New York · Nonprofit
WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL
WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL (New York) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $457,338 to it, the largest being CULLEN FOUNDATION ($454,015). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $8.5M
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $457k
- Net assets
- $9.3M
What West Buffalo Charter School does
Mission
Tomorrow's future leaders are sitting in our classrooms today. With small class sizes, a rigorous curriculum aligned with the common core learning standards, and high expectations, West Buffalo Charter School (wbcs) develops an exceptional foundation of literacy skills for all students in grades k-8. West Buffalo Charter School is a place where diversity is celebrated, individual differences are accepted, and student success is maximized.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
Wbcs began operating in august 2012 with grades k- 2, expanding to 4th grade by 2014. While its original charter called for a k- 4 grade span, the nysed department approved the school's application in february 2016 to expand its program through 8th grade. The application was made due to the school's academic success in grades k-4 as well as strong student and family requests for an expanded program. In july 2016, wbcs began phase one of a two-phased expansion plan. The first phase was a $1.7 million expansion to its original building which the school fully self-financed from operating cash flow. This eight-classroom addition would provide space for the immediate grade expansion needs while construction and financing were finalized for the remaining space needs. In july 2017, wbcs began construction on phase two, a 30,000 square foot expansion which would accommodate the new middle school program, improved administrative spaces and a full-sized gym. The total cost of this expansion was approximately $10 million which included $3.5 million to pay off the previous mortgage and lease. The total project was completed in july 2018 and currently houses grades k-8 with enrollment capped…
$6,357,588 spent$7,950,793 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $6,357,588.
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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2017 to 2018, from $6.9M to $14M (+103%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 7% · 2018 5% · 2019 4% · 2020 4% · 2021 15% · 2022 12% · 2023 13% · 2024 14% · 2025 5%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
6% of WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
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.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income fell $159k → $3k.
1 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 0% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL leans on a few funders — its largest provides 99% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 93% — 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.
Where its funders are
100% of WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $823 arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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.
Against its field
WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 9,398 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,398 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL
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
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL: 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.
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 WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL?
- WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL (New York) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $457,338 to it, the largest being CULLEN FOUNDATION ($454,015). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $457,338 in grants to WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL?
- CULLEN FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $454,015 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WEST BUFFALO CHARTER SCHOOL 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.
Play a game about who funds West Buffalo Charter School →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 3 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing