Mission
AURA PROVIDES INNOVATIVE, OPEN RESOURCES TO ENABLE DISCOVERY AND EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH, TO UNIFY THE ASTROPHYSICS COMMUNITIES, AND TO PROMOTE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF OUR UNIVERSE AND THE BENEFITS OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION.
Public Charity
ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY INC
ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY INC, of WASHINGTON, DC, is a Public Charity tracked in Imperigo's IRS 990 database. The 2025 filing shows $468.8M in revenue, $465.0M in expenses, $146.6M in total assets. 33 publicly reported grants to this organization, totaling roughly $1.0M, appear in IRS filings.
EIN: 860138043
WASHINGTON, DC
Astronomy
NTEE: U31
Latest filing: 2025
Total Revenue$468.8M
Total Expenses$465.0M
Total Assets$146.6M
Grant Records33
Funding Total$1.0M
Filing Years2021–2025
Where $100 goes at Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc
How Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc divides every $100 it spends, from its own Form 990 filings, averaged across 9 years.
$92
Programs
the work itself
$8
Management
running the organization
$0
Fundraising
none reported
No fundraising costs are reported. That often means fundraising runs through a separate affiliated organization that files its own return.
Inside the $92 for programs
$92
Aura operated the national science foundation's (nsf) national optical infrared laboratory (noirlab), the national solar observatory (nso), and the vera c
Source: Form 990 filings with the IRS, latest fiscal year 2025. Shares are from the organization's reported expenses. Data by Imperigo; not affiliated with the IRS.
Sample Grants Received
SUB-AWARD
$24,093
SPONSORED SUB-AWD
$14,177
$11,152
RESEARCH
$8,680
$20,759
Showing up to 5 of 33 total records — full history available with membership.
Officers & Directors
VICE CHAIR (THRU 06/25)
Andrew Baker
VP OF OPERATIONS/CFO
Barbara Lam
DIRECTOR
Brenna Flaugher
PRESIDENT
Charles Mountain
DIRECTOR, NSO
Christoph Keller
VP PROGRAMS
Dana Lehr
Officer compensation and complete director data available with membership.
Top Grant Purposes
Financial Trends
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $468.8M | $465.0M | $146.6M |
| 2024 | $450.4M | $447.3M | $125.9M |
| 2023 | $420.9M | $419.4M | $151.0M |
| 2022 | $380.3M | $382.7M | $108.7M |
| 2021 | $356.1M | $353.4M | $116.7M |
Between 2021 and 2025, reported annual revenue grew from $356.1M to $468.8M (+32%), with total assets most recently reported at $146.6M.
Interactive year-over-year charts and full filing details available with membership.