United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes
Legal name: United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 161015782
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Rochester, NY, US
- Phone
- (585) 263-1050
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Federated Giving Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $31,752,740
- Expenses
- $35,882,253
- Assets
- $183,174,930
- Liabilities
- $21,344,057
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
42 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JAIME SAUNDERS (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
- LAURA GUSTIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TOGETH)
- AQUA PORTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RMAPI)
Highest reported compensation
- JAIME SAUNDERS (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $421,019 total reported compensation
- LAURIE GANON (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $259,860 total reported compensation
- SYED AHMAD (CHIEF INFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY OFFICER): $192,538 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 unite people and resources to improve lives and strengthen our community.
What it reported doing in 2024
Community impact and services: community impact expenses are incurred to accomplish the investment process described in the community impact section in 4a above. Additionally, community services include a donor designation program to collect, process and transfer donations on behalf of hundreds of health and human service agencies in the greater rochester and the finger lakes region. United way provides annual african american, latino, lgbtq, labor and young professional leadership development programs to promote a diversity of leadership throughout the region. The organization also provides synergy services to help local not-for-profit agencies explore affiliation as a means of increasing operational efficiencies and improving program services.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Accountability: 98
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.5%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 98.1%; rating input score 98; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 30th 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: -13%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.1; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 93.5% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 28 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $28.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $421K · 42 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 339 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 330 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.