Preventionfocus Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161383260
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone
7168843256
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Prevention Only

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,227,471
Expenses
$1,317,082
Assets
$328,537
Liabilities
$100,772

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN RICCARDI (PRESIDENT)
  • JAMES LIPUMA (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MATTHEW SMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATTHEW SMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $115,429 total reported compensation
  • VICTORIA SIMMONS (DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION): $104,620 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Preventionfocus, inc. Empowers children, adults, and entire communities with the skills, information, and tools needed to make positive life choices. Making safe and healthy happen. We implement proven programs and strategies to prevent and reduce substance abuse, violence, problem gambling, bullying, and other related problem behaviors while encouraging mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

What it reported doing in 2025

Life skills training (elementary and middle school) - life skills training (lst) is a research-validated substance abuse prevention program proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence by targeting the major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors. Preventionfocus, inc. Uses this curriculum in classrooms (elementary and middle schools) across the districts of erie county where the risk profiles for chemical dependency are high. Our elementary and middle school facilitations of this curriculum have developmentally age appropriate activities specific for each grade level from k-5 (elementary) and from 6-8 (middle).in addition to lst, preventionfocus also implements the too good model programs from the mendez foundation at the elementary and middle school levels. Too good programs put social and emotional learning to work through fun and interactive lessons, building the self-confidence young people need to make healthy choices and achieve success. Too good for drugs and too good for violence social perspectives promote positive, pro-social attitudes and behavior, while fostering healthy relationships, resistance to substance abuse and conflict, and resistance to negative peer pressure and influence. Preventionfocus implements too good for violence in grades k-3 and too good for drugs in grades 5 and 7.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.6%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: -7.3%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.6% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $115K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.