Indera

Legal name: Exceptional Family Resources Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161098311
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone
(315) 472-3171
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Patient Services - Entertainment, Recreation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$26,491,272
Expenses
$25,425,267
Assets
$15,193,761
Liabilities
$2,630,395

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERICA WYNN KEARSE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ERIC STONE (PRESIDENT)
  • BRUCE DRAKE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRUCE DRAKE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $230,571 total reported compensation
  • ROXANNE COTTER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $163,426 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL KELLEY (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $140,575 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Exceptional Family Resources (EFR) partners with individuals with disabilities and their families, providing services, information, advocacy, and other supports to enhance lives and foster community acceptance.

What it reported doing in 2024

Self direction services allow individuals to plan and access support services through an annual budget that they design to meet their individual needs which is determined by region, living situation and assessment. Each individual has a personal resources allocation (pra) which determines their budget. With support of a "planning team" made up of family, friends and advocates, individuals can choose to self-hire their direct care staff or access traditional agency supported services for respite, community habilitation and/or supported employment. A variety of additional services are also available such as financial assistance for housing, living expenses, and community classes and are dependent upon age of the individual. Approximately 611 people were served in 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 90% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $711.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: 4%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 23 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 87.4% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $23.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $231K · 14 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $140K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.