Charter School for Applied Technologies

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161603918
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Buffalo, New York, US
Phone
(716) 876-7505
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$42,863,168
Expenses
$43,856,706
Assets
$62,945,724
Liabilities
$27,237,611

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSEPH BERTI (PRESIDENT)
  • LISA SMITH (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW LYLE (SUPERINTENDENT): $215,670 total reported compensation
  • GARRICK LOVERIA JR (DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT): $188,004 total reported compensation
  • TANYA MOORE (DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT/CFO): $179,268 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Charter School for Applied Technologies prepares students to attain family sustaining careers by integrating career exploration and a lifelong learning culture.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our vision is to assist the commercial and industrial economy of western New York by providing young people with a world-class education- one that will give them the knowledge and skills necessary to sustain and lead the region. We enrich csat's core curriculum with co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for students to become exposed to and aware of careers in the industrial, manufacturing, and construction, health care, and technology sectors of our region. We provide internship, mentorship, and training opportunities for students that will be supervised on-site through ties with local business, industrial and labor leaders. These practical, hands-on opportunities give students a unique insight and awareness of what options they have after graduation. Csat's early college & career pathways offers students a unique opportunity to explore their chosen career while earning free college credit hours.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 81% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -2.3%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.44; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 80.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $35.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $216K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $781K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.