West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing

Legal name: West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132926433
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New York, NY, US
Phone
212-721-6032
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Housing Development, Construction, Management

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$35,424,271
Expenses
$38,404,649
Assets
$146,882,210
Liabilities
$73,368,451

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • FATHER JOHN DUFFELL (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHELDON J FINE (PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL R FREITAG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PAUL R FREITAG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $300,806 total reported compensation
  • CLAIRE HILGER (COO/ASSIST SECRETARY): $217,076 total reported compensation
  • ALLISON CHANEME (MD HR (OUTGOING)): $190,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Providing safe and supportive housing for seniors in New York City, creating homes where dignity, independence, and community thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Housing - wsfssh develops and manages housing for low income persons in New York city. Since it was founded in 1977, wsfssh has developed close to 2,255 units of housing in 30 buildings located on the upper west side of manhattan, in harlem, chelsea and the bronx. Wsfssh's buildings include both new construction and gut renovations projects, and range in size from six units to 309 units. Wsfssh's central goal is to provide safe, sustainable and affordable housing that supports the dignity of each of its residents and enhances community both inside and outside its buildings. It does this by integrating compassionate property management with on-site supportive social services. In addition, wsfssh works to make all of its buildings as energy-efficient as possible. Wsfssh is currently developing several additional affordable housing projects in manhattan and in the bronx.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $306.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: -8.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.82; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $29.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $301K · 17 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 41 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.