Key facts

Reported value

USD 459.5 million

As of

FY2025 survey reporting period

Portfolio

Survey respondent endowment

Location

East Lansing, MI

Data through FY2025

Balance reference

Endowment size and reporting scope

The USD 459.549 million FY2025 figure follows the survey's respondent, Michigan State University Research Foundation. The legal filer discussed below can have a different accounting perimeter. Endowed accounts may include both donor-restricted resources and amounts designated for long-term use by a governing board. Investing those accounts together does not remove their spending restrictions. The prior-year USD 468.671 million figure supplies a second closing observation, after the effects of annual support and new gifts. Survey scope and definitions

The FY2025 survey value for Michigan State University Research Foundation is USD 459.549 million, compared with USD 468.671 million for FY2024. The USD -9.122 million movement is -1.95% 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

Spending policy and payout

The FY2025 NCSE $250M to $500M group reports an average effective spending rate of 5.2%. That is a survey-group statistic and is not assigned as Michigan State University Research Foundation's policy. An institution's own spending rule can use several prior valuation dates, a prior-year dollar draw or additional adjustments. Its approved appropriation and the cash ultimately spent by a department can differ in timing. NCSE spending-rate table

The USD 459.549 million FY2025 survey balance for Michigan State University Research Foundation is not an annual spending budget. NCSE's effective rate describes the size group. It does not establish this respondent's approved payout or identify the programs receiving support. A fund's donor agreement continues to govern its use after money leaves the investment pool. Spending measures

Governance and investment office

The MSU Research Foundation supports research and economic development associated with Michigan State University. Its impact reporting covers research grants and commercialization activity. The foundation is distinct from the university's centrally managed donor endowment. Investment and grant figures from those two organizations are not combined. 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

This respondent is a research organization. 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.

The tax applies to net investment income; the statutory asset and student definitions determine applicability and the rate.

FY2025 size-band comparison

The FY2025 survey value of USD 459.549 million places this respondent in the $250M to $500M band. The published band contains 102 respondents and USD 37.1 billion of aggregate assets. Its average five-year annualized net return is 10.0%, and its ten-year average is 7.6%. The size band uses the FY2025 NACUBO balance. NCSE size groups NCSE average net returns

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

NCSE's allocation categories combine strategies with different liquidity and valuation practices. Its Alternatives group can include private capital, hedge funds and real assets. Matching that broad weight would not establish identical holdings. The displayed mix is a survey average, not this institution's target allocation. Published category weights are shown with an explicit rounding difference so the full bar totals 100%. NCSE allocation definitions

Public records and reporting dates

NACUBO's respondent is Michigan State University Research Foundation. 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

Related reading

• Endowment directory
• Endowments by state
• Endowments by size
• Foundation endowments
• Baker College
• Gettysburg College
• The Citadel