February 23, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Dan Prives, an expert on charity finances, found some interesting omissions when he took a look at Yale University’s informational tax returns.
It seems Yale doesn’t properly list its revenue on the form, according to Mr. Prives’ Where Most Needed blog.
Mr. Prives also found that Yale doesn’t list its endowment transactions and doesn’t break down its expenses into basic categories such as program costs, general and administrative spending, and fund-raising expenditures.
“It amazes me that an organization this size can go on so long with a brazenly incomplete Form 990 without someone addressing the issue or other organizations following suit (if it’s legit),” he writes. “It just shows how little attention is paid to Form 990, even by the major players.”
Mr. Prives spent 15 years working with nonprofit organizations on financial reporting and accounting and other related issues.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported in October that Yale received private support totaling $285.7-million in its 2005 fiscal year and generated more than $3.4 billion in total income. The university was No. 41 on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 list of the nonprofit institutions that raise the most from private sources.
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