Wake Forest Assets Near $3.0 Billion in 2025 as 40.5% Philanthropy Surge Lifts Revenue to $843.2 Million and Endowment Reaches $1.20 Billion
By Data Team | Published November 10, 2026
Wake Forest University’s total assets reached $2.98 billion ($2,983,355,494) in fiscal year 2025, anchored by a $1.20 billion ($1,197,211,467) standalone university endowment whose $46.70 million direct programmatic payout covers 5.9% of the university's $786.27 million Form 990 operating budget (7.1% including $8.93 million in endowment administration, or 7.6% to 9.1% under audited GAAP expense parameters), according to its latest IRS filing. Across its 8,053 degree-seeking students, Wake Forest spends $83,291 per student on direct program services ($670.75 million across instruction, student aid, residential life, athletics, campus wellbeing, and research)—including $54,198 per student on regular session academic instruction and student scholarships ($436.46 million)—while total enterprise expenditure including administrative overhead and fundraising reaches $97,637 per student ($786.27 million).
Wake Forest’s FY25 financial profile illustrates the operating model of a private "collegiate university" that pairs an intimate residential undergraduate liberal arts college with professional schools of medicine, law, business, divinity, and online professional studies. Unlike mega-endowment peers that rely predominantly on investment draws or hospital clinical billing on their parent tax return, Wake Forest generates 68.7% of its $843.18 million total revenue from program services ($579.54 million), led by $459.57 million in student tuition and fees ($57,068 per student), $56.80 million in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Division I athletics, and $53.69 million in campus housing and dining. Simultaneously, a 40.5% year-over-year surge in contributions and grants ($158.47 million) and a 13.8% rise in realized investment income ($78.40 million) enabled the university to post a $56.90 million operating surplus even after absorbing a $31.07 million settlement obligation charge.
To maintain student access alongside a $57,068 gross per-student tuition baseline, Wake Forest returned $140.82 million in direct cash scholarship grants to domestic students on Schedule I (plus $1.39 million in foreign assistance and $19.39 million in domestic organizational grants), supporting approximately 48% of undergraduates and the vast majority of graduate students while adding 175 new scholarships during the fiscal year.
Institutional & Governance Profile
Operating under its corporate title, Wake Forest University (EIN 56-0532138), the institution was founded in 1834 in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and relocated 100 miles west to its current 340-acre Reynolda Campus in Winston-Salem in 1956. Guided by its institutional motto Pro Humanitate (For Humanity), the university operates seven constituent academic divisions alongside overseas residential centers in Venice, Vienna, and London, downtown biomedical facilities in Winston-Salem's Innovation Quarter, and an expanding academic and medical footprint at The Pearl innovation district in Charlotte.
Institutional Scale and Board Structure
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Founding & Workforce Scale: Founded in 1834, Wake Forest issued 6,118 Form W-2s in calendar year 2024, filed 10,962 Form 1096 vendor information returns, and engaged an estimated 2,200 alumni and community volunteers.
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Academic & Faculty Footprint: Operating at a 10-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio where 99% of undergraduate classes enroll fewer than 50 students, Wake Forest educates 8,053 degree-seeking students—comprising 5,490 undergraduates (54% women; 8% international across 40 countries and all 50 states) and 2,563 graduate and professional students—across seven divisions: Wake Forest College (49 majors, 62 minors), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, School of Law (97.4% Class of 2024 bar-required/JD-advantage employment rate, 3rd nationally), School of Medicine, School of Business, School of Divinity, and School of Professional Studies.
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Executive Leadership: President Susan R. Wente, PhD, leads the institution alongside Provost Michele Gillespie, PhD, Executive Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer Jacqueline A. Travisano, EdD, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Julie A. Freischlag, MD, Vice President and General Counsel Brian A. White, Senior Vice President for Advancement Mark A. Petersen, and Director of Athletics John A. Currie.
