Say Yes Buffalo
Legal name: Say Yes Buffalo Scholarship Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 462867677
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, US
- Phone
- 1.716.247.5310
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $18,105,764
- Expenses
- $19,124,108
- Assets
- $61,073,030
- Liabilities
- $5,536,644
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID RUST (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- DAVID RUST (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $390,346 total reported compensation
- LAURA DELUCA (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $216,318 total reported compensation
- DAPHNE ROSS (CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER): $172,859 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Say Yes Buffalo advances economic mobility for public school students across the Buffalo–Niagara region. Grounded in racial equity and inclusion, we deliver comprehensive programming from early learning through career, including a postsecondary tuition scholarship, and convene cross-sector community partners to collectively support students and families.
What it reported doing in 2024
Say yes buffalo scholarship, inc. Raises funds to support college tuition and related educational expenditures through the provision of scholarships and opportunity grants. Funds raised are transferred to a scholarship fund at a community foundation for administration of the scholarship programs. The scholarship fund provides scholarships for all graduates of buffalo and niagara falls public and charter schools to pursue a post-secondary education. This scholarship program serves to articulate the possibility and expectation of post-secondary completion for all students and gives hope to students and families who may not otherwise have thought that college is an option. The graduation rate for buffalo public school students increased to 79% during the 2021/2022 fiscal year. Say yes buffalo scholarship, inc. Has initiated a $65 million endowment fund campaign to continue to support the scholarship program into the future.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.4%; rating input score 93
- Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: -5.6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.19; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.3%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 24.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 26.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 10 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 93.4% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $16.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $390K · 29 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $753K reported
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.