League of Women Voters of New York State
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 135579794
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
- Location
- Albany, NY, USA
- Phone
- 5184654162
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $140,311
- Expenses
- $117,001
- Assets
- $102,810
- Liabilities
- $67,046
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SALLY ROBINSON (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
- REGINA TILLMAN (3RD VICE PRESIDENT)
- NANCY ROSENTHAL (PRESIDENT)
- MARJORIE MCINTOSH (4TH VICE PRESIDENT)
- JANE COLVIN (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)
- ERICA SMITKA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- ERICA SMITKA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $83,039 total reported compensation
- LAURA LADD BIERMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - FORMER): $51,328 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Empowering voters, defending democracy. The league of women voters of New York state is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that encourages informed and active participation in government to ensure a representative democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, at the local and state level.
What it reported doing in 2024
Services to local leagues: the league sponsors conventions, conferences, and other educational activities which serve to educate other leagues as well as the public.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 49
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.6%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 16.6%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 66.6% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $93K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 16 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.