$11.8 billion.
No wastewater plant.

Cornell endowment, June 30, 2025.

This dot, at the same scale, is the roughly $5.1 million Cornell pays Ithaca governments each year.

A red square for Cornell’s $11.8 billion endowment, and a black dot about 1/2,300 of its area for the roughly $5.1 million Cornell pays Ithaca governments each year.
ithacashare.org

Every figure links to its source.

Already agreed

  • City of Ithaca: $4 million a year, adjusted for inflation, through June 2039.
  • Ithaca City School District: $700,000 in 2025-26, rising to $874,000 by 2030-31.
  • Town of Ithaca: $425,000 a year through June 2034.

Together, about $5.1 million, counting the city’s base before inflation.

Yale pays New Haven nearly $30 million a year. Princeton paid its municipality $5.9 million in 2025.

The plant the campus uses

Cornell has its own drinking-water plant but no wastewater plant. Its environmental office says the university could not operate without the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility. Campus labs, dorms, and dining halls drain there.

The City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca, and the Town of Dryden own the plant. Planned improvements total about $37.8 million. The unfunded share is not published.

Common Council scheduled the capital plan for October 20, 2026, discussion for October 28, and the budget vote for November 4.

Nearly 11,000 Cornell employees lived in Tompkins and neighboring counties in the year ending June 30, 2023.

The city’s description of the plant.

Cornell closed a fundraising campaign in June 2026 at nearly $6.8 billion.

Questions

Doesn’t Cornell already pay for the sewer?
It paid $2.6 million in water, sewer, and stormwater fees in the year ending June 30, 2023. Those fees are separate from the $37.8 million in planned improvements.
Would the money go into the city budget?
No. A gift restricted to the plant would not fund salaries or operating costs, and would add to the existing agreements.

Sources