Citizens Options Unlimited Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261520311
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2008
Location
Brookville, NY, USA
Phone
5166261000
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$80,800,950
Expenses
$76,617,018
Assets
$37,042,993
Liabilities
$30,295,109

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sally Anne Burgess (Vice President of Operations)
  • Hallie Klein (President)
  • Joseph P Bosnack Jr (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Georgeann Sciulla (Assistant House Manager): $219,041 total reported compensation
  • Sally Anne Burgess (Vice President of Operations): $218,351 total reported compensation
  • Mary B Gilleran (Director): $203,205 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Citizens Options Unlimited, Inc ("Citizens, Inc.") provides individual residential alternative services ("IRA"), residential respite services, intermediate care facility services ("ICF") and Self Direction services for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Additionally, Citizens, Inc. operates Camp Loyaltown in Hunter, New York, a respite program providing services to developmentally disabled children and adults.

What it reported doing in 2024

Individual residential alternatives services ("IRA") - Citizens, Inc. provides residential services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The residential program consists of 24 houses in Nassau and Suffolk counties. As of December 31, 2024, the IRA program consisted of 24 locations with capacity to serve up to 152 individuals. For the year ended December 31, 2024, Citizens, Inc. provided IRA services to an average of 141 individuals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $81.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: Fail
    • 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: 5.2%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.82; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 92.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $71.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $219K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $4.8M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.