United Way of Northern New Yorkinc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
150543356
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Watertown, NY, USA
Phone
3157885631
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,254,011
Expenses
$1,095,475
Assets
$2,486,657
Liabilities
$375,805

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DAWN COLE (EXECUTIVE DI): $103,507 total reported compensation
  • CLEMENT WONG (FINANCE DIRE): $77,006 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To unite communities, resources, and partners to collaboratively address local needs, foster impactful programming, and enhance quality of life.

What it reported doing in 2025

United way of northern New York (uwnny) directs resources toward high- impact, vital initiatives throughout jefferson, lewis, and st. Lawrence counties. Community impact programming is guided by data, community input, and a commitment to improving outcomes in health, education, and financial stability. Funding decisions are informed by a volunteer review process that includes individuals with lived experience, helping to ensure equity and alignment with community needs. Uwnny provides support to low-income workers, referred to as alice (asset- limited, income-constrained, employed), connecting them to coaching, resource navigation, and emergency assistance. The program helps stabilize under-resourced workers, reduce turnover, and strengthen long-term workforce retention across the region. Uwnny facilitates bridges out of poverty training for employers and community partners, helping to build shared understanding and practical strategies for supporting under- resourced populations. The organization launched a new direct service initiative in september 2024: a licensed school aged child care program in partnership with morristown central school. This program addresses the shortage of affordable childcare in rural areas. Services include academic support, enrichment activities, and healthy snacks. In 2025, uwnny sponsored programming impacted the lives of 31,124 individuals across the tri-county area, including 10,615 children.

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 67% for direct work, and 33% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.8%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 81.7%; rating input score 82; 39th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.6%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.8% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $881K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $104K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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 33/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.