How the Smithsonian Spends Revenue (2023)
The Smithsonian is one of the most well-known museums in the world but you may not know that the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex with 21 museums (9 of which are on the National Mall in Washington, DC, an additional 10 in the DC metropolitan area and 2 in New York City, plus the National Zoo, also in DC and the Smithsonian Gardens, also in DC), and 14 education and research centers. Collectively, these sites are the Smithsonian Institute, a 501 (c) (3), based in Washington, DC.
The most recent IRS Form 990 (2022) for the year ending September 30, 2023 reports the following key information: Read more 
20 Employees at Columbia University Receive $236 Million in Compensation
20 of the most highly compensated employees in 2023 of Columbia University – a private, Ivy League research University based in New York City, New York that raises about $7 billion a year (including more than $200 million from government grants) and has $19 billion in net assets – received $236 million from 2017-2023 (note: highly compensated employees in any of the years 2017-2022 but not in 2023 are not included): Read more
Executive Compensation at Columbia (2023)
Columbia University (Columbia) reported a very different year in 2023: after coming off a record year in 2022 when revenue reached an all time high ($7.1 billion) with expenses of $5.9 billion (including $300 million of depreciation), Columbia reported total revenue of $6.7 billion and expenses of $6.4 billion (including $300 million in depreciation) in 2023. However, Columbia increased net assets from $18.4 billion to $18.7 billion in 2023 by adding unspent revenue and nearly $150 million in unrealized gains on investments (offset by a negative $80 million adjustment to net assets for “other non-operating adjustments”) to the general fund.
In terms of compensation, 40,081 employees (up by 3,000 since 2022) were compensated $3.9 billion, which equates to an average compensation of $97,000. The 22 most highly compensated individuals (listed below) received $42 million which equates to an average compensation package of nearly $2 million: Read more
Executive Compensation at the American Federation of Teachers (2023)
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher’s union (although membership is not limited to teachers) with 1.8 million members (after the National Education Association) in 3,000 local affiliates in the USA. A non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (5), the AFT is based in Washington, DC and is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
For the year ending June 30, 2023, AFT reported total revenue of $211 million (mostly from membership dues) and expenses of $220 million (with the shortfall covered by the general fund). The largest expense for the organization was compensation for the 354 employees who received $64 million, which equates to an average compensation of $181,000. However, only 205 employees (58%) received more than $100,000 in compensation. The 8 most highly compensated employees were reported to be: Read more
The American Federation of Teachers – How Membership Dues are Spent (2023)
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher’s union (although membership is not limited to teachers) with 1.8 million members (after the National Education Association) in 3,000 local affiliates in the USA. A non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (5), AFT is based in Washington, DC and is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
The most recent Form 990 (2022 for the year ending June 30, 2023) reports the following information about the AFT: Read more
Executive Compensation at Liberty University (2023)
Liberty University (Liberty) – a private evangelical Christian university based in Lynchburg, Virginia – has been in the news quite a bit over the past few years. Seems the US Department of Education has been investigating Liberty for violations related to the public reporting of campus crime. Faced with a large fine ($14 million), Liberty seems to be in the hot seat again (the Jerry Falwell, Jr sexual misconduct saga that resulted in Falwell’s resignation as President of the university hit the public forum in 2020), although $14 million is a drop in the bucket for Liberty who has nearly $4 billion in net assets. Read more
How Tuition and Revenue are Spent at Liberty University (2023)
Liberty University (Liberty) – a private evangelical Christian university based in Lynchburg, Virginia – has been in the news quite a bit over the past few years. Seems the US Department of Education has been investigating Liberty for violations related to the public reporting of campus crime. Faced with a large fine ($14 million), Liberty was also in the hot seat again (the Jerry Falwell, Jr sexual misconduct saga that resulted in Falwell’s resignation as President of the university hit the public forum in 2020), although $14 million is a drop in the bucket for Liberty who has nearly $4 billion in net assets. Read more
Executive Compensation at the Baylor College of Medicine (2023)
Baylor College of Medicine (Baylor CM) is a medical school and research center within the Texas Medical Center (the world’s largest medical center) in Houston, Texas. With more than 10,000 faculty and staff and nearly 4,000 medical students, residents, graduate students, health professionals, fellows, and participants, Baylor CM has 4 academic components (School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Professions, and the National School of Tropical Medicine) and is not a part of Baylor College (they separated from Baylor College in 1969 and became an independent institution). Each year, the school matriculates nearly 200 students. Read more
Executive Compensation at the Association of Former Students at Texas A & M (2022)
The alumni association at Texas A & M is formally known as the Association of Former Students of Texas A & M and informally known as the Aggie Network. A tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c), the Aggie Network’s mission is to strengthen the Texas A & M alumni network.
A relatively small non-profit, the Aggie Network has more than doubled in size (based on revenue) since 2020 when the organization raised raised about $30 million to 2022 when total revenue was reported to be $74 million, most of which came from contributions, gifts, and grants ($63 million). Read more
Executive Compensation at Harvard Management (2023)
Harvard Management Company (Harvard Management) provides investment management services to Harvard, a private university with $60 billion in net assets. Consequently, revenue comes from Harvard to pay the expenses associated with managing Harvard Management (most of which is compensation and fees for outside services).
To manage these assets, Harvard Management has 128 employees who received $90 million in compensation which equates to an average compensation of $700,000. However, only 97 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 12 most highly compensated to be: Read more