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Governing Board (Schedule O): The Board of Trustees comprises 49 voting members, 48 of whom are independent (98.0%), chaired by Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt. The Audit & Compliance Committee reviews the draft Form 990 prior to full board distribution, and the Compliance Office enforces annual conflict-of-interest disclosures and formal management plans for all trustees, officers, and key employees.
Top-Line Financials
During FY25 (covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025), Wake Forest generated $1.32 billion ($1,324,739,896) in gross receipts and $843.18 million in total net revenue (+10.3% YoY). Total assets increased 6.4% to $2.98 billion while total net assets expanded 7.3% to $2.13 billion, composed of 55.0% donor-restricted funds ($1.17 billion) and 45.0% unrestricted net assets ($959.93 million).
Balance Sheet Strength
- Total Assets $2,983,355,494 (+6.4%)
- Total Liabilities $850,043,852 (+4.1%)
- Total Net Assets $2,133,311,642 (+7.3%)
- Donor-Restricted Net Assets $1,173,378,570 (55.0% of Total Net Assets)
- Unrestricted Net Assets $959,933,072 (45.0% of Total Net Assets)
Operating Performance
- Total Revenue $843,176,173 (+10.3%)
- Total Expenses $786,273,688 (+11.4%)
- Operating Surplus $56,902,485 (-3.0%)
- Unrealized Gains (Excluded) $88,913,615
Note: The $56.90 million operating surplus reflects Form 990 realized accounting after absorbing a $31.07 million non-routine charge for settlement obligations (Part IX, Line 24a); combining the $56.90 million realized surplus with $88.91 million in net unrealized investment gains accounts for the exact $145.82 million expansion in Wake Forest's FY25 total net assets.
Revenue Breakdown
All four of Wake Forest's primary revenue categories grew year-over-year in FY25. Program service revenue rose 4.0% to $579.54 million, supplying 68.7% of total revenue through student tuition and fees ($459.57 million), intercollegiate athletics ($56.80 million), and student housing and dining ($53.69 million). Contributions and grants jumped 40.5% to $158.47 million—driven by $142.79 million in private philanthropy and $14.67 million in government grants—while realized investment income climbed 13.8% to $78.40 million on $515.06 million in gross security sales.
Primary Revenue Streams
FY25 Revenue Distribution
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Program Service Revenue +4.0% YoY$579,543,426 (68.7%)
- Tuition and Fees (Undergraduate, Graduate & Professional) $459,569,927
- Athletic Programs (ACC Division I Media, Ticket & NCAA Distributions) $56,795,115
- Student Housing & Dining (27 Residence Facilities & 17 Dining Locations) $53,693,273
- Student Health Services & Organized Activities $7,705,800
- All Other Program Service Revenue (Includes $271,140 UBI) $1,779,311
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Contributions & Grants +40.5% YoY$158,466,076 (18.8%)
- Private Philanthropy, Alumni Gifts & Foundations $142,787,994
- Federal & State Government Grants $14,673,575
- Related Organization Contributions (WFU Health Sciences) & Events $1,004,507
- Noncash Gifts Included Above (859 Stock Gifts $12.48M, 181 Vehicles $220K, Art) $12,773,163
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Investment Income +13.8% YoY$78,404,877 (9.3%)
- Realized Net Capital Gains ($515.1M Gross Securities Sales) $41,567,246
- Dividends, Interest & Partnership Distributions (Net of $1.01M UBI Loss) $36,837,631
- Tax-Exempt Bond Proceeds Income $0
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Other Revenue +5.2% YoY$26,761,794 (3.2%)
- Net Sales of Inventory ($10.15M Gross Sales less $984K COGS) & Exec Ed ($6.12M) $15,278,948
- Royalties ($4.59M), Parking ($2.75M), Sponsorships ($1.90M) & Net Rents ($1.58M) $11,482,846
Endowment Performance and Asset Allocation
Wake Forest manages its long-term investment pool through Verger Capital Management LLC, a wholly owned asset management subsidiary (Schedule R, Part III) that serves as Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) for Verger Capital Fund LLC—the pooled investment partnership holding the university's endowment alongside assets of Wake Forest University Health Sciences and external non-profit co-investors. On the university's standalone balance sheet (Part X, Lines 2, 11, and 12), Wake Forest holds $2.03 billion ($2,030,539,324) in total cash and investment securities, led by $1.35 billion (66.5%) in absolute return multi-asset strategies housed through Verger Capital Fund and $559.00 million (27.5%) in publicly traded securities.
Because Wake Forest's $1.20 billion standalone endowment equates to $148,667 per student across 8,053 students—well below the $500,000 per-student threshold under IRC Section 4968—the university is exempt from the federal excise tax on net investment income (Form 990, Part V, Line 16). Across its global alternative portfolio, Wake Forest generated $7,093,214 in gross unrelated business revenue (Part I, Line 7a), resulting in $0 in net unrelated business taxable income on Form 990-T after deductions and carryforwards.
Portfolio Performance & Asset Allocation ($2.03B Total Cash & Invested Securities / $1.20B Endowment)
Part X & Schedule D, Part VII Allocation
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Endowment Balance (EOY): $1,197,211,467 (+8.7% YoY), representing $148,667 per enrolled student across 8,053 students (exempt from the IRC Section 4968 endowment excise tax).
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Net Investment Gains: $106,778,203 in net endowment investment earnings (+32.1% YoY from $80.82M in FY24), bolstered by $45.17M in new endowment gift inflows (+99.4% YoY).
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OCIO & Multi-Asset Structure (Schedule R): 66.5% ($1.35B) of total balance sheet cash and investments sits in absolute return partnership vehicles managed via Verger Capital Fund LLC (in which WFU holds a 50.56% stake via disregarded entity Verger Fund I LLC).
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Total Payout & Budget Coverage: $46,696,999 in direct programmatic endowment distributions ($25.83M to student scholarships and $20.86M to faculty chairs, academic programs, and facilities), funding 5.9% of Form 990 total expenses (7.1% / $55.62M including $8.93M in endowment administration, and 7.6% to 9.1% of GAAP audited expenses).
Detailed Asset Mix (Part X, Lines 2, 11, 12 & Schedule D, Part VII)
5-Year Endowment History
Schedule D, Part V traces the five-year expansion of Wake Forest’s standalone endowment from an $819.12 million opening balance in FY21 to $1.20 billion ($1,197,211,467) at the close of FY25—a 46.2% cumulative expansion over five years. Over that period, the endowment captured $139.47 million in donor contributions (nearly doubling in FY25 to $45.17 million) and $478.29 million in net investment gains, while distributing $112.15 million directly to student scholarships, $91.55 million to academic programs and facilities, and $35.97 million in administrative management fees. At year-end FY25, the endowment consisted of 47.69% permanent endowment, 32.14% term endowment, and 20.17% board-designated quasi-endowment (79.83% donor-restricted). Per Schedule D, Part XIII, 55.32% of expendable endowment distributions funded student scholarships, 22.40% supported endowed chairs and research professorships, and 22.28% funded libraries, academic programs, and campus infrastructure.
FY25 Endowment Waterfall (Schedule D, Part V)
Visualizing the bridge from Beginning of Year (1a) to End of Year (1g) in millions.
5-Year Historical Endowment Balances (Line 1g)
End of year balance progression in billions (FY21 - FY25).
| IRS Line Item | FY25 (Current) | FY24 (Prior) | FY23 (2 Yrs Back) | FY22 (3 Yrs Back) | FY21 (4 Yrs Back) |
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| 1a. Beginning of year | $1,100,888,467 | $1,047,642,422 | $1,028,313,070 | $1,038,917,229 | $819,123,414 |
| 1b. Contributions | $45,169,793 | $22,649,962 | $22,761,746 | $24,601,826 | $24,284,516 |
| 1c. Net investment earnings | $106,778,203 | $80,816,944 | $45,582,528 | $9,579,810 | $235,533,467 |
| 1d. Grants or scholarships | ($25,834,945) | ($24,038,627) | ($22,817,209) | ($20,685,552) | ($18,772,673) |
| 1e. Other expenditures | ($20,862,054) | ($19,103,632) | ($18,815,699) | ($17,294,766) | ($15,475,231) |
| 1f. Administrative expenses | ($8,927,997) | ($7,078,602) | ($7,382,014) | ($6,805,477) | ($5,776,264) |
| 1g. End of year balance | $1,197,211,467 | $1,100,888,467 | $1,047,642,422 | $1,028,313,070 | $1,038,917,229 |
Per-Student Spending and True Cost
Standardized university financial benchmarking measures per-student spending using direct Program Service Expenses (Form 990, Part III, Line 4e and Part IX, Column B), capturing all direct educational, residential, student life, and research resources deployed for students while excluding institutional overhead and fundraising. In FY25, Wake Forest expended $670,745,090 in total program services across its 8,053 degree-seeking students (5,490 undergraduates and 2,563 graduate students), equating to $83,291 per student in direct program service spending (85.3% of total university expenditures).
Within that program service total, regular session academic instruction and student scholarship aid across Wake Forest's seven schools (Part III, Line 4a) totaled $436,455,868, or $54,198 per student ($38,509 net per student excluding $126.34 million in Line 4a scholarship grants). When adding $88.08 million in management and general administration (11.2%) and $27.45 million in fundraising costs (3.5%), overall institutional expenditure reaches $786,273,688, or $97,637 per student. By comparison, gross tuition and fee revenue ($459,569,927, or $57,068 per student) plus student housing, dining, and health fees ($58,243,209) generated $517,813,136 in gross student charges ($64,301 per student). After deducting $140,821,717 in direct domestic student scholarship grants, net student revenue totaled $376,991,419, or $46,814 per student—covering 56.2% of Wake Forest's $83,291 per-student direct program service spend and leaving a $36,477 per-student subsidy funded by philanthropy, endowment payouts, athletics, and investment income.
Operations vs. Revenue
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Total Direct Program Service Spend (Part III, Line 4e & Part IX, Col. B): $670,745,090 across 8,053 undergraduate and graduate students ($83,291 per student across academic instruction, student aid, residential life, athletics, campus wellbeing, and research).
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Regular Session Academic Program Spend & Total Enterprise Spend (Part III, Line 4a & Part IX): $436,455,868 in regular session academic instruction and student aid ($54,198 gross per student; $38,509 net excluding $126.34M in Line 4a scholarship grants) and $786,273,688 in overall institutional spend ($97,637 per student).
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Net vs. Gross Student Fee Coverage: Gross tuition and fees total $459,569,927 ($57,068/student), and combined gross tuition, housing, dining, and health fees total $517,813,136 ($64,301/student, or 77.2% of direct program service spend). Net of $140.82M in student scholarship grants, net student cash inflows ($376.99M, or $46,814/student) cover 56.2% of the $83,291 per-student direct program service cost.
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Residential Life, Dining & ACC Athletics (Part III, Line 4b): $108,638,963 ($13,490/student, generating $111,739,621 in revenue and $18,034,646 in grants) supporting a mandatory 3-year undergraduate on-campus residency model across 27 housing facilities and 17 dining venues, alongside 18 NCAA Division I varsity teams (96% NCAA graduation success rate and 11 national championships, including the May 2025 men's tennis national title).
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Campus Wellbeing, Research & Global Study (Lines 4c, 4d & Schedule F): $73,897,470 ($9,176/student) for Campus Life, the Reynolds/Sutton Wellbeing Center, and 200+ student clubs; $51,752,789 ($6,427/student) for Carnegie R2 research across 11 institutes, the Lilly Endowment-backed Educating Character Initiative, and 88.5 WFDD public radio; plus $15,663,746 in international expenditures across 18 foreign offices and 50 global staff supporting 1,171 study-abroad students (including $10.68M in Europe at Casa Artom in Venice, Flow House in Vienna, and Worrell House in London).
Financial Aid: How Wake Forest Deploys $140.8M in Student Scholarships
Wake Forest treats student financial aid as a core component of its Pro Humanitate mission, creating 175 new scholarships in FY25 alone. Per Form 990, Part III (Line 4a), approximately 48% of the undergraduate student population and the vast majority of graduate students received financial aid awards in the form of grants or loans during the 2024–25 academic year.
On Form 990 Schedule I (Part III), Wake Forest recorded $140,821,717 in direct cash scholarship and grant assistance across 4,786 cumulative domestic student awards (representing a 59.4% award-to-enrollment ratio across 8,053 students, or 3,253 core General Tuition Scholarship recipients representing 40.4% of total enrollment and 59.3% of the 5,490-student undergraduate body). Student scholarships represent the single largest use of Wake Forest's endowment, consuming 55.32% ($25.83 million) of all expendable endowment distributions in FY25.
Internal Student Support (Schedule I & Part III)
- Aided Student Share (Part III, Line 4a) ~48% Undergrad / Majority Grad
- General Tuition Scholarships (Schedule I) $126,052,920 (3,253 / 40.4%)
- Tuition Concessions (146 Dependents) $6,461,465 ($44,257 avg.)
- Third-Party (253), ROTC (25) & Dept/Abroad (1,109) $8,307,332
- Total Domestic Student Cash Grants $140,821,717 (4,786 awards)
Institutional Subgrants & Global Research Assistance
- Domestic Organizational & Character Grants ($19,391,004) Reported on Part IX, Line 1 and Schedule I, funding external research subcontracts and the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), which has redirected $35M+ in Lilly Endowment grants to 140+ colleges (including 40 institutional grants to 42 colleges in FY25).
- Foreign Research Subcontracts & Study Abroad Aid ($1,388,861) Reported on Part IX, Line 3 and Schedule F, comprising $989,572 in research subcontracts in South America, $261,646 in East Asia & Pacific, $116,728 in Europe, $22,193 in North America, and $900 in European scholarship aid.
Executive and Athletics Compensation
Wake Forest’s Schedule J disclosures highlight the compensation structure of an ACC Division I university linked to a major academic health system. The highest-compensated individual reported on Schedule J in FY25 was Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Julie A. Freischlag, MD, who received $7,634,720 in total compensation (including a $4.36 million bonus and $688,380 in vested deferred compensation)—100% of which was paid by a related organization, Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS), for her concurrent service as CEO of WFUHS, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC), and North Carolina Baptist Hospital, and Chief Academic Officer of the Atrium Health enterprise (with $0 paid by the Reynolda Campus filing organization).
Among employees paid directly by Wake Forest University's Reynolda Campus, athletics and executive leaders topped the roster: Head Football Coach David P. Clawson ($4,951,073), Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Forbes ($2,586,667), President Susan R. Wente, PhD ($1,883,267, including $1,129,530 base salary and $262,656 in supplemental deferred retirement), Director of Athletics John A. Currie ($1,377,977), and Football Offensive Coordinator Warren D. Ruggiero ($1,146,966). Because Wake Forest pays over $1 million in remuneration to covered executives and coaches, it is subject to the federal IRC Section 4960 21% excise tax on excess executive compensation (Form 990, Part V, Line 15).
Payroll Scale and Compensation Governance
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Total Institutional Payroll: Wake Forest expended $361,250,591 in total salaries, wages, pension contributions, and employee benefits in FY25 (+7.1% YoY, representing 45.9% of all university expenses) across 6,118 W-2 employees, with 723 staff members earning over $100,000.
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Board Compensation Governance (Schedule J & O): An independent external higher education compensation consultant presents peer comparability data to the Board of Trustees' Compensation Committee, which consists exclusively of independent non-employee trustees and approves all executive and coaching compensation, goal-based incentives, and supplemental nonqualified retirement plans.
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Presidential Residence & Interested Party Disclosures (Schedule J & L): President Susan R. Wente resides in a university-owned residence as a condition of employment (nontaxable under IRC Section 119, with personal-space housekeeping taxed as income). Under Schedule L, Part III and Schedule J, Part III, six executives received dependent tuition remission benefits ranging from $9,683 to $18,401 under the university-wide Employee Dependent Tuition Concession Plan ($43,296 Schedule L line item), and under Schedule L, Part IV, Chris Hardy (a family member of President Wente) received $97,870 in regular employee wages.
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Form 990, Schedule J, Part II: Compensation Breakdown — All 18 Listed Individuals (FY25)
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| Name & Title (A) | Base Comp (B-i) | Bonus (B-ii) | Other (B-iii) | Retirement & Deferred (C) | Nontaxable Benefits (D) | Total (E) | Prior Deferred (F) |
| Julie A. Freischlag, MD*EVP Health Affairs (Paid by WFUHS) | $2,476,070 | $4,358,126 | $760,433 | $19,092 | $20,999 | $7,634,720 | $688,380 |
| David P. ClawsonFootball Coach | $4,763,190 | $30,000 | $76,809 | $34,500 | $46,574 | $4,951,073 | $0 |
| Steve ForbesMen's Basketball Coach | $2,387,140 | $92,000 | $36,353 | $25,875 | $45,299 | $2,586,667 | $0 |
| Susan R. Wente, PhDPresident & Trustee | $1,129,530 | $322,500 | $67,802 | $288,531 | $74,904 | $1,883,267 | $0 |
| John A. CurrieDirector of Athletics | $984,090 | $240,000 | $30,311 | $75,875 | $47,701 | $1,377,977 | $0 |
| Warren D. RuggieroFootball Offensive Coordinator | $1,063,438 | $0 | $7,458 | $34,500 | $41,570 | $1,146,966 | $0 |
| Michele Gillespie, PhDProvost | $738,556 | $52,600 | $224,091 | $84,500 | $28,078 | $1,127,825 | $150,000 |
| Jacqueline A. Travisano, EdDEVP, CFO & Treasurer | $783,456 | $56,500 | $12,489 | $217,250 | $26,350 | $1,096,045 | $0 |
| Charles L. Iacovou, PhDDean, School of Professional Studies | $486,327 | $135,667 | $247,347 | $109,500 | $28,226 | $1,007,067 | $234,450 |
| Mark A. PetersenSVP University Advancement | $705,672 | $60,000 | $30,638 | $119,500 | $46,986 | $962,796 | $0 |
| Brad LambertFootball Defensive Coordinator | $871,590 | $8,000 | $7,458 | $17,250 | $32,535 | $936,833 | $0 |
| Brian A. WhiteVP, Corporate Secretary & General Counsel | $611,099 | $58,000 | $23,962 | $17,250 | $30,563 | $740,874 | $0 |
| Annette Ranft, PhDDean, School of Business | $544,889 | $34,667 | $14,196 | $17,250 | $15,023 | $626,025 | $0 |
| Jackie Krasas, PhDDean, Wake Forest College | $475,005 | $36,001 | $12,354 | $17,250 | $14,555 | $555,165 | $0 |
| B. Hofler MilamFormer EVP, CFO & Treasurer | $438,631 | $0 | $371 | $34,500 | $22,772 | $496,274 | $0 |
| J. Reid MorganFormer SVP, Secretary & General Counsel | $366,986 | $39,600 | $5,696 | $34,500 | $22,918 | $469,700 | $0 |
| Anthony P. Marsh, PhDSr. Assoc. Dean, Wake Forest College | $249,805 | $0 | $396 | $26,195 | $38,234 | $314,630 | $0 |
| Rogan Kersh, PhDFormer Provost | $205,447 | $0 | $198 | $21,183 | $14,159 | $240,987 | $0 |
Facilities, Debt, and Municipal Relations
Wake Forest’s physical footprint spans its 340-acre Reynolda Campus in Winston-Salem (more than 80 buildings, 27 residential facilities renovated or built over the past decade, and 17 dining venues), historic cultural properties including the Graylyn Estate and Conference Center, Reynolda Gardens, and Reynolda House Museum of American Art, downtown Winston-Salem biomedical and graduate spaces at Wake Downtown and the Brookstown Campus, and two Charlotte hubs (the Charlotte Center and The Pearl medical innovation district).
