING DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION FUELING FACULTY AND STUDENT RESEARCH, CREATIVITY, AND PARTNERSHIPS THAT TURN IDEAS INTO SOLUTIONS. FORTIFYING OUR FUTURE STRENGTHENING NIU'S FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY TO ENSURE A THRIVING INSTITUTION FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. TO DATE, DONORS HAVE RESPONDED WITH EXTRAORDINARY MOMENTUM. THE NIU FOUNDATION SECURED $61.8 MILLION IN NEW GIFTS AND COMMITMENTS, INCLUDING REVOCABLE DEFERRED PLANNED GIFTS, IN FY25 ALONE, REFLECTING BOTH CONFIDENCE IN NIU'S VISION AND BELIEF IN THE POWER OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO TRANSFORM LIVES AND COMMUNITIES. THE UNIVERSITY WE SERVE NIU'S FOCUS ON REMOVING BARRIERS TO A HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION CONTINUES TO ATTRACT TALENTED STUDENTS FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS. ENROLLMENT SURGED IN FALL 2025, DRIVEN BY GAINS IN NEW FRESHMEN, TRANSFERS, AND STRONG REENROLLMENT. NIU WELCOMED 2,435 NEW FRESHMEN, A 22 PERCENT INCREASE AND THE SECOND-LARGEST FRESHMAN CLASS SINCE 2014. THE UNIVERSITY ALSO ENROLLED 1,622 NEW TRANSFERS, UP 11 PERCENT AND THE LARGEST TRANSFER CLASS IN EIGHT YEARS. COMBINED, TOTAL ENROLLMENT REACHED 16,078 STUDENTS, A 4.3 PERCENT INCREASE OVER FALL 2024. FIFTY-FOUR PERCENT OF NEW FRESHMEN ARE FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS. FRESHMEN ENTERED WITH AN AVERAGE GPA OF 3.42, TYING THE HIGHEST AVERAGE GPA ON RECORD, AND 18 PERCENT HAD A PERFECT 4.0 GPA. ON-CAMPUS HOUSING REACHED 4,477 STUDENTS, THE HIGHEST IN A DECADE. NIU'S TEST-FREE ADMISSIONS POLICY AND ROBUST MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM ENSURE ACCESS WHILE REWARDING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. IN FY25, THE FOUNDATION PROVIDED MORE THAN $3.6 MILLION IN SCHOLARSHIPS AND AID, MAKING HIGHER EDUCATION AFFORDABLE AND ATTAINABLE. THESE INVESTMENTS PAY DIVIDENDS: NINE OUT OF TEN STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE NIU FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS GRADUATE. NIU ALSO CONTINUES TO SHINE AS A NATIONAL LEADER IN SOCIAL MOBILITY, RANKED NO. 38 NATIONALLY OUT OF 500 INSTITUTIONS BY THE 2025 WALL STREET JOURNAL/COLLEGE PULSE, THE SECOND-HIGHEST RANKED PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN ILLINOIS AND AMONG THE TOP FIVE IN THE MIDWEST. SUSTAINING EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION PHILANTHROPY ENSURES NIU CAN DELIVER ON ITS PROMISE OF EXCELLENCE. ENDOWMENT STRENGTH: $218 MILLION IN NET ASSETS, INCLUDING $131.5 MILLION IN ENDOWMENT (AS OF JUNE 30, 2025). THE NIU FOUNDATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, ALL GENEROUS DONORS THEMSELVES, PROVIDES OVERSIGHT AND STEWARDSHIP. THROUGH ITS INVESTMENT COMMITTEE, THE BOARD SETS POLICIES TO BALANCE GROWTH, PROTECT PRINCIPAL, AND GENERATE RESOURCES FOR SCHOLARSHIPS, PROGRAMS, AND LONG-TERM PRIORITIES. BUILDING ON THAT STRENGTH, THE FOUNDATION'S ENDOWMENT GREW BY 22% THIS FISCAL YEAR, DRIVEN BY STRONG GIVING, ROBUST PLEDGES, AND EXCEPTIONAL INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE. THIS IMPRESSIVE GROWTH REFLECTS DONOR CONFIDENCE IN NIU'S FUTURE AND DISCIPLINED FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. FACULTY EXCELLENCE: ALUMNI AND DONOR SUPPORT FUELS RESEARCH AND TEACHING INNOVATIONS, FROM SUSTAINABILITY AND WATER RESOURCES TO BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING AND COMMUNITY HEALTH. NIU FACULTY ALSO PURSUE CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH IN FIELDS SUCH AS URBAN-REGIONAL MODELING, DISASTER ATTRIBUTION, CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE, PRAIRIE RESTORATION, AND EMERGING CHEMICAL IMPACTS. THESE EFFORTS ARE STRENGTHENED BY PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY, DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS, THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. PROGRAMS SUCH AS RESEARCH ROOKIES PROVIDE UNDERGRADUATES WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN ALONGSIDE FACULTY MENTORS, BUILDING SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL AND CAREERS. IN FY25, THE FOUNDATION PROVIDED MORE THAN $10.9 MILLION TO SUPPORT CAMPUS DEPARTMENTS, PROGRAMS, AND PROFESSORSHIPS. SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP: NIU'S COMMITMENT TO CLIMATE ACTION INCLUDES THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS CENTER FOR COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY (NICCS), A HUB OF THE ILLINOIS INNOVATION NETWORK. NICCS ADVANCES SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS BY CONNECTING RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN FOOD SYSTEMS, WATER RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION, WHILE ALSO PROMOTING SCIENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR COMMUNITIES. LANDMARK AND ONGOING CAPITAL PROJECTS: DONOR GENEROSITY HAS ALSO SHAPED THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE THE NIU COMMUNITY LEARNS AND LEADS. FROM BARSEMA HALL AND THE BARSEMA ALUMNI AND VISITORS CENTER TO THE YORDON CENTER AND THE CHESSICK PRACTICE FACILITY, ALUMNI AND DONORS HAVE LONG SET THE PACE FOR WHAT IS POSSIBLE. LOOKING AHEAD, PROJECTS SUCH AS NICCS, THE CENTER FOR GREEK LIFE, AND THE TRANSFORMATIONAL BAUSTERT BAHWELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY CENTER WILL CONTINUE THAT TRADITION OF IMPACT. IN FY25, MORE THAN $2.4 MILLION WAS INVESTED IN BUILDING PROJECTS AND EQUIPMENT TO ENHANCE TH
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 July 1955.
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.
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