The Towers Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 061331831
IRS 990 coverage: 2010–2024
Forms available: Form 990 2024
Location: New Haven, CT, USA
Phone: 2037721816
Rating: 79
Verdict: SUPPORTED
Rating confidence: Moderate
Affiliation: Judaism

Reported finances

Revenue: $1,512,288
Expenses: $1,805,163
Assets: $2,715,578
Liabilities: $252,626

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

GUSTAVE KEACH-LONGO (PRESIDENT & CEO)
JENNIFER BARON BAYER (VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES)
JESSE WESCOTT (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

GUSTAVE KEACH-LONGO (PRESIDENT & CEO): $285,720 total reported compensation
JOHN HEYDER (CFO): $163,789 total reported compensation
JENNIFER BARON BAYER (VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES): $160,056 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The purposes of the corporation are to provide resources to the new haven jewish community council housing corporation (dba the towers at tower lane and referred to in these bylaws as "the towers") in support of the towers' mission as set forth in article 2 of its certificate of incorporation on file in the office of the secretary of the state of Connecticut. In carrying out its purposes, the corporation shall act exclusively as a supporting organization, as described in section 509(a)(3) of the internal revenue code (the "code"), by operating for the benefit of, performing functions of, or carrying out purposes of the towers.) further provided, in the event of any conflict between the purposes set forth in these bylaws and those set forth in its certificate of incorporation, the provisions of the certificate of incorporation shall prevail.

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 49% for direct work, and 51% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 80
Transparency & Controls: 71
Accountability: 95
Sustainability: 32
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 94.3%; rating input score 94
Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
Fundraising efficiency: $3.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
Foreign activity oversight: Limited
Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: -19.4%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.5; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 94.3% of revenue deployed · 78.8% of spending went to programs
Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $286K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.
Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.