The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
Also known as Stanford University
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University reported $10.15 billion in revenue and $9.69 billion in expenses for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $88.63 went to program services, $9.77 to management and general costs and $1.60 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was program service revenue such as fees, sales and contracts: 40.6% of the total. Government grants made up 17.7%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $6,311,502 (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SMC). 13,868 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 48% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending August 31, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $9.69BFor 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 August 31, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $10.2BThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 88.6% | 84.4% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 9.8% | 13.4% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 1.6% | 0.8% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.05 | $0.04 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 32.1% | 19.1% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 17.7% | 1.1% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 40.6% | 69.9% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $6,311,502 | $331,578 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 0.07% | 1.28% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 13,868 | 8 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 69.1 | 13.3 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 30 of 32 | 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 expenseStatement of program service accomplishments (expenses $3,612,355,632 including grants of $760,566,025; revenue $1,488,789,834) student financial aid: includes merit and need-based scholarships and fellowships. Instruction and departmental research: includes the salaries, fringe benefits and supplies necessary to teach 17,314 students, including 7,289 undergraduate and 10,025 graduate and professional school students. Stanford's 2,402 person faculty includes 20 nobel laureates are currently members of the stanford community. Stanford has seven schools: business, doerr school of…
Statement of program service accomplishments (expenses $1,878,872,819 including grants of $27,648,000; revenue $322,839,848) organized research: research is integral to the educational mission of stanford and involves faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates who seek new knowledge in service to humanity. Stanford faculty members have contributed to advancements in high tech, including the creation of digital subscriber lines, identity-based encryption, global positioning systems and the reduced instruction set computer, among other discoveries; disease identification and management…
Statement of program services accomplishments (expenses $1,437,486,089 including grants of $1,000,814; revenue $2,126,156,035) health care services: stanford school of medicine faculty members are health-care practitioners as well as teachers, combining expertise honed by research with the most advanced technology to treat patients at stanford health care and the lucile packard children's hospital. Stanford faculty and other health care professionals, provide approximately 91% of the patient care at stanford health care and 94% of the pediatric care at lucile packard children's hospital
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SMC Officer, 50.0 hrs/week | $5,407,651 | $0 | $903,851 | $6,311,502 |
| CHIEF, PED CARDIOTHORACIC Highest compensated employee, 50.0 hrs/week | $5,260,818 | $0 | $67,164 | $5,327,982 |
| FORMER DEAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Highest compensated employee, 50.0 hrs/week | $4,156,115 | $0 | $0 | $4,156,115 |
| SR. MD, SMC, THRU 12/19/2024 Highest compensated employee, 50.0 hrs/week | $3,849,978 | $0 | $92,478 | $3,942,456 |
| VP MEDICAL AFFAIRS Officer, 48.0 hrs/week | $2,987,124 | $0 | $740,160 | $3,727,284 |
| DIR. OF FOOTBALL, THRU 3/25/25 Highest compensated employee, 50.0 hrs/week | $3,510,344 | $0 | $78,198 | $3,588,542 |
| ATHLETICS DIR, THRU 8/31/2025 Highest compensated employee, 50.0 hrs/week | $3,226,875 | $0 | $254,349 | $3,481,224 |
| VP LAND, BUILDINGS, REAL EST Officer, 50.0 hrs/week | $1,999,075 | $0 | $346,474 | $2,345,549 |
13,868 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $23M (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–1b32 · 30 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 26Yes
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 545,075
- Volunteers Part I, line 613,000
Private foundation grants it received
560 private foundations reported grants to The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University totaling $446M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University spent in FY2025, $88.63 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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Similar-sized charities in this cause
- Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · revenue $8.45B · programs 87.2% · FY2025
- Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · revenue $10.6B · programs 90.1% · FY2025
- President and Fellows of Harvard CollegeCambridge, MA · revenue $8.32B · programs 85.6% · FY2025
- Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · revenue $11.7B · programs 89.9% · FY2025
- Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · revenue $7.86B · programs 93.5% · FY2025
Questions people ask
How much of The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University's spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025, The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University reported that 88.6% of its $9.69 billion in expenses went to program services, 9.8% to management and general and 1.6% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University reported for one person in the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025 was $6,311,502, for the role of CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SMC (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University get its money?
Of $10.15 billion in revenue in the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025, 32.1% came from contributions and grants (including 17.7% from government grants) and 40.6% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 94-1156365 as a 501(c)(3) organization (school), 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 August 31, 2025, object 202621979349300242 · read the filing · XML
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2024, object 202501969349302135 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2023, object 202431949349300033 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2022, object 202331959349301318 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2021, object 202211969349300436 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2020, object 202101959349302120 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 94-1156365: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.