Summarized financial information for the year ended June 30, 2021
The University’s operating surplus for the year was $282.7 million. The balance sheet was strengthened this past year as net assets increased by $13.2 billion to $63.4 billion. The increase in net assets was driven by investment returns on the endowment, generous contributions, and a disciplined focus on financial management. Moody's and Standard & Poor's both reconfirmed Harvard's AAA rating this past year.
Read the full FY21 Financial Overview from the Vice President for Finance and the Treasurer
Operating Revenue
Total operating revenue decreased 2% to $5.2 billion. Harvard’s diversified revenue portfolio relies on three main sources of revenue: education or tuition, sponsored research, and philanthropy.
Sources of Operating Revenue for Fiscal 2021
| Endowment income made available for operations | 39% |
| Research | 18% |
| Education/Tuition | 17% |
| Gifts for current use | 10% |
| Other | 16% |
Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses decreased by 8% to $5.0 billion. Compensation expense (i.e. salaries, wages and benefits), which represents approximately half of the University's total operating expense, decreased 4%. Excluding fiscal year 2020’s early retirement costs, compensation expense decreased 1%.
Operating Expenses for Fiscal 2021
| People: Salaries and wages, benefits | 54% |
| Space: Space and occupancy, depreciation, interest | 18% |
| Other Operating Expenses | 28% |
Read the full FY21 Financial Report
Harvard's Endowment
Harvard’s endowment is a dedicated and permanent source of support for the University and its mission of teaching and research, in the present and forever. The aggregate endowment is made up of more than 14,000 individual endowments created over the last 350 years, which support faculty and students, including professorships and financial aid for undergraduates, graduate fellowships, and student life and activities.
Donor contributions to the endowment have enabled leading financial aid programs, groundbreaking discoveries in scientific research, and hundreds of professorships across a wide range of academic fields.
Distributions from Harvard’s endowment provide a critical source of funding for the University. The endowment distributed $2.0 billion in the fiscal year 2021.
While the endowment is a critical source of funding, 70% of the annual distribution is restricted to specific programs, departments, or purposes and must be spent in accordance with the terms set forth by the donor. Funds without donor restriction are more flexible in nature and are critical in supporting structural operating expenses and transformative, strategic initiatives.
