Central New York Community Foundation
Legal name: Central New York Community Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 150626910
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Syracuse, NY, US
- Phone
- 315.422.9538
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $50,696,520
- Expenses
- $31,016,629
- Assets
- $458,328,795
- Liabilities
- $31,372,414
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MELANIE LITTLEJOHN (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- MELANIE LITTLEJOHN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $357,705 total reported compensation
- KIMBERLY SADOWSKI (VP & CFO): $219,561 total reported compensation
- THOMAS GRIFFITH (VP OF DEVELOPMENT): $206,613 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To inspire giving and connect people, ideas, and resources to build a more equitable and vibrant Central New York.
What it reported doing in 2024
Programs: grantmaking and strategic initiatives the community foundation's programs are designed to support nonprofits across their lifecycle. This ranges from the birth of new organizations out of community concerns, to the launch or expansion of new ideas for ways to serve the community, to the professional development of staff and organizational processes. Our programs seek to bring about positive change and impact while honoring diversity and building inclusion within and across our communities. Through our involvement and investments in collective impact efforts, we strive to provide leadership and resources that move our region forward.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.7%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 89.5%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $26.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 93.6%; rating input score 94; 26th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 38.8%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.78; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 66.7% of revenue deployed · 89.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $27.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $358K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 444 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 398 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.