Central New York Ronald McDonald House

What it reported doing in 2025

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York, Inc. (RMHC of CNY) provides essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children receive inpatient or outpatient medical treatment at Syracuse-area hospitals and affiliated clinics. Through the 25-guest room and six family suites, the Central New York Ronald McDonald House, the nonprofit organization offers families what they need to ensure best health outcomes for their children.When parents learn that a child is seriously ill, everything changes. Daily routines are interrupted by travelling to distant cities for medical care. Dinners come from hospital cafeterias or vending machines, and the comforts of home are traded for a chair near the bedside of a sick child. With the support of donors and volunteers, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York (RMHC of CNY) provides comfort, care, and compassion during a family's most difficult time, allowing parents and families to focus on what really matters: the health and well-being of their child. The CNY Ronald McDonald House is a home. Our house amenities include 100% handicapped accessibility, twenty-five guest rooms with private baths, a long-term stay apartment, six family style suites with one- and-two-bedrooms, an elevator, large family centered kitchens, family dining areas, a community room, family resource room, wireless access and more. We provide guests with so much more than just a private room to stay in and home-cooked meals. The House offers comfort, support, and resources to families, just minutes away from area hospitals in Syracuse, and an opportunity to talk with other guests who understand what it is like to face the unthinkable. After all, families are stronger when they are together, and by keeping them close, we can play a role in the healing and coping process.When families with seriously ill children travel to Syracuse from counties throughout Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania to receive medical care at local hospitals and health care facilities, we can offer them the comforts of home and an atmosphere where they can share experiences with other families. The children of these guest families are being treated at area hospitals for cancer or leukemia, heart disease, brain injuries, chronic health illnesses, respiratory problems, accidents, and complications from premature birth to name a few. Families who stay at the CNY Ronald McDonald House must live more than twenty-five miles from Syracuse. The majority of the families live 50-100 miles from Syracuse. The CNY Ronald McDonald House is centrally located just east of downtown Syracuse, near the three major hospitals it serves, Crouse Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, and Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital and their affiliated clinics.The CNY Ronald McDonald House was built on the fundamental belief that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on the health of their sick child. For nearly 45 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York has provided families with a comforting place to stay while their ill or injured children seek medical treatment at Syracuse hospitals. To meet the evolving needs of families and those in our community, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York (RMHC of CNY) has expanded our programming in and out of the House over the last year. Aimed at enhancing the comfort of families in the hospital by providing them with complimentary care items, Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY launched their Hospitality Cart program with two Hospitality Carts at Crouse Hospital in 2025. The carts, stocked with assorted grab-and-go snacks and refreshments, children's activities, and personal care items and toiletries all free of charge to families, serves families receiving treatment in select departments related to pediatrics, neonatology and maternal health. In 2025, nearly 2,000 individuals were served through the Hospitality Cart

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 84.6%; rating input score 85
• Program expense ratio: 75.2%; rating input score 75
• Fundraising efficiency: $5.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.71; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 10.1%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings