How is Tunnel to Towers funded and what were its 2024 fundraising totals?
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Executive summary
Tunnel to Towers (officially the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation) is funded mainly by public donations — individual gifts, event registration proceeds, corporate partners and gift-in-kind programs such as car donations — and it reports low overhead and high program percentages in independent ratings (e.g., CharityWatch reports a 93% program percentage) [1] [2]. The foundation says its 2024 events broke records for participation and money raised — roughly 40,000 participants in the New York 5K and more than 29,000 across 70 other events — and Running USA reported the 2024 National Run, Walk & Climb Series “broke Foundation records for … money raised” though Running USA did not publish a single consolidated dollar total in that story [3] [4].
1. Funding mix: spotlight on public donations and events
Tunnel to Towers publicly solicits direct donations (online, by mail, vehicle donations and estate gifts), runs a national series of fundraising runs/walks/climbs, and works with corporate and community partners to raise money — its site lists mail and donation-form channels and car-donation programs, and local events routinely send checked/offline donations to the foundation’s Staten Island address [1] [5] [6] [7]. The foundation’s own statements and fundraising pages emphasize event revenue: the National Run, Walk & Climb Series is described as a primary fundraising engine [3].
2. Claims on efficiency and ratings: what evaluators report
Independent charity evaluators cited in foundation material and third-party profiles give Tunnel to Towers high marks on financial efficiency. CharityWatch shows an A+ and a 93% program percentage, indicating a large share of cash budgets goes to programs rather than overhead [2]. Charity Navigator flags that the organization cannot currently be evaluated by its Impact & Measurement methodology for reasons that include data gaps or program type, but the foundation itself cites a four‑star Charity Navigator rating and emphasizes low fundraising/administrative costs on its financials page [1] [8].
3. Event scale in 2024: participation and “record” fundraising language
Running USA’s industry write-up and foundation press materials say the 2024 National Run, Walk & Climb Series set records for participation and money raised and quantify attendance: about 40,000 participants in the New York 5K and over 29,000 people at 70 satellite events [3] [4]. Local and national press coverage of the NYC 5K repeats the turnout figure and notes thousands attended the Sept. 29, 2024 race [4] [9]. These sources report record participation and fundraising for the series but do not present a single line-item, audited dollar figure for total 2024 fundraising in one place.
4. What reporting does not provide: missing consolidated 2024 dollar total
Available sources do not provide a single consolidated, publicly cited dollar total for Tunnel to Towers’ entire 2024 fundraising year. Running USA and multiple GlobeNewswire/press releases say “broke records for money raised” or list program outputs (homes delivered, villages started), but they do not publish an aggregate 2024 revenue figure for the foundation in the materials provided here [3] [10] [11]. The foundation’s Financials page and audited 2023 statements are available, but the provided financial PDF is the 2023 audited statements and the financial-summary page (dated Jan 10, 2025) emphasizes efficiency rather than a 2024 total [12] [8].
5. Program outputs tied to fundraising in 2024
The foundation reported tangible uses of funds in 2024: delivering mortgage-free homes to dozens of families (20 homes announced around Sept. 11 and 40 homes plus Veterans Villages announced by Veterans Day) and breaking ground on Veterans Villages, which the foundation frames as evidence of fundraising success [11] [10]. These program announcements support the Running USA claim that 2024 fundraising set records, but the press releases do not substitute for an audited, aggregated revenue disclosure [3] [11].
6. How to verify a complete dollar figure and caveats
To obtain a definitive 2024 fundraising total, consult the foundation’s audited 2024 Form 990 or an audited financial statement labeled for 2024; ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer and the foundation’s Financials/Audited PDFs are the right places to look for full-year revenue and expense totals, but the documents provided here are either prior-year audits or summary pages emphasizing fiscal health rather than publishing a consolidated 2024 fundraising number [13] [12] [8]. Charity Navigator and CharityWatch provide efficiency metrics but do not replace an audited revenue figure [2] [1].
Summary judgment: multiple credible sources confirm Tunnel to Towers is funded primarily by public and event-driven donations, that 2024 participation and fundraising “broke foundation records,” and that the group reports high program spending ratios; however, none of the provided sources supplies a single, auditable 2024 dollar total for the foundation’s fundraising year [3] [2] [11].