Madison Square Park Conservancy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
141859935
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2125207600
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,668,145
Expenses
$6,196,258
Assets
$19,396,370
Liabilities
$404,147

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HOLLY LEICHT-WEINSTEIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HOLLY LEICHT-WEINSTEIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $258,000 total reported compensation
  • STEPHANIE LUCAS (DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE A): $199,248 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS REIDY (DIRECTOR OF ART OPERATIONS): $163,697 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Madison square park conservancy is the nonprofit entrusted by the city of New York to operate madison square park, a 6.2-acre public space in the heart of manhattan. Our mission is to conserve, maintain, and program this ever-evolving historic green space, including raising 100% of the park's operating budget. Anchoring a diverse and vibrant live-work community, madison square park is both an intimate neighborhood park and an international destination for 60,000 daily visitors. It is also a public garden, urban forest, wildlife habitat, public art exhibition space, a haven for children and pets to play, and one of New York city's most transcendent and welcoming places.

What it reported doing in 2025

Park operations & horticulture: mspc's operations and horticulture teams care for and maintain the park at the highest standard of care for over 60,000 daily visitors, including preserving the park's historic tree canopy; maintaining lush lawns and perennial gardens, including five plant collections selected to ensure blooms in every season; curating seasonal flower displays; leading sustainability initiatives; and offering free public programs and tours to educate and engage parkgoers of all ages. Madison square park is the living, breathing heart of our community, enhancing the health and wellbeing of all who visit and live or work nearby, as well as providing shelter and safe habitat for a surprisingly diverse population of wildlife.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.3%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 28.5%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.13; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.3% of revenue deployed · 72.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $258K · 30 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $639K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.