Key facts

Reported value

USD 888.6 million

As of

June 30, 2025

Portfolio

Endowment net assets

Location

Washington, DC

Data through FY2025

Balance reference

Endowment size and reporting scope

An endowment can contain many individual accounts with different donor purposes. Investing them together changes how assets are managed, while the accounts continue to record each beneficiary's interest. The market value of a pooled vehicle can also include reserves or other long-term funds. An endowment balance, a managed pool and total organizational assets can consequently differ even when all figures are reported accurately. Survey scope and definitions

The official USD 888.597 million figure and the FY2025 survey's USD 985.502 million describe their respective dates and reporting categories. The official balance retains its stated label, endowment net assets. A change in currency, period or included accounts can produce a different total; the figures are presented separately. Official financial scope

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

The FY2025 survey value for Carnegie Institution of Washington is USD 985.502 million, compared with USD 978.552 million for FY2024. The USD 6.950 million movement is 0.71% of the earlier balance. It includes changes in investments as well as additions and distributions. NACUBO explicitly distinguishes this change in market value from an investment rate of return. FY2025 respondent values and definitions

The available history begins in FY2016 at USD 908.772 million and ends in FY2025 at USD 985.502 million. The change across those observations is USD 76.730 million. The smallest reported balance in the displayed series is USD 908.772 million in FY2016; the largest is USD 1,158.398 million in FY2021. These are closing asset values. They do not show how much of a year's movement came from new gifts, spending or investment results. NACUBO historical workbook

Spending policy and payout

Carnegie's endowment roll-forward records total appropriations of $53.284 million in FY2025 and $58.382 million in FY2024. The FY2025 total includes $49.389 million from donor-restricted funds and $3.895 million from board-designated funds. The separate restriction-release note shows only the donor-restricted component. Its board-approved spending rule combines a 70% prior-budget weight, adjusted for inflation, with a 30% asset-value component using the policy's 5% rate. Spending disclosure

Source: carnegiescience.edu · Data through FY2025

Distribution report

A policy percentage and a budget-support percentage use different denominators. The first applies to the policy's asset base; the second compares endowment support with the institution's revenue or expenditure. Gifts for a specific scholarship or program also limit how its distribution can be used. Pooled investment management does not turn restricted support into money available for any operating purpose. Spending measures

Governance and investment office

Carnegie's board-approved spending rule combines a prior-budget component with an asset-value component. Its investment strategy covers common stocks, alternative assets, fixed income and cash. Research-program assets, operating costs and endowment accounts retain separate accounting labels. Investment governance

Federal excise tax on investment income

Public Law 119-21 changed Section 4968 for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. Applicable private institutions must have at least 3,000 tuition-paying students in the preceding tax year, with more than half located in the United States, and student-adjusted endowment of at least $500,000. The rates are 1.4% from $500,000 through $750,000 per student, 4% above $750,000 through $2 million, and 8% above $2 million. Enacted law, Section 70415 These rates apply to net investment income, using the law's prior-year asset and student-count definitions.

Carnegie is a scientific research institution. Its survey inclusion does not establish that it is an applicable tuition-charging educational institution under Section 4968. The private-foundation investment-income rules are a separate tax regime. No private-college tier is assigned from its endowment size.

FY2025 size-band comparison

The FY2025 survey value of USD 985.502 million places this respondent in the $500M to $1B band. The published band contains 74 respondents and USD 54.8 billion of aggregate assets. Its average five-year annualized net return is 10.7%, and its ten-year average is 7.8%. The size classification follows the survey-year balance even where an official disclosure on this page uses a later year or a different portfolio scope. NCSE size groups NCSE average net returns

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

The peer mix describes average reported exposures within one size band. It does not reveal individual securities or the availability of cash at a particular institution. Respondents can also use different policy benchmarks. NCSE returns are net of external management fees and expenses for periods ending June 30, 2025; those periods and fee labels govern any numerical return comparison on this page. NCSE allocation definitions

Public records and reporting dates

NACUBO's respondent is Carnegie Institution of Washington. Annual financial statements and any nonprofit return can cover a different legal entity or a wider group of resources. A university, a supporting foundation and an investment pool can each report its own assets. Total organizational assets also include resources outside the endowment, and the tax-return accounting period can differ from the survey's reporting year. Those distinctions govern how public records are compared. Respondent identity

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