Beginnings Credit Union
Legal name: Cfcu Community Credit Union
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 150574036
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2009
- Location
- Ithaca, NY, USA
- Phone
- 6072578500
- Rating confidence
- Limited
- Sector
- Credit Unions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $72,880,426
- Expenses
- $69,852,594
- Assets
- $1,435,561,618
- Liabilities
- $1,253,987,982
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
21 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LISA WHITAKER (PRESIDENT/CEO, BOARD MEMBE)
Highest reported compensation
- LISA WHITAKER (PRESIDENT/CEO, BOARD MEMBE): $11,429,939 total reported compensation
- PAUL KIRK (COO/CFO): $1,132,148 total reported compensation
- WILLIAM CRANE (CHIEF PRODUCTION OFFICER): $491,731 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We believe in the power of possibilities. That’s why, since 1953, we’ve served our members by connecting them with financial opportunities that unlock greater possibilities and bring our communities closer together.
What it reported doing in 2024
The credit union offers a variety of loan products including 1st and 2nd mortgages, auto loans, unsecured, and member business loans with approximately 33,000 loans outstanding as of december 31, 2024.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 87
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 32nd 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.2%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 20.55; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.87; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 22.6%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $11.4M · 21 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.3M reported
- Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 11 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.