Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $36,702,938 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($27,250,015). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $12M
- Funders on record
- 18
- Grants received
- $37M
- Net assets
- $32M
What American Association of State Colleges and Universities does
Mission
Aascu is a washington, d.c. Based higher education association that represents the sector of over 500 regional public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning and teaching centered culture, a commitment to preparing students to thrive in their chosen careers, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions' economic progress and cultural development.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Academic innovation and transformation (ait) promotes innovative academic affairs and student success programs. Ait supports member institutions in their mission to prepare students to serve and lead productive and fulfilling lives. Driven by an understanding that today's colleges and universities need to prepare students for work, life and citizenship in local, national and global contexts, ait's programming focuses on four key areas: student success, civic engagement, international education, and teacher education.
$7,674,120 spent$1,691,878 earned by the program50% of program spendingLeadership development and partnerships (ldp) is dedicated to the goal of building and enhancing leadership for public higher education with a primary focus on the president or chancellor and his or her senior leadership team. Ldp programming includes preparation for the presidency, orientation and development for new presidents, programming for experienced presidents, spouse/partner programming, as well as development of provosts and other emerging leaders.
$2,385,010 spent$2,641,853 earned by the program16% of program spendingAascu consulting assists institutional leaders in responding to the broad range of strategic and organizational challenges faced by administrators of higher education.
$1,473,098 spent$1,598,017 earned by the program10% of program spendingGovernment relations and policy analysis (gr & pa) promotes an understanding, appreciation and support for public higher education and the distinctive contributions of aascu members. Gr & pa proactively advocates for public policy that fosters academic quality and innovation, access, and regional stewardship.
$1,376,187 spent$1,427,926 earned by the program9% of program spendingAll other programs
$2,410,372 spent$1,423,001 earned by the program16% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $15,318,787.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $28M to $42M (+50%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2018 0% · 2021 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
7% of AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Charles Welch
President and CEO
Board chair
Ron Rochon
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 5 funders, grant income rose $10k → $5.5M.
4 of 18 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $496k from 4 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest American Academic Leadership Institute Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES raised.
From the IRS filings of AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES leans on a few funders — its largest provides 74% of grant income and the top three 94%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 96% · 2019 86% · 2020 42% · 2021 59% · 2022 81% · 2023 76% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
36% of AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES draws 95% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 9 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $536k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES is better cushioned than half of the 3,794 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,794 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
85% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
93%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 36 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- American Academic Leadership Institute (Aali) · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES?
- AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 18 organizations whose IRS filings report $36,702,938 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($27,250,015). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES have?
- IRS filings report 18 organizations giving $36,702,938 in grants to AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, 9 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES?
- GATES FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $27,250,015 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 18 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing