Research Foundation of The City University of New York

City-funded organization

The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is the nonprofit corporation, founded in 1963, that administers grants and sponsored research/programs on CUNY's behalf. It holds $64.5 million in active NYC contracts as of August 2026 (28 contracts) plus $40,117,956 in discretionary council funding since FY2009 for programs like Learning to Work and Cornerstone Community Centers, and has been awarded $515,009,583 all-time since 2005 across 923 contracts (43% without a fresh bid) with the Departments of Design and Construction, Education, and Youth and Community Development.

Industry (per city contracts)
Human Services
City contracts (active)
$64,518,198 · 29 contracts
Awarded all-time
$534,691,359 · 926 since 2005, incl. expired
Paid to date
$401,152,654
Won without a fresh bid
45% of contract value · $240,962,458 · 289 contracts
Discretionary funding (FY2009-FY2027)
$46,210,456 · 433 awards
Funding history
Funded every year since FY2009 (19 years running)
Top officer pay (FY2023)
$520,364 · Jerry F Steele, Former Chief Operating Officer
Based in
New York, NY

Holds contracts at

City contracts

Registered city contracts, largest first by current contract value (not amount spent): running now, then registered to start later, then ended. Totals count every registered contract. Each line shows its Checkbook contract ID. The tag on each row is how it was awarded (“no-bid” = non-competitive).

Discretionary funding received

City Council discretionary (member-item) awards, largest first. Covers FY2009-FY2027.

Funded by these council members

City Council members who steered discretionary (member-item) money to this organization, largest first (FY2020 and later, where the sponsoring member is disclosed). Sitting members link to their page.

Officer & key-staff pay

Reportable compensation from this organization's IRS Form 990 (Part VII), latest available filing (FY2023). Includes pay from related organizations where reported; an annual figure, not a running total. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

Community project funding requested by (FY2026)

Members who asked the House Appropriations Committee to fund a FY2026 community project for this organization. These are requests, not awards: the FY2026 bills were enacted, but the committee has not published final FY2026 project tables, so whether any of these was funded is not shown here. Each

Federal awards

Federal awards made directly to this organization in fiscal years 2023 through 2026. Each amount is what the federal government has OBLIGATED on that award as recorded on USAspending.gov as of 2026-08-31 — money committed, not money paid out. These are prime awards only: federal money this

Sources