The River Fund New York Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

College enrollment and success are major problems for low-income students in urban school systems. For New York city to make substantial and lasting progress in reducing inequality and expanding economic opportunity, grassroots efforts from agencies like river fund are needed to increase both attendance and success in postsecondary education. River fund first began addressing this issue with the creation of the mary c. Tiedemann scholarship fund, which over the past decade has grown and evolved into a broad array of programs under the banner of cradle-to-college.cradle-to-college grew out of river fund's "river to success" initiative, a unique effort supporting children in the home through the annual provision of things that might seem minor in more prosperous households, like complete sets of grade-appropriate school supplies and backpacks; regular purchases of new shoes; and sleepaway camp during the summer. In fact, these efforts begin even before children are born, with river fund's baby shower program supporting new mothers with everything from workshops in lactation and parenting to prenatal vitamins, as well as providing them with postnatal essentials such as strollers, car seats, bassinets, diapers and much more.in turn, "river to success" feeds youth into our educational pathways program, which begins developing important social and academic support when youths are in junior high by offering counseling, tutoring, and a computer lab, as well as encouraging volunteer work and internships. As students move on towards high school graduation, invitees to the mary c. Tiedemann scholarship may enroll in two- or four-year college programs, as well as accredited trade schools. The goal of our cradle-to-college program is to create an achievable path toward college or trade school for anyone willing to work for it.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 91.4%; rating input score 91
• Program expense ratio: 95.3%; rating input score 95
• Fundraising efficiency: $148.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• 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: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 27th 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: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • 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: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 4.4%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings