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Top Rated

Tunnel to Towers Foundation

CharityWatch report issued
October 2020

Top-Rated Charity
A+
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
93%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$4
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

Tunnel to Towers Foundation
2361 Hylan Blvd
Staten Island, NY 10306

Other Names

Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
T2T

Tax Status

501(c)3

Website

www.t2t.org

Stated Mission

To honor the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. To honor our military and first responders who continue to make the supreme sacrifice of life & limb for our country.

View similar charities
Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 12/31/2019

Program Percentage: 93%

The percentage of Tunnel to Towers Foundation's cash budget it spends on programs relative to overhead (fundraising, management, and general expenses).

$33,000,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $4

How many dollars Tunnel to Towers Foundation spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$36,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation IRS Form 990 02-0554654
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation Audited Financial Statements 02-0554654
Entity: Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 02-0554654
Entity: Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Document Type: Audited Financial Statements
Tax ID: 02-0554654

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
This charity is Top-Rated
What does it mean to be Top-Rated?
 
Tunnel to Towers Foundation
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Tunnel to Towers Foundation
meets transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy No Sharing  

Unable to Provide Salaries

CharityWatch is unable to provide a range of Top Three Salaries for this charity for the above fiscal reporting year because we lack complete salary data for the organization. Except for officers, directors, and trustees, the IRS does not require breakouts of salaries totaling less than $100,000.

For example, XYZ charity would be required to provide a breakout in its tax form of compensation to its president of $55,000, but would not be required to provide a breakout of $99,000 in compensation to its top medical researcher if that person is not also an officer, director, or trustee of the organization.

This charity reports that compensation to its officers, directors, and trustees is under $100,000 per individual. Donors who would like to view limited salary data for this organization should refer to its tax form, which may be available on the charity's web site or from a number of third-party sources. See CharityWatch's Links page for information on obtaining copies of charity tax forms.


CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

According to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation 2019 tax filing, the Foundation reports receiving donated services and use of facilities on which it placed a value of $11,826,169 and contributions of non-cash items on which it placed a value of $4,130,660 (IRS Form 990, Schedule D, Part XI and Schedule M).

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation 2019 tax filing re: the existence of a family or business relationship among officers, directors, trustees, or key employees (IRS Form 990, Part VI, line 2), the Foundation reports relationships among:  Sarah Siller, President; Frank Siller, Chairman/CEO; George Siller, Vice Chair; Russell Siller, Vice Chair; Mary Scullin, Treasurer; Regina Vogt, Secretary; and Janis Hannan, Vice Chair.


The Foundation reports that the seven individuals listed above are officers and members of the board of directors. The board consisted of nine people at year-end 2019 (IRS Form 990, Part VII).

According to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 13, Related Party Transaction):

"The Foundation has entered into transactions with members of the Board of Directors. A company owned by the Chairman of the Board of Directors provides the Foundation with its office space in Staten Island, New York. Amounts paid to this company for rent in accordance with the rental agreement are detailed in Note 12 [cited below]."


According to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 12, Commitments and Contingencies, Operating Leases):

"The Foundation entered into a lease for its rental of office space in Staten Island, New York... In March 2016, the Foundation elected to renew the lease for an additional 60 months through June 30, 2021. A $10,000 security deposit was paid when the lease was signed on June 15, 2012. Total rent expense for this lease for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $187,705 and $175,573, respectively."


In addition, according to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation 2019 tax filing, the Foundation reports for Business Transactions Involving Interested Persons a transaction in the amount of $154,153 involving Frank Siller, Chairman, and is described as "Rent" (IRS Form 990, Schedule L, Part IV).

According to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 17, Subsequent Events):

"In December 2019, an outbreak o[f] a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) originated in Wuhan, China and has since spread to other countries, including the United States. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. In addition, as of March 20, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the closure of the physical location of every 'non-essential' business for an extended period of time.

"On March 16, 2020, the Foundation closed its offices, and staff transitioned to working remotely in an attempt to navigate the unprecedented challenges brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts have included continued disruptions or restrictions on employees' ability to work and impairment of the ability to obtain contributions and volunteers. The full effects and future impacts are unknown at this time. No adjustments have been made to these [audited] financial statements as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

"Senior leadership at the Foundation has been carefully monitoring the situation, evaluating its options, and taking appropriate measures to help mitigate the consequences where possible."


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