$439 million in a year.
No wastewater plant.

Paid out by Cornell’s $11.8 billion endowment in fiscal 2025.

This square, at the same scale, is the $5.1 million a year Cornell pays Ithaca’s city, town, and schools.$5.1 million a year, same scale

A red square for the $439 million Cornell’s endowment paid out in fiscal 2025, and a black square about 1/86 of its area for the $5.1 million a year Cornell pays Ithaca’s city, town, and schools.

Paid out by Cornell’s $11.8 billion endowment in fiscal 2025. The black square, at the same scale, is the $5.1 million a year Cornell pays Ithaca’s city, town, and schools.

ithacashare.org/wastewater

In short

Cornell’s endowment is money it keeps invested. In fiscal 2025 (July 2024 through June 2025) it paid out $439 million. Cornell pays Ithaca’s city, town, and schools about $5.1 million a year. Cornell depends on the city’s wastewater plant, which officials plan to spend $100 million or more to repair. This page suggests Cornell give money for the plant.

One option: a voluntary gift from Cornell, restricted to the wastewater plant’s capital work, on top of the existing agreements.

Write to Ithaca Common Council The budget vote is November 4, 2026.3

Cornell can’t operate without this plant

Cornell has its own drinking-water plant but no wastewater plant. Its environmental office says the university “would not be able to operate without” the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility. Campus labs, dorms, and dining halls drain there.1

The City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca, and the Town of Dryden own the plant. In 2025, local officials planned to invest $100 million in it, and state regulators may double that.2 We found no published figure for the unfunded share.

Common Council scheduled the capital plan for October 20, 2026, discussion for October 28, and the budget vote for November 4.3

Cornell pays about $5.1 million a year

  • City of Ithaca: $4 million a year, adjusted for inflation, through June 2039.4
  • Ithaca City School District: $650,000 a year under its earlier agreement, rising to $874,000 by 2030-31.5
  • Town of Ithaca: $425,000 a year through June 2034.6

The city’s amount is its base, before the inflation adjustment.

Cornell counts these payments in the more than $30 million a year it says it spends on community priorities, along with TCAT (Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit) bus service, a housing fund, local nonprofits, and campus services such as public safety and snow removal.6

For its size, Yale pays more and Princeton less

Voluntary local payments as a share of each university’s endowment
UniversityLocal paymentEndowment% of endowment
YaleNearly $30 million (2026-27)7$44.1 billion80.07%
Cornell$5.1 million$11.8 billion90.04%
Princeton$5.9 million (2025)10$36.4 billion110.02%

If Cornell paid property tax

If its property in the city were taxed, Cornell would owe about $15.5 to $32.5 million a year, three to six times what it pays now.13

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, 2023.14 Fees pay for use. They are separate from the plant’s capital costs.
Isn’t most of the endowment restricted?
Donors restrict most of it. Cornell’s 2025 financial report lists $1.8 billion with no donor restrictions.12
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.

Method

The square compares one year to one year: the endowment’s fiscal 2025 payout and Cornell’s voluntary payments to the City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca, and the Ithaca City School District, using the city’s base before inflation. The black square’s area is to scale. Fees, campus services, and Cornell’s other community spending are not in the $5.1 million. Every source has an archived copy.

Sources

  1. Campus has its own drinking-water plant and no wastewater plant. The university “would not be able to operate without” the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility; labs, dorms, and dining halls send their wastewater there.

    Cornell Environment, Health and Safety · archived

  2. The City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca, and the Town of Dryden own the plant. Officials planned to invest $100 million; state regulators may double that.

    The Ithaca Voice, August 18, 2025 · archived

  3. Capital plan October 20, 2026; council discussion October 28; budget vote November 4.

    Ithaca Times, October 12, 2026 · archived

  4. $4 million a year to the City of Ithaca, adjusted for inflation, through June 2039.

    Cornell Chronicle, October 13, 2023 · archived

  5. The increases replace a commitment of $650,000 a year to the Ithaca City School District; the contribution reaches $874,000 by 2030-31.

    Cornell Chronicle, January 22, 2026 · archived

  6. $425,000 a year to the Town of Ithaca through June 2034. More than $30 million a year to community priorities, including these contributions.

    Cornell Chronicle, June 25, 2024 · archived

  7. Yale’s voluntary payment to New Haven is nearly $30 million in fiscal 2027.

    Yale News, March 6, 2026 · archived

  8. Yale endowment of $44.1 billion at June 30, 2025.

    Yale News, October 24, 2025 · archived

  9. Endowment of $11.8 billion at June 30, 2025, which contributed $439 million to operations in fiscal 2025.

    Cornell University statement, October 28, 2025 · archived

  10. Princeton paid the Municipality of Princeton $5.9 million in 2025.

    Princeton University, March 26, 2026 · archived

  11. Princeton endowment of $36.4 billion at June 30, 2025.

    Princeton Alumni Weekly · archived

  12. $1.8 billion of the endowment has no donor restrictions (funds functioning as endowment), June 30, 2025, Note 12.

    Cornell University Consolidated Financial Statements, fiscal 2025 · archived

  13. $2.7 billion in tax-exempt property on the 2022 assessment roll; about $32.5 million at the 2023 rate, or about $15.5 million with the rate adjusted.

    The Ithacan, October 4, 2023 · archived

  14. $2.6 million in water, sewer, and stormwater fees in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

    Cornell Chronicle, April 3, 2024 · archived