City Futures Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133185114
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2124793344
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Housing Development, Construction, Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,794,951
Expenses
$1,697,536
Assets
$2,257,475
Liabilities
$590,269

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JONATHAN BOWLES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JONATHAN BOWLES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $274,223 total reported compensation
  • ELI DVORKIN (EDITORIAL & POLICY DIRECTO): $188,151 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

City futures, inc. Is a catalyst for smart and sustainable policies that reduce inequality, increase economic mobility and grow the economy in New York city. An independent, nonpartisan policy organization, cuf uses fact-based research to elevate important and often overlooked issues onto the radar of policymakers and advance practical solutions that strengthen New York and help all new yorkers participate in the city's rising prosperity.

What it reported doing in 2024

For more than 20 years, cuf has consistently shaped the policy debate around economic opportunity in New York by publishing reports that are widely covered in the media, highly readable and anchored in rigorous research rather than preconceived notions about outcome. Cuf's efforts to create a more prosperous, equitable and inclusive New York span many topics and policy areas, and are unified by their common aims: growing New York city's economy and boosting the number of middle income jobs; helping more people develop the skills and credentials needed to access careers that put them on the path to the middle class; and making New York city and its many and diverse neighborhoods a better place to live. Cuf's reports do not sit on a shelf; they are action-oriented documents that routinely spark policy changes and serve as an invaluable resource for government officials, nonprofit practitioners, business leaders and philanthropic leaders as they advocate for, and implement policies for, addressing New York's biggest opportunities and challenges. Our work has influenced the creation of new economic development initiatives for low-income entrepreneurs, paved the way for an expansion of youth workforce development programs and sparked new policies to support aging immigrants. Recently, our work documented the vital role of branch libraries in empowering disadvantaged new yorkers and laid the groundwork for the largest ever increase in funding for the city's public libraries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th 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: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.4%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.2%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.9% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $274K · 22 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.