Carleton University is a 4-star charity. It is financially transparent and has an A- results reporting grade which is above average. Its overhead spending is 17%, which is within Ci’s reasonable range. Its reserve funds can cover program costs for just under nine months, which is also within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1942, Carleton University (CU) is a public university in Ottawa, Ontario. Its campus is over 100 acres, located on a site between the Rideau River and Rideau Canal. CU aims to give students an interdisciplinary, active and hands-on approach to learning through its teaching and research practices. 

CU funds three main areas: Academics, Research, and Capital Expenditures. The charity does not provide a breakdown on its $717.4m in program spending for fiscal year ending April 2024 (F2024). 

Academics aims to provide students with quality education, diverse programs, and career opportunities. In 2025, CU offers 110 undergraduate programs and 91 graduate programs. As of June 2025, CU has 30,760 enrolled students: 25,722 undergraduate students and 5,038 graduate students.

Research works to improve the knowledge, technologies, and services at CU. Key research areas include AI, health technology, environment and sustainability, accessibility, and information and communications technology. In 2025, CU had 10 recipients of the Research Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding research achievements at CU. The university has 21 individuals who are part of Canada Research Chairs, which is a program aimed to achieve research excellence in Canada and internationally.

Capital Expenditures aims to provide quality services through CU’s facilities, operation, energy and sustainability management. It most recent completed major capital expenditure project was in 2021: the Nicol Building for the Sprott School of Business. The building is over 100,000 square feet and had an operating budget of $65.1m over its two year development.

Carleton University’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which is not a best practice. This means Ci referred to CU’s T3010 filings with the CRA Charities Directorate to report program, administrative and fundraising costs.

CU received $49.5m in donations in F2024, which is 7% of revenue. In F2024, it received $359.0m from fees for its services, which is 48% of total revenue. In F2024, it received $255.1m in government funding, which is 34% of total revenue. It spent $717.4m on its programs in F2024, which is 96% of revenue. CU recorded a deficit of $2.8m in F2024.

In F2024, CU spent $6.1m on fundraising costs, which is 12% of donations. It spent $32.3m on administrative costs, which is 5% of revenue. CU has total overhead spending of 17%. For every dollar donated to CU, 83 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

CU has $872.0m in reserve funds (cash and investments). It has donor endowments of $359.7m. Excluding donor-endowed funds, CU’s reserve funds can cover 73% or just under nine months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

This report is an update that has been sent to Carleton University for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 12, 2025, by Leah DeFrancesco.