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New York · Nonprofit

STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION

STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 4019 organizations whose IRS filings report $340,268,192 to it, the largest being ESTHER AND HAROLD MERTZ FOUNDATION ($62,152,241). 2317 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$559M
Funders on record
4,019
Grants received
$340M
Net assets
$501M
2317/4019 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 19%
01What it does

What Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation does

Mission

The mission of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is to honor the sacrifice of fdny firefighter stephen siller, and all those who laid down their lives to save others on september 11, 2001. We also honor our military, and first responders who continue to make the supreme sacrifice of life and limb for our country.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. In the line of duty programs: 1) smart home program: this program constructs custom, specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured service members and first responders to restore their ability to live a life of independence. 2) fallen first responder home program: the foundation provides mortgage free homes to families with young children left behind when a firefighter or police officer is killed in the line of duty. 3) gold star home program: the foundation provides mortgage free homes to families with young children when a service member dies in the line of duty. 4) homeless veterans program - the foundation is committed to honoring the sacrifice of american service members and helping end homelessness amongst the veteran community. Providing a safe and dignified residence is an integral part of helping veterans who are homeless reclaim their lives. Veterans in this program receive the support they need to help them address any obstacles to living a more independent life. In addition to delivering housing, we provide comprehensive care through our national case management team by connecting veterans who have additional needs with mental health counseling, addiction…

    $307,183,639 spentof which $166,723,632 as grants
    92% of program spending
  2. Never forget programs: 1)national tunnel to towers runs and stair climb series: the new york city 5k run and tower climb as well as the national runs and climbs are memorial events held in honor of stephen siller (fdny), and all who perished on 9/11, as well as first responders and military who continue to put their lives on the line to serve and protect our nation. The foundation has established these memorial events to ensure we never forget 2) tunnel to towers 9/11 institute: this is our september 11, 2001 education program. The foundation has developed a curriculum for grades k- 12 that can be accessed by teachers throughout the nation to educate children about the history of 9/11. The program also includes a mobile exhibit, which serves to educate and pay tribute to the sacrifices made on september 11, 2001. 3) wings of a hero: to help local community children in need who have lost a parent by providing assistance for school, counseling or other needs. 4)legacy awards: to assist families of military or first responders and other cases where there is immediate special financial need.

    $28,220,151 spentof which $6,379,170 as grants$9,920,142 earned by the program
    8% of program spending

The 2 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $335,403,790.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($19M) Expenses 100 ($17M) Net assets 100 ($7.8M)2018 Revenue 127 ($24M) Expenses 131 ($22M) Net assets 126 ($9.8M)2019 Revenue 245 ($46M) Expenses 208 ($35M) Net assets 275 ($21M)2020 Revenue 606 ($114M) Expenses 344 ($57M) Net assets 1004 ($78M)2021 Revenue 1408 ($264M) Expenses 887 ($148M) Net assets 2511 ($195M)2022 Revenue 1628 ($305M) Expenses 1723 ($287M) Net assets 2685 ($209M)2023 Revenue 1989 ($373M) Expenses 1636 ($272M) Net assets 4086 ($318M)2024 Revenue 2983 ($559M) Expenses 2290 ($381M) Net assets 6441 ($501M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (2983)Expenses (2290)Net assets (6441)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $432M to $653M (+51%).

$8.0M
$10M
$22M
$79M
$203M
$270M
$432M
$653M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

96% of STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (14% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 732 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$2.1M
’17
$2.1M
’18
$11M
’19
$56M
’20
$116M
’21
$19M
’22
$101M
’23
$178M
’24
12
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed999877713
Joined·+0+1+0+0+0+1+6
No longer listed·0111010
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 39 funders to 1857 funders, grant income rose $1.9M → $42M.

239 of 4019 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 46% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

Left out of every figure on this page: $13k from 2 payers (the payer's own filing calls it a related party, largest The Mike & Evelyn Walsh Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION raised.

From the IRS filings of STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 4019 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 18% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left

55% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION.

18%
largest funder
39%
top three
~15
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 84% · 2018 65% · 2019 39% · 2020 48% · 2021 14% · 2022 28% · 2023 12% — diversifying over time.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

66% of STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION draws 95% of its grant income from funders outside New York, across 50 states in all.

ME
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
New York out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $157M arriving through sponsors registered in 43 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 696 education nonprofits its size.

Operating margin32% · top quartile
Months of reserve11.7mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)62% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 696 education nonprofits over $100M, FY2024

Organizations like STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In New York

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

88% of spending goes to programs.

Program 88%Management 2%Fundraising 10%

Governance

7
board members
86%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

98%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 33 states

ME
NH
WA
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
OH
PA
NJ
RI
CA
UT
KY
WV
VA
MD
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
HI
OK
MS
AL
GA
FL

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

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Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION?
STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 4019 organizations whose IRS filings report $340,268,192 to it, the largest being ESTHER AND HAROLD MERTZ FOUNDATION ($62,152,241). 2317 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION have?
IRS filings report 4019 organizations giving $340,268,192 in grants to STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION, 2317 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION?
ESTHER AND HAROLD MERTZ FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $62,152,241 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 4019 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing