Part 10 — Institute for Community Living: Financial Resources, Program Priorities, and Veteran Services Impact printable pdf

Part 10 — Institute for Community Living: Financial Resources, Program Priorities, and Veteran Services

Introduction

The Institute for Community Living (ICL) operates Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence under contract with the New York City Department of Homeless Services while participating in the federally funded VA Grant and Per Diem structure. Parts 8 and 9 examine Borden Avenue's operations and public-safety record, while later Parts address DHS oversight and governmental accountability. This Part focuses more narrowly on financial capacity and how resources assigned to Borden Avenue correspond with the services and outcomes expected of a Veteran transitional program.

ICL is a large nonprofit behavioral-health and supportive-housing organization. Its organizational finances demonstrate substantial operating capacity, but ICL-wide revenue should not be treated as money freely available for Borden Avenue. The more useful analysis is whether the funding specifically assigned to Borden Avenue reflects program priorities consistent with safe and effective Veteran transition.

ICL Organizational Resources

Financial records reviewed for this report show substantial growth in ICL's overall operations. Reported annual revenue increased from approximately $135.8 million in FY2021 to approximately $214.3 million in FY2025, while annual expenses similarly increased from approximately $133.5 million to $211.8 million.

Executive compensation and organizational assets provide additional context regarding ICL's size and administrative capacity. Compensation levels, revenue growth, or executive salaries do not independently establish excessive spending or deficient Veteran services. They are relevant principally because they demonstrate that Borden Avenue operates within a substantial organization rather than a small community provider with limited administrative infrastructure.

Borden Avenue Funding

City funding for Borden Avenue also increased substantially. The source records identify approximately $3.73 million in FY2020, rising through subsequent amendments and adjustments to approximately $9.24 million by FY2024.

The FY2024 budget identifies significant expenditures including:

• Approximately $3.99 million in personnel and fringe costs.
• Approximately $1.09 million for contracted security.
• Approximately $539,000 for food.
• Approximately $394,000 for office expenses.
• Approximately $150,000 for maintenance and repair.
• Approximately $32,000 for client transportation.
• No separately identified allocation for recreation or client stipends.

Budget categories require careful interpretation. A zero-dollar recreation line does not prove that Veterans received no recreational opportunities, just as the transportation allocation alone cannot establish whether transportation was adequate. Financial records identify what was budgeted; service records and Veteran outcomes are necessary to determine what those expenditures accomplished.

Expenditure-to-Outcome Accountability

The principal financial question is therefore not whether Borden Avenue costs too much or too little. It is whether substantial public funding produces results consistent with the facility's transitional mission.



Part 9 separately examines emergency-response activity, and Part 8 addresses operational conditions. Those records become relevant financially when compared with spending on security, staffing, food, transportation, case management, and other services. High spending in a category is not itself evidence of effectiveness, while low spending does not automatically establish neglect.

Meaningful financial review should connect expenditures with measurable outcomes such as:

• Permanent-housing placements and negative exits.
• Length of stay and progress toward housing.
• Resident safety and serious-incident trends.
• Access to transportation and necessary services.
• Resident experience with food and basic conditions.
• Continued connection with VA resources after transition.

This approach can be described as expenditure-to-outcome accountability: determining whether funded activities produce the results for which public resources were provided.

Conclusion

ICL and Borden Avenue operate with substantial public resources. ICL's organizational revenue exceeded $200 million in the reviewed period, while Borden Avenue's City operating budget grew to approximately $9.24 million. These figures demonstrate significant financial capacity but do not, standing alone, establish either effective performance or financial mismanagement.

The appropriate standard is whether expenditures translate into a safe residential environment, effective services, timely housing progress, and successful transition. Financial accountability therefore requires more than verifying that money was spent within approved categories. It requires comparing those expenditures with measurable Veteran outcomes.

For a publicly funded GPD residence, the central fiscal question is ultimately straightforward: what results are Veterans receiving from the resources being invested in their transition from homelessness to permanent housing?