Drivers of revenues and expenses in higher-education non-profit institutions

Double Degree

This paper studies the main drivers of revenues and expenses in non-profit organizations. Particularly, I focus on higher-education institutions in the United States, where the reliance on contributions to endowment funds and other donations is more significant. I conclude that the total revenues of non-profit organizations in the analyzed sub-sector are relatively stable from year to year. Furthermore, fundraising activities are critical in the gathering of funds. I also find that larger institutions receive a higher amount in contributions and spend a lower proportion of their expenses in overhead. According to the results, religiously affiliated higher-education non-profit institutions assign a higher portion of their expenditure to administration and fundraising activities than non-affiliated comparables. Finally, higher levels of transparency and accountability lead non-profits to using a higher share of spending in the proposed program.