California · Nonprofit
GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION
GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION (California) receives grants from 42 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,680,672 to it, the largest being THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ($500,000). 22 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $12M
- Funders on record
- 42
- Grants received
- $2.7M
- Net assets
- $62M
What Graduate Theological Union does
Mission
The Graduate Theological Union brings together scholars of the world's diverse religions and wisdom traditions to advance new knowledge, share inspiration and collaborate on solutions. We carry out our work by:- educating scholars for vocations devoted to study and service- equipping leaders for a world of diverse religions and cultures- teaching patterns of faith that encourage justice and care of the planet- servicing as an educational and theological resource for local communities, the nation, and the world
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Instruction and academic services - provided instruction, academic advising and other services for approximately 160 gtu students enrolled in certificate, master and doctoral degree programs. Provided instruction to approximately 300 additional students from across the consortium.
$4,195,713 spentof which $1,049,081 as grants$2,219,697 earned by the program57% of program spendingLibrary - operated the flora lamson hewlett library, one of the most comprehensive theological libraries in the united states. The library contains more than 538,000 books and 700 periodical subscriptions. In addition, the library has access to 126 databases that support the study of religion as well as 100,000 digital journal titles, all of which are available for remote access.
$2,907,000 spent$1,783,000 earned by the program40% of program spendingProvided learning management and course management services to eight member institutions and other affiliated organizations.
$224,000 spent$147,000 earned by the program3% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $7,326,713.
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 2020 to 2021, from $62M to $72M (+17%).
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: 2017 1% · 2018 0% · 2019 1% · 2020 10% · 2021 9% · 2022 13% · 2023 1% · 2024 0% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
26% of GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 7 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.
Board chair
William D Glenn
Chair, trustee
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 12 funders to 17 funders, grant income rose $179k → $542k.
11 of 42 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 35% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 42 funders by total. 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
GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
38% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 28% · 2018 61% · 2019 22% · 2020 40% · 2021 26% · 2022 39% · 2023 25% — 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
31% of GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 52% 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
GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION draws 62% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 12 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $928k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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
GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 3,758 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,758 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $876k on record.
- Department of Education$851k
- National Endowment for the Humanities$25k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
67% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION: 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 GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION?
- GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION (California) receives grants from 42 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,680,672 to it, the largest being THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ($500,000). 22 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION have?
- IRS filings report 42 organizations giving $2,680,672 in grants to GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION, 22 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION?
- THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY is the largest funder on record, with $500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Graduate Theological Union →
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 42 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing