Nonprofit
McMaster University
McMaster University receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $359,110 to it, the largest being TEMPLE UNIVERSITY - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION ($188,931). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.1B
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $359k
- Net assets
- $1.9B
What McMaster University does
Mission
At McMaster University our purpose is the discovery, communication and preservation of knowledge. In our teaching, research, and scholarship, we are committed to creativity, innovation and excellence. We value integrity, quality, inclusiveness and teamwork in everything we do. We inspire critical thinking, personal growth, and a passion for lifelong learning. We serve the social, cultural, and economic needs of our community and our society.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Operating fund -- unrestricted general revenues and expenses that are directly related to the mission of the university, education and activities supporting research.
$699,728,120 spentof which $29,972,740 as grants$352,178,744 earned by the program71% of program spendingResearch fund -- research-related funds externally restricted by the university that have a non-expandable requirement as well as other legal requirements for use as agreed upon by the donor and the university.
$177,885,222 spentof which $41,674,319 as grants18% of program spendingAncillary fund -- sales of goods and services by departments that are defined as being supplementary to the university's operating activities of education and research. Such sales may be made to the university community and/or external clients. Ancillary operations are self-sustaining.
$67,168,580 spent$67,147,776 earned by the program7% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$43,434,003 spentof which $9,492,109 as grants$62,192,970 earned by the program4% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $988,215,925.
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.
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 $2.1B to $2.7B (+29%).
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 36% · 2018 36% · 2019 35% · 2020 36% · 2021 32% · 2022 35% · 2023 32% · 2024 30% · 2025 29%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $45k → $0.
1 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 14% 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 McMaster University’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 5 of 6 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
McMaster University leans on a few funders — its largest provides 53% of grant income and the top three 80%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
100% 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 McMaster University.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 84% · 2021 63% · 2022 55% — 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.
Organizations like McMaster University
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.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
99% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 15 related entities
- Friends of McMaster Inc · exempt
- The First Longwood Innovation Metals LP · partnership
- First Longwood Warehouse Redevelopment · partnership
- KCAP Hamilton Grad LP · partnership
- 1000352106 Limited Partnership · partnership
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for McMaster University: 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 McMaster University?
- McMaster University receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $359,110 to it, the largest being TEMPLE UNIVERSITY - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION ($188,931). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does McMaster University have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $359,110 in grants to McMaster University, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of McMaster University?
- TEMPLE UNIVERSITY - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION is the largest funder on record, with $188,931 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like McMaster University find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations. 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 6 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