University contributions to Princeton municipality: 2025 summary

A summary of the many ways in which Princeton University currently contributes to and engages with the Princeton community. Submitted in a memo to the Princeton Mayor and Council on March 18, 2026. 

Contributions to Princeton: Overview

Voluntary contributions to Municipality of Princeton

For decades, Princeton University has made voluntary contributions to the Municipality of Princeton. In January 2024, the University announced contributions intended to be made over five years including $28.2 million in unrestricted funding to the municipality and an additional $11.35 million to support specific projects related to mass transit, infrastructure repairs and improvements, acquisition of emergency equipment, costs related to fire department personnel, construction of municipal facilities, and emergency housing.

Tax and sewer payments

The University is the largest property taxpayer in both the municipality and Mercer County, paying $9.5 million in property and sewer taxes for properties in the Municipality of Princeton in 2025.

Police, fire and emergency services

The University provides significant support for police, fire and emergency services in the community. The University Department of Public Safety (DPS) has a staff of 159 including sworn officers, non-sworn security officers, fire marshals, supervisory, dispatch and administrative staff. DPS operates 24 hours per day/365 days per year, and works in close collaboration with the municipal police department.

The University has supported the Fire Department with annual financial contributions and major capital gifts as well as by allowing its employees to serve as volunteers with the department during their paid work hours. Currently 15 University employees are associate members of the Princeton Fire Department, providing critical daytime support to the paid and volunteer members of the department.

Over many years the University has supported the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad (PFARS) through annual contributions, major capital gifts and in-kind services such as summer housing and telecommunications support.

The University collaborates regularly with the municipality and Mercer County to support emergency communications systems, including allowing cell equipment to be installed on its buildings, reducing the need for monopoles in town.

Contributions to important community organizations/initiatives

Apart from its contributions to the municipality, Princeton University remains committed to supporting initiatives that enrich the quality of life in Princeton. The University has a long history of support for affordable housing. Over the years, the University has made cash and in-kind contributions to an array of local projects and nonprofit organizations.

The University has made, and continues to make, substantial in-kind and financial contributions to the Princeton Public Schools. In 2023 Princeton University announced that it intended to make over five years restricted and unrestricted contributions totaling more than $14.6 million to the Princeton Public Schools.

In 2024, Princeton University announced that it would provide $500,000 over five years to 101:Fund to support college scholarships for low-income Princeton High School graduates attending schools other than Princeton University and $300,000 over three years to Housing Initiatives of Princeton to provide rental housing assistance.

Private roads and transit system maintained by the University and used by the public

The University owns approximately five miles of private roads in the Municipality of Princeton, such as Faculty Road and College Road, which are open to the public. The University maintains them at its own cost, including providing snow removal. The University also operates the all-electric TigerTransit bus system, which is free and open to the public, and opens most campus parking lots and garages for community use on evenings and weekends.

Education and outreach

As an educational institution, Princeton University offers numerous programs that welcome community members or are aimed primarily at area residents. Students at local high schools, including Princeton High School, can take coursework at the University; many different University initiatives provide tutoring to public school students; and the University runs a preparatory program for economically disadvantaged students in the area. The Community Auditing Program, popular with Princeton residents, provides participants the opportunity to attend University classes for a modest fee. Thousands more attend hundreds of free public lectures offered each year at the University.

The Princeton University Art Museum, Richardson Auditorium and other campus venues host a wide variety of campus and community-based arts programs. The Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University Concerts, University Chapel, Music Department and various student groups offer performances that are open to the public year-round. The University owns the Garden Theater, which is operated by the non-profit Renew Theaters, and the Matthews and Berlind Theaters that are operated in cooperation with the non-profit McCarter Theatre Center.

Volunteer activity and civic engagement

Princeton’s mission of teaching and research has an emphasis on service, and students volunteer with more than a dozen local community organizations. Some of this activity begins before they even take their first class at Princeton, through Community Action. The University has a long history of working with numerous organizations that seek to meet the needs of local residents and create a fully inclusive and supportive community.

The following provide detailed information on these and other contributions by the University to the community.

Contributions to Princeton

Voluntary payments (calendar year basis)  

• In 2025, Princeton University made voluntary contributions to the Municipality of Princeton totaling $5.9 million to the Municipality of Princeton.
  • This includes a $5.4 million unrestricted contribution, $300,000 to support municipal mass transit initiatives, and $200,000 to support costs related to career personnel for the Princeton Fire Department
• In 2025, Princeton University made a voluntary contribution of $2.93 million to Princeton Public Schools.
  • This includes a $500,000 contribution to priorities identified in the district’s recent strategic planning process.

Taxes paid (calendar year basis)  

• In 2025, Princeton University paid $9.5 million in property and sewer taxes to Princeton; Princeton University is the largest taxpayer in Princeton.
• Of the $9.5 million property and sewer taxes paid, $3.2 million went to the Princeton Public Schools.

The town’s AAA bond rating is partially based on the presence of Princeton University 

• In rating the municipality, Moody’s notes that Princeton University “anchors the local economy, is the municipality’s largest taxpayer, and makes significant contributions to the municipality’s budget annually.” ¹

  1 Moody’s Investors Service, Rating Action, Municipality of Princeton, NJ, 20 January 2026

Contributions to community organizations/initiatives in 2025 included:  

• 101:Fund
• Housing Initiatives of Princeton
• Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad
• Princeton Arts Council
• Princeton Public Library
• Princeton Nursery School

Community resources  

• Garden Theater
  • The theater is owned by the University and operated by a separate non-profit organization, Renew Theaters
• Labyrinth Books
  • The University helps to ensure there is an independent bookstore in Princeton
• Nassau East
  • The University owns and manages properties around 185 Nassau Street which house a variety of local businesses
• Princeton Station
  • The University owns and maintains the Princeton Station complex that is served by the NJTransit Princeton to Princeton Junction “Dinky” rail line
• The Garden Theater, Labyrinth Books, Princeton Station and the commercial and residential properties at Nassau East are all tax-paying properties.

Police

• The Princeton University Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Princeton Police Department (PPD) command staff meet to review issues and plan for upcoming town and/or University events.
• Throughout the year PPD and DPS assist each other in criminal investigations and non-criminal cases.
  • Aside from routine collaboration and information sharing, PPD occasionally assists DPS with criminal incidents occurring in or around the university, where DPS retains primary jurisdiction. These cases typically involve serious offenses such as sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, theft, and motor vehicle theft. In 2025, PPD assisted in eight such criminal incidents.
  • PPD and DPS assist each other by providing services when additional assistance is requested. Police cooperation reports document non-criminal incidents in which DPS assisted PPD within PPD’s jurisdiction. These typically involve welfare checks, injured or intoxicated individuals, assistance with motor vehicle incidents, and occasional missing person calls, among others. In 2025, DPS completed 76 police cooperation reports.
• Collaborative training
  • PPD is invited to participate in, at no charge, DPS sponsored in-service training held on campus.
  • In spring of 2025, PPD officers attended Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) hosted by DPS on campus. This cooperative 40-hour course was offered through the CIT New Jersey Center of Excellence, and held in cooperation with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, the Mercer County Division of Health, and the CIT-NJ Training Unit.
  • In the spring of 2025, DPS hosted an Active Shooter Incident Management course led by instructors from the NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
  • In June, 2025, an active-threats tabletop exercise was held, facilitated by members of the Mercer County Rapid Response Partnership. In addition to DPS personnel, sworn officers and dispatchers from PPD, West Windsor Police, and Plainsboro Police participated. Representatives from Princeton EMS and Princeton OEM were also present.
  • In winter of 2025, PPD provided DPS with training and access to their Wrap Reality Virtual Reality (VR) Simulator to deliver active shooter and de-escalation training to DPS staff.
  • PPD extends an invitation to utilize their firing range to DPS.
• Upon request, DPS provides mutual aid to PPD for staffing large community events, protests, and demonstrations. In 2025, DPS and PPD collaborated during the May Day protest, which began on campus and concluded in town.
• DPS makes its portable vehicle barriers available to PPD in support of their operations, upon request.
• DPS and PPD also participated in a joint training session on barrier deployment in May, 2025.
• During 2025, DPS collaborated with PPD on three community events off-campus: Community Night Out, Trunk or Treat, and the HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon.
• University staff participate in Princeton’s Local Emergency Preparedness Committee (LEPC)

Emergency Communication Systems

• Mercer County’s countywide public safety communications systems continue to be supported at Fine Hall
• Equipment and antenna support for PPD, PFARS and PFD is located at Fine Hall
• University technical resources support PPD on an as-requested basis with radio communications-related questions or issues around operations or new equipment

Princeton Fire Department (PFD)

