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Indiana · Nonprofit

TRINE UNIVERSITY

TRINE UNIVERSITY (Indiana) receives grants from 124 organizations whose IRS filings report $43,794,223 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($20,843,415). 74 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2026
$224M
Funders on record
124
Grants received
$44M
Net assets
$482M
74/124 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 5%
01What it does

What Trine University does

Mission

Trine, an internationally recognized private, independent, co-educational institution offers degrees in various programs including engineering, math, science and business.

As stated on its FY2026 Form 990.

Programs

  1. All other revenue and expenses relate to other educational instructions in science, business administration, teaching education, communications, and social sciences.

    $127,061,751 spentof which $50,557,345 as grants$104,959,079 earned by the program
    84% of program spending
  2. The allen school of engineering and computing served 883 students in the 2025/2026 academic year. The school's mission is to promote the application of science and technology by preparing graduates for the practice of engineering, engineering technology, and computing at the professional level. To attain its vision, the school focuses on producing engineers, computer scientists, and technologists who have a broad education; see themselves as global citizens; have the potential for leadership in business and public service; and have a strong ethical foundation. The school offers bachelor of science in engineering degrees in biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, robotics, plus bachelor's degrees in computer information technology, computer science, cybersecurity, design engineering technology, and extended reality. Students can minor in aeronautical, biomechanical, bioprocess, energy, environmental, metallurgical, plastics, software, and structural engineering, as well as in cybersecurity, data science, game design & esports, and robotics. (expenses $ 6,468,178 including grants of $) see schedule o

    $11,008,468 spent$63,979,197 earned by the program
    7% of program spending
  3. The mission of the college of graduate and professional studies (cgps) at Trine University is to focus on continuous improvement while providing a diverse population of learners a high-quality education, where they will receive personalized support, preparing them to succeed in the organizations and communities they lead and serve. In the 2026 fiscal year, cgps served over 11,000 students, including international and domestic degree-seeking students, consortium students, as well as traditional and dual enrollment students in online classes. Cgps offers a comprehensive selection of certificate and undergraduate programs in disciplines such as business administration, criminal justice, cybersecurity, psychology, engineering, technology, healthcare, leadership, and general studies. Additionally, cgps provides various master's degrees in business administration, business analytics, engineering management, artificial intelligence, information studies, and leadership. For those aspiring to further their academic pursuits, cgps also offers a doctoral program in information technology and a doctor of business administration. (expenses $ 6,468,178 including grants of $) see schedule o

    $6,784,019 spentof which $120,402 as grants$24,715,766 earned by the program
    4% of program spending
  4. 1369 students signed an athletic participation form in the trine athletic department in fiscal year 2026. The male and female population chose from 36 teams. The staff included 28 head coaches, athletic trainers, 2 sports information directors, 1 athletic director, 4 assistant athletic directors, 1 administrative assistant, and 69 assistants. The goal for the athletic department is to meet or exceed those set forth by the national collegiate athletic association division iii and the michigan intercollegiate athletic conference. The mission of this department is to provide individuals with a successful program of study along with the enjoyment of college athletics, leading to a successful post-graduation life. The athletic department is committed to providing year-round guidance, activities, and services to its athletes and the community. Facilities are available and in constant use by the school population and the surrounding community. Short-term and long-term goals focus on providing all individuals with programs and appropriate support to enhance their potential for individual success.

    $6,468,178 spent
    4% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2026 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $151,322,416.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($99M) Expenses 100 ($83M) Net assets 100 ($128M)2018 Revenue 103 ($101M) Expenses 111 ($92M) Net assets 109 ($140M)2019 Revenue 104 ($103M) Expenses 117 ($97M) Net assets 116 ($149M)2020 Revenue 114 ($113M) Expenses 121 ($100M) Net assets 123 ($157M)2021 Revenue 123 ($122M) Expenses 130 ($107M) Net assets 143 ($184M)2022 Revenue 138 ($137M) Expenses 140 ($117M) Net assets 154 ($198M)2023 Revenue 189 ($187M) Expenses 157 ($130M) Net assets 200 ($257M)2024 Revenue 214 ($212M) Expenses 182 ($151M) Net assets 252 ($324M)2025 Revenue 235 ($233M) Expenses 192 ($159M) Net assets 311 ($400M)2026 Revenue 226 ($224M) Expenses 199 ($165M) Net assets 375 ($482M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26
Revenue (226)Expenses (199)Net assets (375)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2025 to 2026, from $441M to $521M (+18%).

$172M
$190M
$195M
$197M
$222M
$236M
$299M
$365M
$441M
$521M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2017 0% · 2018 0% · 2019 0% · 2020 2% · 2021 0% · 2022 5% · 2023 0% · 2024 0% · 2025 0% · 2026 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

9% of TRINE UNIVERSITY’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (14% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 732 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 10 reported years ran a deficit.

$16M
’17
$9.7M
’18
$6.3M
’19
$13M
’20
$14M
’21
$20M
’22
$57M
’23
$61M
’24
$73M
’25
$59M
’26
2.9
months of
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

Mr Rick L James

Board chair

As listed on its FY2026 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'25'26
Listed363334343437333637
Joined·+7+4+7+5+7+9·+6
No longer listed·10375413·5
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 26 funders to 51 funders, grant income fell $5.1M → $4.2M.

21 of 124 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 5% 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 TRINE UNIVERSITY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 124 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

TRINE UNIVERSITY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 48% of grant income and the top three 76%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

48%
largest funder
76%
top three
~4
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 63% · 2018 42% · 2019 37% · 2020 31% · 2021 30% · 2022 34% · 2023 33% — 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

43% of TRINE UNIVERSITY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

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

93% of TRINE UNIVERSITY's grant income comes from Indiana funders.

MN
IL
MI
NY
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
MO
VA
AZ
NC
AL
TX
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Indiana out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 16 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

TRINE UNIVERSITY has grown faster than three-quarters of the 726 education nonprofits its size.

Revenue growth (annualized)9% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 726 education nonprofits over $100M, FY2026

Government funding TRINE UNIVERSITY receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $14.4M on record.

Federal$14.4M
grants $14.4Mcontracts $0
18
20
21
23
24
Top agencies
  • Department of Education$10.9M
  • Department of Defense$3.3M
  • National Science Foundation$200k
  • Department of Commerce$9k

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 TRINE 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.

In Indiana

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

92% of spending goes to programs.

Program 92%Management 7%Fundraising 2%

Governance

30
board members
97%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

IN

Part of a family of 4 related entities

  • Innovation One · disregarded
  • Education One · disregarded
  • Independent Colleges of Indiana Inc · exempt
  • Charitable Remainder Trusts (4) · corp_trust

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for TRINE 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.

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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 TRINE UNIVERSITY?
TRINE UNIVERSITY (Indiana) receives grants from 124 organizations whose IRS filings report $43,794,223 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($20,843,415). 74 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does TRINE UNIVERSITY have?
IRS filings report 124 organizations giving $43,794,223 in grants to TRINE UNIVERSITY, 74 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of TRINE UNIVERSITY?
LILLY ENDOWMENT INC is the largest funder on record, with $20,843,415 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like TRINE UNIVERSITY find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Indiana. 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 Trine University →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2026 (financials across 2017–2026), and the filings of 124 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