The University of Waterloo is a 4-star charity. It has above average disclosure with an A- results reporting grade. It holds reserves within Ci’s reasonable range. For every dollar donated to the charity, 64 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside of Ci's reasonable range. 

Founded in 1957, the University of Waterloo (UW) is a public research university in Waterloo, Ontario. UW has built its reputation on three pillars: research intensity, entrepreneurship, and co-operative education. It has six faculties and enrolls over 41,000 students. Its alumni network spans 157 countries and includes more than 253,000 members. UW spent $1.2 billion on programs in F2025. The university does not provide a program spending breakdown. It divides its programs into four categories:

Community, Campus, and Culture: UW invests in the physical and social infrastructure of student life. Its main campus spans 1,000 acres and 100 buildings across three satellite campuses. It houses nearly 7,000 students on campus. Students have access to 200 student clubs, competitions, and hackathons. 16k participate in intramural sports each year.

Fundamental and Applied Research: UW pursues research across natural, applied, and social sciences through 25 institutes and research groups. It drew $286m in research funding from public and private sources in F2025 and maintains 1,160 active partnerships with industry, government, and non-profits. 4,753 students are enrolled in master's and doctoral programs.

Knowledge, Graduates, and Co-op: UW delivers undergraduate and graduate education across six faculties to over 41,000 students. Its co-op program is central to its model: 77% of students participate, choosing from 120 co-op-eligible programs and 8,000 employers in over 70 countries. A further 100 student exchange programs are available in more than 30 countries.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: UW supports student and alumni ventures from early-stage ideas through commercialization. Its alumni have founded 67,945 companies globally and attracted $11.5 billion in startup investment. Velocity, UW's flagship incubator, has launched 500 companies since 2008. Last year, it trained 1,692 aspiring founders across 519 teams. Since 2020, UW has supported 5,278 student entrepreneurs in total.

The University of Waterloo uses line-item costing, which is not a best practice. Ci determined program, administrative, and fundraising expenses using UW's T3010 filing.

In F2025, UW earned $1.4 billion in revenue. It received $591.5m in student fees (43% of total revenue), $424.8m in government funding (31% of total revenue), and $66.5m in donations (4% of total revenue).

Administrative costs are 5% of revenues (less investment income). Fundraising costs are 31% of donations. Total overhead is 36%. For every dollar donated, 64 cents are available for programs. This is outside Ci's reasonable range.

In F2025, UW spent $1.2 billion on programs, or 85% of total revenue. It recorded a $112.8m surplus and spent $114.3m on capital projects.

UW has $1.2 billion in total reserve funds. These reserve funds are UW’s cash and investments. Of this, $743.6m is donor endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, UW could cover 37%, or just under 5 months of annual program costs.

This charity update has been sent to the University of Waterloo for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. Updated by Nick Reszetnik on June 9, 2026.