Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Overview
Mission
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that the events of 9/11, along with the sacrifices made on that day and those made daily by our first responders, are never forgotten. Each home is thoughtfully designed to address the individual’s specific requirements and may include features such as automated doors and lighting, widened hallways and doorways, roll-in showers, adjustable cabinets, countertops, and stovetops, backup generators, and whole-home control through a smartphone or tablet. These specially-designed homes help our most severely injured veterans and first responders regain independence, safety, and dignity in their daily lives. Veterans and first responders who sustained a catastrophic injury in the line of duty that is permanent and significantly limits mobility or the ability to live independently, may be eligible for the Tunnel to Towers Foundatio.
What it reported doing in 2024
In the line of duty programs: 1) smart home program: this program constructs custom, specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured service members and first responders to restore their ability to live a life of independence. 2) fallen first responder home program: the foundation provides mortgage free homes to families with young children left behind when a firefighter or police officer is killed in the line of duty. 3) gold star home program: the foundation provides mortgage free homes to families with young children when a service member dies in the line of duty. 4) homeless veterans program - the foundation is committed to honoring the sacrifice of american service members and helping end homelessness amongst the veteran community. Providing a safe and dignified residence is an integral part of helping veterans who are homeless reclaim their lives. Veterans in this program receive the support they need to help them address any obstacles to living a more independent life. In addition to delivering housing, we provide comprehensive care through our national case management team by connecting veterans who have additional needs with mental health counseling, addiction services, skills training and job placement.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 48% for direct work, and 52% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 020554654
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Website reviewed
- Jul 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Headquarters
- Staten Island, NY, USA
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the website gives limited detail about important organizational relationships.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 77
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.6%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
- Public monitoring controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Public policy transparency: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
- Public financial transparency: 2 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 40
- Impact reporting controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Public governance controls: 1 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Zakat policy transparency: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 31.9%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Operating reserve ratio: 1.71; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 29.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 32.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 60.6% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $335.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $399K · 13 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 annual filings from 2012 to 2024
- Money network: 56 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 43 filed related-organization links