Memorial University of Newfoundland is a top-rated five-star charity with low funding reserves that can cover less than a year of program costs. As with most large universities, it has a high results reporting grade and is financially transparent.

Founded in 1925, Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) is a public university based in St. John’s. MUN is the only university in Newfoundland and Labrador. The university has five campuses across Newfoundland and Labrador: St. John’s, Signal Hill, Labrador, Grenfel, and Marine Institute. It also has one campus in Harlow, United Kingdom. MUN offers students 260 degree programs across its 12 faculties and schools. Its main charitable programs are Academics, Research, and Renovations. 

In Fall of 2020, Memorial University of Newfoundland had 19,270 students enrolled, including 14,382 undergraduate students, 4,037 graduate students, 596 Marine Institute diploma students, and 255 postgraduate medical students. The charity reports that it had 3,495 international students, including 1,670 from Asia, 801 from Sub-Saharan Africa, 478 from the Middle East and North Africa, and 546 from other regions. 

The university reports that it spent $185.2m on research and development in F2021. It did not disclose the number of research grants it gave out during the year. In Fall of 2021, MUN opened its Core Science Facility and finished its energy performance project. The energy performance project involved renovating campus facilities to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

In F2021, Memorial University of Newfoundland received $17.4m in Canadian donations, representing a 71% increase from F2020. It received $400.2m of government funding (62% of total revenue) during the year. The university earned $30.7m in investment income (5% of total revenue), representing a 14% annual return. Its average annual investment return since F2014 is 5%. The average annual investment return of the S&P 500 from 2014 to 2021 is around 13%. MUN’s investment portfolio is 12% composed of real estate.

Administrative costs are 22% of total revenue excluding investment income. Fundraising costs are 13% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 35%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 65 cents go to the cause. This is just within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

Memorial University of Newfoundland has $165.5m in net funding reserves ($396.5m in liquid assets less $231.0m in interest-bearing debts). Its liquid assets also include $102.1m in donor-endowed funds. MUN’s net funding reserves, excluding donor-endowed funds, can cover annual program costs for around two months.

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

Updated on July 15th, 2022 by Arjun Kapur.