• PFD Associate Member Program: University staff serve as PFD volunteers during the weekday from 8am to 4pm for which they are compensated by the University.
  • The program currently has 15 members in active status.
  • Members responded to 28 calls in 2025. These responses were with full crews of at least three members.
  • Members logged a total of approximately 150 hours in program activities that included response, training, and meetings.
• DPS leadership has regular meetings with PFD leadership and the director of Emergency and Safety Services to discuss collaboration, operations, response and emergency management.
  •  PFD responded to incidents on campus 108 times in 2025
• Engine 66 from the Princeton University-managed Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) responds regularly to Princeton for fire calls as mutual aid to the PFD. Those responses break down as follows:
  •  PPPL Engine 66 responded to Princeton for fire calls 131 times
  •  71 of the 131 calls were to University facilities
•  PPPL Ambulance 166 responded to Princeton for EMS calls 10 times
  •  3 of the 10 calls were to University facilities
•  PFD came to campus 14 times in 2025 for training. Training included walk-throughs at new University facilities.

Cell towers

• There are eight wireless cell towers serving the community located on University buildings

Public Roads

• The University maintains approximately five miles of roads in Princeton used by the public
• In 2025 the University contributed $257,200 to the Municipality of Princeton to fund part of the municipality’s University Place Sidewalk Improvement project

Transportation

• TigerTransit is “free and open to the public” and annually provides more than 820,000 passenger rides 
  • TigerTransit operations utilize 17 all-electric buses
•  TigerAccess, a point-to-point reservable service for individuals with temporary or permanent disabilities, continues to provide about 20 rides per day and is available to the University community and campus visitors.
• Princeton University participates in the Mercer County Coalition of Coordinated Transportation, a gathering of representatives from local municipalities, the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, and NJTransit. The Coalition is part of an effort to coordinate Human Service Transportation and public transportation services in Mercer County.
• The TigerTransit network includes real-time, next-bus arrival screens at 13 stops. This information is also available through TripShot and the University’s mobile apps.
• The University has a fleet of 20 Enterprise Carshare vehicles on campus as,part of a broader suite of programs and services designed to support car-free life at the University. The program provides between 850 and 900 trips per month during the academic year.
• The University continues to restrict operation, charging, and storage of all PEVs (e.g. electric scooters). The University is currently reviewing the existing policy and considering an expansion of the current PEV definition to include all classes of electronic bicycles, or e-Bikes.

Resource Recovery Program (formerly known as Surplus Equipment Program)  

• Access provided for area nonprofit organizations to the University Resource Recovery Program. Items provided free of charge to area nonprofits for their organizational use.

 Education outreach  

• Princeton High School (PHS) students who have exhausted coursework at the high school can take classes at the University; coordinated by PHS guidance department.
• Tutoring for Princeton Public Schools students through Community House programs
• Princeton Science Outreach facilitates programs with local K-12 school districts, non-profit organizations, and community stakeholders
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) hosts Science on Saturday lectures in the winter months
• Cotsen Children’s Library’s free community programs, public gallery, annual writing contest, escape rooms and other resources are available for children up to age 17. Collections, activities, and educational resources are also available virtually.
• Lectures with notable speakers are open to the public throughout the year

Community Auditing Program  

• Approximately 40% of the program participants are from Princeton
• The program includes special courses and lectures designed especially for auditors including courses presented in partnership with McCarter Theatre and Princeton University Concerts

Cultural offerings

• Princeton University Art Museum, new museum opened October 2025 
  • Free admission to the public, seven days a week
  •  Wide variety of free educational and family programming, including collections tours and art making for all ages
  •  Over 21,000 visitors during 24 Hour opening weekend
  •  Over 125,000 visitors during first two months of opening
  •  Operates the Art Museum Store on Palmer Square
  • Art@Bainbridge gallery  Four exhibitions during 2025, including two featuring local/regional artists
  • Campus Art 
  • Regular free public tours of campus art led by students or Museum docents
•  Theaters 
  • McCarter Theatre Center owned and financially supported by the University; operated by a separate, independent non-profit
  •  Theater Intime provides academic year programming open to area residents in Hamilton Murray Theater
  •  Additional theater, dance and visual arts programming available at other locations on campus, including the Jimmy Stewart Theater at 185 Nassau Street
• Musical Performance 
  • Performances at Richardson Auditorium and Taplin Auditorium, many open to the public at no charge, featuring both Princeton University students and professional touring musicians.
  •  Summer Carillon Concerts at the Graduate College
•  Chapel
  • Weekly “After Noon Concert Series” organ concerts: a weekly opportunity for the Princeton Community to enjoy performances at the Princeton University Chapel by various local, national, and international organists.
  •  Monthly “Jazz Vespers” service: an inclusive experience of poetry, music, and quiet centering.
  •  Special performances sponsored by the Chapel Music program including organ concerts and performances featuring the University Chapel Choir and visiting musicians
  •  Veterans Day Observance Program in Princeton Chapel held in coordination with Spirit of Princeton
  •  Monthly “Sound Journey” event offers composed and improvised music for meditation, contemplation, and prayer.
•  Princeton University Concerts 
  • Hosts annual music series featuring classical music performed by international professional musicians in Richardson Auditorium and across campus
  •  Admit All ticket access program provides heavily discounted or free tickets to low-income communities, including those who receive government assistance or live in subsidized housing
  •  Partnership with Interfaith-RISE to bring local refugee families to family concerts
  •  The annual “Music & Healing” conversation/concert series and related online video series has fostered conversations about the role of the arts in times of personal and sociopolitical crossroads, including a community creative writing prompt.
  •  Programming also includes Live Music Meditation series – free and open to the public; “Meet the Music” family concerts, including programs for neurodivergent audiences; “Do-Re-Meet: Social Events for Music Lovers”; and the Annual Chamber Jam inviting amateur musicians in the community to play music together. In 2025, this was hosted for the first time as a Dance Jam, inviting audiences to learn choreography to the music following a concert, facilitated by the American Repertory Ballet.
  • Partnership with the Princeton University Library to bring visiting performers to the Scheide Library Special Collections to engage with historic musical manuscripts
  •  Music-related film screenings at the Princeton Garden Theatre
  •  Book discussions co-hosted by the Princeton Public Library, discussing books related to the topics, repertoire, and musicians represented in the PUC series
  •  Free online library of music videos and conversations with musicians, and a “Collective Listening Project” of over 60 playlists curated for the public by prominent musical figures
• Princeton University Library (PUUL)
  •  PUL holds two free, open to the public exhibitions annually in the Milberg Gallery, located within its flagship Firestone Library.
  •  The fall 2025 exhibition, “Forms and Function: The Splendors of Global Bookmaking” welcomed more than 4,000 visitors while the spring exhibition – “The Most Formidable Weapon Against Errors: The Sid Lapidus ’59 Collection & the Age of Reason” attracted more than 3,969.
  •  Additionally, PUL holds exhibitions in its Mudd Library Gallery, Mendel Music Library, Stokes Library, and Cotsen Children’s Library.
  •  PUL continues to collaborate regularly with Princeton Public Library (PPL), including a partnership around the 100th Anniversary of the publication of "The Great Gatsby – where PUL and PPL co-hosted a special session of its All Access Book Club on "The Chosen and the Beautiful," a retelling of "The Great Gatsby" by Nghi Vo.
  • 2025 was also the third year PUL joined the PPL as a co-sponsor for the February 14, Library of Congress’ Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon in which participants meet to transcribe materials from the Library of Congress.

Community events on campus  

• Four campus blood drives held in partnership with the American Red Cross
• Veteran’s Day Ceremony in Princeton Chapel hosted in coordination with Spirit of Princeton
• Princeton Human Services’ Teen Leadership Retreat

Worship  

• Community members participate in Chapel services on a regular basis and on special occasions.
• Community members also participate in services by religious groups associated with the University through chaplaincy programs and the Center for Jewish Life

Athletics  

• Tickets to athletic events on campus are free or low-cost
• Princeton student-athletes undertake numerous volunteer efforts through the Princeton Varsity Club and as teams including the popular “Reading with the Tigers” program at Princeton elementary schools, and a mentorship program with students attending Johnson Park Elementary School

Campus Dining  

• Staff from Campus Dining produce and serve a holiday meal in December at Cornerstone Community Kitchen.
• Excess box lunches were donated to Cornerstone Kitchen following Commencement.
• Campus Dining hosted two community Iftars during Ramadan.
• Campus Dining chefs participate at the University Farmers Market, providing free samples of healthy, sustainable treats from local farms.
• Campus Dining donated a Charlie Cart “mobile kitchen” to the Princeton Public Library.
• Beginning in Fall 2022, the University partnered with local dining establishments to launch Pay with Points. This initiative allows students and employees to use their dining plan on campus and at 18 restaurants in town. From January 2025- December 2025, the university community spent more than $369,000 at local businesses.

