Consumer Directed Choices
Legal name: Consumer Directed Choices Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 161516618
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Albany, NY, United States
- Phone
- (855) 597-3596
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Developmentally Disabled Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $36,367,602
- Expenses
- $34,021,076
- Assets
- $29,790,906
- Liabilities
- $3,542,377
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHRISTOPHER GRABER (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER GRABER (CEO): $725,493 total reported compensation
- HONGWEI ZHANG (SENIOR VP OPERATIONS): $299,828 total reported compensation
- BRIAN FRASIER (CONTROLLER): $213,014 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
As the premier provider of consumer self-direction, CDChoices empowers independence and advocates for people with disabilities, seniors, and their families. Vision CDChoices’ vision is an inclusive community without stigma, barriers, or prejudices against people with disabilities. In this community, all people have the choice and necessary supports to live independently in an environment of their choosing. Core Values.
What it reported doing in 2025
In fulfillment of its responsibilities under various consumer directed programs, cdchoices serves as a fiscal intermediary for consumers/designated representatives. Among its fiscal intermediary services is to provide payroll and benefits services for 3,050 employees of consumers/designated representatives. As such, of the reported employees in part i, line 5, only 51 are employees of consumer directed choices. The remaining individuals reported are those for whom cdchoices provides payroll services on behalf of consumers/designated representatives.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 66% 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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 91
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.4%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 92%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.4%; rating input score 99; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: 6.5%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 86.4% of revenue deployed · 92% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $31.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $725K · 20 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.