Trent University is a four-star charity with an above average results reporting grade. It is financially transparent and excluding donor-endowed funds it can cover around one or two months of program costs.

Founded in 1964, Trent University (Trent) is a public university in Ontario. It has two campuses, one in Peterborough and one in Durham. Trent aims to create an inclusive learning environment promoting leadership and social change. It offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Trent University places a strong focus on the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

For the academic year 2022/2023, 12,649 students attended Trent University. In its Peterborough campus, Trent had 9,719 undergraduate and 753 graduate students. Trent’s Durham campus had 2,082 undergraduate and 95 graduate students enrolled. The student population included 1,682 international students and 415 Indigenous students. Trent University boasts a student to faculty ratio of 20:1.

Trent supports research at both a graduate and undergraduate level. It is currently supporting 484 research projects. Its main areas of research are Humanities, Culture & Indigenous Studies, Aging, Health & Sustainable Communities and Environmental studies. There are currently ten Canada research chairs at Trent.

According to the Maclean's university rankings, Trent ranks first in Ontario and fourth in Canada for undergraduate education in 2023. It also ranks first in Ontario for student scholarships and bursaries. Trent ranks second in Canada for most innovative university.

Trent University plays a large role in the Peterborough community. In F2022, it reports having an annual economic impact of around $675m. It also hosts a wide array of public events. In F2022 it hosted the FemSTEAM conference with Fleming College. More than 1,500 students from schools in Peterborough attended the event.

Trent University received $9.8m in donations in F2022. In F2022, Trent received $136.2m (61% of total revenues) from tuition fees, and $66.8m (30% of total revenues) in government funding. Administrative costs are 5% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 15% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 21% for F2022. For every dollar donated to the charity, 79 cents go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Trent University has $168.0m in gross funding reserves and $71.0m in interest-bearing liabilities. Within its funding reserves, $73.5m is donor-endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity can cover 13% or between one and two months of annual program costs with its current reserves. When excluding its liabilities, Trent’s gross funding reserves can cover 54% or between six and seven months of program costs.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Trent University. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on May 24, 2023 by Alessandra Castino.