Service and Civic Engagement

• Through the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES) faculty and students integrate community engagement into their academic liberal arts experience by partnering with community organizations and community leaders in more than 80 Princeton University ProCES courses during the academic year. 
  • In 2025 ProCES courses and programs included locally-based partnerships with: Sustainable Princeton, Princeton Farmers’ Market, Solidaridad, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Zufall Clinic, the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry, Princeton Public Library, Historical Society of Princeton, Ying Hua International School, Witherspoon Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, Morven Museum & Gardens, Cornerstone Community Kitchen, YWCA Princeton’s English as a Second Language program, Municipality of Princeton, Princeton Community Japanese Language School, Arm in Arm, Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program, Princeton Community Homes, Princeton Community Housing, Committed and Faithful Princetonians, and Not In Our Town Princeton.
•  The Community Service Interclub Council (CSICC), a collaborative initiative of the eating clubs, coordinates volunteer activities undertaken by the clubs with numerous local organizations
•  The Pace Center for Civic Engagement undertakes a wide variety of programming in the local community including: 
  • Community Action: More than 660 first-year and transfer students led by 130 upperclassmen partnered with approximately 60 campus and community partners in the Community Action (CA) program. Fern Spruill, a long-time member of the Princeton community and former Community Partner-in-Residence, led CA students on tours of the community, introducing the history of the Black community in Princeton.
  • Students with a focus on sustainability partnered with Sustainable Princeton and Send Hunger Packing Princeton.
  • Students focusing on healthcare partnered with Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Send Hunger Packing Princeton, and Princeton Health and Human Services.
  • Students interested in youth development programming partnered with the Princeton Nursery School, Princeton Health and Human Services, and Princeton YMCA.
• Community House: Student-driven mentoring programs provide academic and social-emotional literacy support services to the youth in the Princeton area.
  • Academic Success Today, a collaboration between Community House and Princeton‘s Department of Human Services, matches Princeton University student mentors with local youth participants at Princeton Middle School
  • Students volunteer at Princeton Nursery School, supporting the efforts of Princeton Community Health Connections, which serves to organize and execute interactive activities in Princeton community centers or schools regarding important health topics.
  • Community House coordinates monthly conversations with community partners to understand the current educational challenges and more effectively support youth in the community.
• Student Volunteers Council (SVC)
  • Supports student-led projects and volunteering groups with local nonprofit organizations.
  • CONTACT Princeton provides student volunteers to answer phone calls for a local crisis hotline and the national suicide hotline throughout Mercer County, including the Princeton community.
  • SVC continued to support the local Princeton community through the time, skills, knowledge, and commitment of Princeton University student volunteers. Organizations supported include: Penn Medicine Princeton Health program, Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad (PFARS), Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program (KDSAP), Arm-in-Arm Princeton Food Pantry at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton Alzheimer's Buddies at Maplewood at Princeton Assisted Living, Ballet & Books mentorship with the YMCA.
• Summer Service Internships: Students participated in funded summer service internships in the Princeton community, engaging in hands-on, community-based experiences that connect learning with action and develop critical thinking, leadership and collaboration skills.
  • RISE (Recognizing Inequities and Standing for Equality) interns learned from and completed projects with Art Against Racism, Bayard Rustin Center, Lambent Data, and the Watershed Institute.
  • PICS (Princeton Internships in Civic Service) hosted interns with the following Princeton-based organizations: the Afghan Education Student Outreach Project, Center for Supportive Schools, Centurion, Housing
  • Initiatives of Princeton, Institute for Citizens and Scholars, Princeton AlumniCorps, and the Princeton University Press

Community Engagement  

• The Office of Community and Regional Affairs participates in community events throughout the year including Community Night Out, Trunk or Treat and Porchfest
•  In partnership with the Municipality of Princeton Human Services Department the Office of Community and Regional Affairs coordinates with campus colleagues to support the Back to School Backpack Drive and supports local organizations with donations from the annual Hire Attire Clothing Drive
•  The Princeton University Farmers’ Market held in both the fall and spring brings local farm and food vendors to campus, giving small businesses the opportunity to sell their products to the campus and local community
•  In 2025 the Office of Community and Regional Affairs partnered with Princeton Public Library to offer two author talks that were free and open to the public: 
  • Dean of the College Michael Gordin discussed the Princeton Pre-Read On the Fringe: Where Science Meets Pseudoscience on September 16

  •  Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber discussed his new book Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right on October 20