United Way of Buffalo and Erie County
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 160743969
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7168872626
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Federated Giving Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $11,040,799
- Expenses
- $11,749,821
- Assets
- $28,185,265
- Liabilities
- $3,348,006
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TRINA BURRUSS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- TRINA BURRUSS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $196,340 total reported compensation
- THOMAS WRINN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $104,954 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission: we bring people, organizations and resources together to create systemic community change. Our vision: we envision an equitable, thriving and united community achieved through collaborative leadership. We meet our commitments and deliver high-quality, high-value results. We foster a culture of responsiveness and flexibility conducive to innovation in every area of the business. We actively include and engage all members of the community so that our work can be informed and enriched by diverse experiences and perspectives. We ensure that our policies, practices, and distribution of resources prioritize historically marginalized communities so that all members of our community thrive. We are transparent, honest, dependable and trustworthy in every interaction and as stewards of resources. We ensure that all of our work is for the good of others, both within the organization and in the community.
What it reported doing in 2024
Program investments - investments (allocations) in competitively awarded grant programs to many local agencies, focused in our "impact" areas of education, income, and health and wellness. By investing in the highest needs areas of the community the united way hopes to significantly improve overall educational outcomes, stabilize and improve family financial well being, and build a strong and healthy community.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 71% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - 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: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.2%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 25th 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.4; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.2% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $9.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $196K · 29 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 92 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 88 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.
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.