Association of American Universities
Association of American Universities reported $15.8 million in revenue and $17.2 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $84.67 went to program services, $15.33 to management and general costs and $0.00 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was program service revenue such as fees, sales and contracts: 95.1% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $1,000,197 (PRESIDENT). 20 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 67% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $17MFor context, the median across 5,499 covered education charities: $85.56 programs, $13.59 management, $0.85 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $16MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 84.7% | 84.4% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 15.3% | 13.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | Not reported | $0.04 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 19.1% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 0.0% | 1.1% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 95.1% | 69.9% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $1,000,197 | $331,578 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 5.81% | 1.28% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 20 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 5.6 | 13.3 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 14 of 16 | 100.0% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseFederal relations, policy, and public affairs: the majority of the program funds expended by the Association of American Universities (aau) is concentrated in federal government relations, policy studies, and public affairs & communications. Aau's programs and projects address both federal and institutional policies and practices. Maintaining the productive partnership between the nation's research universities and the federal government is a key area of focus. This includes work on federal and institutional policies affecting the teaching, research, and service missions of research…
Grant-funded projects: aau advances projects that address critical research and education policy issues impacting aau member universities. We are selective in the grants we solicit to ensure that the grant-funded work aligns with aau's goals and priorities. Aau currently has two active grants supporting our undergraduate teaching evaluation project, and closed grants supporting our phd education initiative and our public access to research data project. Aau staff continually evaluate potential grant opportunities.undergraduate teaching evaluation project aau is committed to creating more…
Other programspublic opinion project: this project aims to gain more insights into public opinion to assist our members on issues critical to their relationship with the public and policymakers.meetings: aau conducts semi-annual meetings of the chief executive officers of its member institutions as well as multiple meetings of federal relations officers and other committees and groups, as necessary. The association conducts annual meetings of the following internal groups, composed of staff from aau 's member universities:- council on federal relations- public affairs network- chief academic…
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRESIDENT Director/trustee, officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $825,777 | $0 | $174,420 | $1,000,197 |
| SR VP FOR GOV RELATIONS & PUBLIC POLICY Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $351,636 | $0 | $67,084 | $418,720 |
| SR VP OF ADMINISTRATION Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $338,039 | $0 | $67,084 | $405,123 |
| SENIOR VP FOR COMMUNICATIONS Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $330,954 | $0 | $64,117 | $395,071 |
| VP FOR RESEARCH & INSITUTIONAL POLICY Director/trustee, officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $217,589 | $0 | $55,584 | $273,173 |
| DEPUTY VP FOR GOV RELATIONS & PUBLIC POLICY Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $219,348 | $0 | $51,625 | $270,973 |
| DEPUTY VP AND COUNSEL FOR GOV. RELATIONS & POLICY Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $205,034 | $0 | $54,609 | $259,643 |
| DEPUTY VP FOR ADMIN & CFO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $202,729 | $0 | $45,865 | $248,594 |
20 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Association of American Universities (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $3.0M (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
FY2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b16 · 14 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2Yes
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
- Employees Part I, line 552
- Volunteers Part I, line 614
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from Association of American Universities's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Association of American Universities, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 Association of American Universities spent in FY2025, $84.67 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
Questions people ask
How much of Association of American Universities's spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, Association of American Universities reported that 84.7% of its $17.2 million in expenses went to program services, 15.3% to management and general and 0.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does Association of American Universities pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation Association of American Universities reported for one person in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 was $1,000,197, for the role of PRESIDENT (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does Association of American Universities get its money?
Of $15.8 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, 0.0% came from contributions and grants and 95.1% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is Association of American Universities a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 52-1947112 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (509(a)(2))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, object 202602309349301045 · read the filing
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, object 202542189349300009 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, object 202402269349301570 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, object 202342219349301759 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, object 202222279349300322 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, object 202112159349301236 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 52-1947112: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.