To finance campus modernization while preserving endowment liquidity, Wake Forest combines philanthropy with tax-exempt municipal bonds issued through the North Carolina Capital Facilities Finance Agency (NCCFFA) and institutional notes. In its municipal relations with Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, and Mecklenburg County, Wake Forest does not make standalone voluntary PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) disbursements on Schedule I; instead, its local fiscal footprint centers on commercial real estate operating taxes, adaptive reuse of former tobacco industrial corridors in downtown Winston-Salem, and $19.39 million in Schedule I grants to domestic organizations and community partners.
Capital Debt & Municipal Engagement
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Physical Plant & Campus Operations: Wake Forest holds $1.46 billion ($1,461,637,327) in gross land, buildings, and equipment ($754.04 million net book value after $707.59 million in accumulated depreciation, plus $18.0 million in non-capitalized art and museum collections), recording $52.38 million in annual depreciation, $12.44 million in repairs and maintenance, and $10.91 million in occupancy expenses.
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Tax-Exempt Bonds & Institutional Debt (Schedule K): The university carries $560.50 million in total principal debt ($581.63 million including $21.13 million in unamortized bond premium)—comprising $246.29 million in tax-exempt NCCFFA revenue bonds (the $190.09M Series 2016 and $107.74M Series 2018 issues), $240.03 million in unsecured notes and loans, and $74.19 million in secured mortgages—paying $20.49 million in FY25 interest expense.
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Schedule I Town-Gown PILOT Payments, Adaptive Reuse & Municipal Relations: While Wake Forest records $0 in standalone municipal PILOT payments on Schedule I, the university holds $62.23 million in investment real estate buildings (Schedule D, Part VI), incurs $7.02 million in direct rental property expenses and local taxes on $8.60 million in gross commercial rents (Part VIII, Line 6), spearheads downtown Winston-Salem's adaptive reuse through Wake Downtown and related Wake Forest Innovation Quarter entities (Schedule R), and disbursed $19.39 million in Schedule I domestic organizational grants alongside $77,378 in Schedule C state and federal legislative relations.
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Top Independent Contractors: Among 201 independent contractors paid over $100,000 in FY25, the top five reflect campus dining, Winston-Salem construction, and online graduate expansion: Harvest Table Culinary Group ($31.96M for food service), Frank L. Blum Construction Company ($19.34M), James R. Vannoy & Sons Construction Co. ($15.52M), Embanet-Compass Knowledge Group Inc. ($6.60M for online education), and Kaplan Higher Education LLC ($6.49M for online education).
Editorial Note
All financial figures in this report derive from Wake Forest University’s FY25 IRS Form 990 (covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 across 8,053 degree-seeking students—5,490 undergraduates and 2,563 graduate and professional students) and have been reviewed by the data team.
While Wake Forest expends $83,291 per student on direct program services ($54,198 per student on regular session academic instruction and student aid, and $97,637 per student in total enterprise expenditure), Chicardgo School does not imply that financial expenditure mathematically causes specific postgraduate earnings or placement outcomes (such as its 97% six-month undergraduate placement rate or 97.4% School of Law employment rate). Rather, these financial resources sustain the 10-to-1 faculty ratio, residential college infrastructure, and scholarship access that operate alongside student selectivity.
