Citizens Budget Commission Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
130576141
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2122792605
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,918,802
Expenses
$3,101,789
Assets
$15,626,012
Liabilities
$1,644,422

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDREW S REIN (PRESIDENT)
  • ANA B CHAMPENY (VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH)
  • MICHAEL P VAUGHN (VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS & STRATEGY)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW S REIN (PRESIDENT): $349,548 total reported compensation
  • ANA B CHAMPENY (VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH): $249,039 total reported compensation
  • PATRICK ORECKI (DIRECTOR OF STATE STUDIES): $167,222 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 citizen budget commission, inc. ("cbc") is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit civic organization devoted to influencing constructive change in the finances and services of New York city (the "city") and New York state (the "state") governments. (continued schedule o)(continued from page 2, part iii, line 1) cbc was founded in 1932, a time of great fiscal crisis, when a group of civic leaders formed a research organization that would analyze the city's finances, evaluate the management of city government, report on these mattersto its members, and recommend improvements to municipal officials. In 1985, cbc expanded this analysis to include the fiscal affairs of state government. Cbc's pursuit of its mission is embodied in four interrelated roles: watchdog, research organization, monitor of implementation and disseminator of information. Cbc is funded primarily by contributions, special events and investment income.

What it reported doing in 2024

Dissemination of information to the public, policy makers and the policy community through the publication and distribution of cbc research reports, hosting public forums to promote discussion and educate new yorkers on public policy issues, testimony submitted to legislative bodies, letters to officials, and analysis and commentary in prominent media outlets. Topics included: the nyc and nys budgets and tax policy; the state's cap-and-trade system; financing of the mta capital program; mta fare and toll policy; education spending; city and state reserve policies; recommendations to the nyc charter revision commission; housing scarcity and underproduction; and the results and analysis of a citywide resident survey. (continued on schedule o)(continued from page 2, part iii, line 4b) cbc held 13 events in 2024. The events featured speakers, including: congressmen ritch torres and dan goldman; director or state operations kathryn garcia and secretary to the governor karen persichilli keogh; nyc comptroller brad lander and nys comptroller tom dinapoli; nys department of financial services superintendent adrienne harris; nyc budget director jacques jiha; nys budget director blake Washington; nycha chair jamie rubin and nycha ceo lisa bova-hiatt; nyserda president doreen harris and nys dec commissioner basil seggos; and mta chair and ceo janno lieber and mta construction & development president jamie torres-springer. Cbc also honored New York federal reserve president john c. Williams and former nyc deputy mayor daniel doctoroff at its annual gala, hosted a documentary film screening on the New York city fiscal crisis, and a held a panel discussion about the impacts of artificial intelligence on New York.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.9%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.8%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.04; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 37.4%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.9% of revenue deployed · 71% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $350K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $106K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.