The New York Climate Exchange

Legal name: The New York Climate Exchange Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
923384115
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2187708121
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,197,671
Expenses
$7,809,246
Assets
$121,185,583
Liabilities
$5,974,326

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN HAMMER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHEN HAMMER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO): $460,700 total reported compensation
  • ANDREW WINTERS DIR OF CAP (PROJECTS, PLANNING,& DEVELOPMENT): $434,419 total reported compensation
  • KEECHA GARDNER (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $277,075 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To accelerate climate solutions through research, education, workforce development, innovation, and community partnership.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pda activities: climate solutions summit: this earth week event (april 23-24, 2025), brought together over 100 scientists, community leaders, policymakers, artists, students, and innovators. There were panel discussions, research presentations, and sessions on communicating science. Battery circularity: hosted a forum for over 200 people from the battery value chain (producers, end-users, recyclers) and released the report "an introduction to battery circularity".continued on schedule o.nycha climate action: 17 nycha resident-led projects were awarded resident climate action grants of up to $5,000 to deliver a community climate action and/or sustainability effort at their development that promotes healthier and more resilient communities.data initiatives: installed climate sensors on governors island, New York, to collect data on air and water pollution quality and threats to human health.wall st. Climate forum: held networking and education events reaching over 500 young financial professionals, as well as thought leaders in climate policy, finance, and tech entrepreneurship.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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: 39
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 23.2%; rating input score 23
  • Program expense ratio: 63.1%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 63.2%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.52; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 77.3% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -135.7% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 23.2% of revenue deployed · 63.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $461K · 30 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $18.1M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.