Accounting Reconciliation: Readers comparing Wake Forest University’s KPMG-audited GAAP financial statements to IRS Form 990 will note three primary accounting differences detailed on Schedule D (Parts XI, XII, and XIII) and Schedule R. First, Form 990 reports $843,176,173 in total revenue and $786,273,688 in total expenses, whereas the audited financial statements report $758,414,139 in total revenue/gains and $612,598,039 in total expenses. The largest reconciliation item is $139,379,933 in student scholarships, which GAAP nets directly against gross tuition revenue as a contra-revenue discount, whereas Form 990 adds $139.38M back to both gross tuition revenue and functional grant expenses. Second, GAAP revenue includes $88,913,615 in net unrealized investment gains (excluded from Form 990 Part VIII revenue and reported separately on Part XI, Line 5), while Form 990 reclassifies $34,295,716 in net operating items—adding $31,065,630 in Settlement Obligations (Part IX, Line 24a) and $11,254,249 in investment management fees (Line 11f) to expenses while netting $7,020,723 in rental expenses, $984,381 in cost of goods sold, and $19,059 in direct fundraising event costs against gross revenues on Part VIII. Third, per Form 990 Part IV (Line 12b) and Schedule R, Wake Forest University is included in consolidated financial statements with its controlled medical and cultural affiliates—most notably Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS), Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC, co-governed with North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Atrium Health, Inc.), Reynolda House Inc., and Verger Capital Management LLC—whereas this Form 990 represents the standalone legal return of the Reynolda Campus parent corporation (EIN 56-0532138).
Frequently Asked Questions: Wake Forest's Form 990 Financials
As of Fiscal Year 2025, Wake Forest University's standalone endowment on Schedule D, Part V is valued at $1.20 billion ($1,197,211,467), up 8.7% year-over-year. Its $46.70 million direct programmatic payout ($25.83 million for scholarships and $20.86 million for academic programs and facilities) covers 5.9% of the university's $786.27 million Form 990 operating budget (7.1% or $55.62 million when including $8.93 million in endowment administrative expenses, and 7.6% to 9.1% under GAAP audited operating expense metrics).
Wake Forest spends $83,291 per student annually in direct program services ($670,745,090 across 8,053 undergraduate and graduate students), which includes $54,198 per student in regular session academic instruction and student financial aid ($436,455,868 on Part III, Line 4a). When including $88.08 million in management overhead and $27.45 million in fundraising, total enterprise spending reaches $97,637 per student ($786,273,688), compared to $57,068 per student in gross tuition and fees ($46,814 per student in net tuition, room, and board after scholarship grants).
Wake Forest disbursed $140,821,717 in direct cash grants and scholarships to domestic students on Form 990 Schedule I (Part III) in FY25, led by $126.05 million in General Tuition Scholarships across 3,253 recipients ($38,750 average grant) and $6.46 million in employee dependent tuition concessions across 146 recipients. Across 4,786 cumulative Schedule I scholarship awards (a 59.4% award-to-enrollment ratio), financial aid supports approximately 48% of undergraduates and the vast majority of graduate students.
On Schedule J, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Julie A. Freischlag, MD, received $7,634,720 in total compensation, though 100% of her pay was funded by related organization Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS) for her leadership of the academic medical center and Atrium Health enterprise. Among employees compensated directly by Wake Forest University, the highest-paid individuals were Head Football Coach David P. Clawson ($4,951,073), Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Forbes ($2,586,667), and President Susan R. Wente, PhD ($1,883,267).
No. With $1,197,211,467 in standalone endowment assets across 8,053 enrolled students—equating to $148,667 per student—Wake Forest falls well below the $500,000 per-student threshold for the federal IRC Section 4968 excise tax on net investment income (answering "No" on Form 990, Part V, Line 16). However, Wake Forest is subject to the IRC Section 4960 excise tax on executive remuneration exceeding $1 million (Part V, Line 15).
Wake Forest University's total assets reached $2.98 billion ($2,983,355,494) in Fiscal Year 2025 (up 6.4% year-over-year), anchored by $1.99 billion in balance sheet investment securities ($1.43 billion in alternative/other securities via Verger Capital Fund and $559.00 million in publicly traded securities), $754.04 million in net land, buildings, and equipment, and $129.02 million in net pledges and grants receivable.
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