Empire Center for Public Policy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461987418
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Albany, NY, USA
Phone
5184343100
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,021,554
Expenses
$754,437
Assets
$413,698
Liabilities
$41,560

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ZILVINAS SILENAS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • TIMOTHY P HOEFER (FORMER DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBI GHATE (FORMER DIRECTOR): $169,146 total reported compensation
  • CAMERON MACDONALD (GENERAL COUNSEL): $118,810 total reported compensation
  • KENNETH GIRARDIN (FORMER DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH): $108,072 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To make New York a better place to live and work by promoting public policy reforms grounded in free market principles, personal responsibility, and the ideals of effective and accountable government.

What it reported doing in 2024

Promoting public policy reforms for New York state.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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 total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.5%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 26.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.55; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.5% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $567K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $169K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.