Brass Foundation Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873790352
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone
7168542490
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,565,016
Expenses
$2,709,079
Assets
$41,258,142
Liabilities
$16,053,188

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TOLGA HAYALI PHD (PRESIDENT)
  • DR JOSEPH POLAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JOSEPH POLAT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $232,864 total reported compensation
  • MUSTAFA ERSOY (CHIEF TALENT OFFICER): $159,572 total reported compensation
  • MURAT KUCUKDUGENCI (CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER): $153,566 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The buffalo rochester academy of science schools foundation, inc. (the foundation) is a not-for-profit foundation that holds properties for the buffalo and rochester academies of science charter schools (the schools). The foundation's primary purpose is to support the operation of the schools' by providing assistance with the schools' real estate and facilities related needs, and by raising funds and resources that will enable the foundation to provide support to the schools to enhance the educational experience of the schools' students and alumni.

What it reported doing in 2024

Special education: the foundation supports schools (buffsci and rocsci) that are open to all children and does not discriminate based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability or any other grounds that would be unlawful or deny the civil rights of any individual in accordance with the individuals with disabilities education act, the rehabilitation act section 504, and the americans with disabilities act, the foundation provides a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment to students with disabilities. The primary service delivery for students with special needs is inclusion. Services for students requiring supplemental services are provided by the brass foundation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 90% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.6%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.23; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -106.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $233K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $622K reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.