Bestself Foundation Inc
Donations deductibleRevenue
$1.3m
year to 31 December 2024
Expenses
$1.4m
year to 31 December 2024
Total assets
$1.8m
$716k liabilities
Net assets
$1m
assets less liabilities
Directors and trustees
2
6.9 years on average
Staff
0
employees, year to 31 December 2024
Left since last filing
0
no seats appear to have opened
Officers and senior staff
5
named in Part VII
Bestself Foundation Inc's network
2 peoplei2 people on this map.The large node is the subject of this page. Solid lines are what the register itself records (2). Form 990 filings give names without a person identifier; SEC insider filings carry a CIK.The board
2 listediTime on the board is observed from the annual filings: the IRS files no appointment date, so the bar counts years from the first filing the person appears on - a lower bound, not a filed start date. Names are exactly as filed. The IRS publishes no person identifier, so this edition does not yet link a person across organisations.Time served and departures are observed across annual filings. Observed time served is a lower bound - a member may have joined before the first year on record. The organisation reported 4 voting members of its governing body on its latest Form 990 Part VI, which matches the board listed here.| Name | Role as filed | Since | On the board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Lynn Brady | Director | 2019 | 7 yrs |
| Therese Hickok-Fuerst | Director | 2020 | 6 yrs |
Under 5 years5 to 6 years6 years or more
Officers and senior leadership
5 listediNamed in Part VII as officers, key employees or highest-compensated staff - not board members, shown for completeness.| Name | Title as filed | On the filings |
|---|---|---|
| Christine Cardarella Barnaby | Company secretary | since 2019 |
| Elizabeth Woike-Ganga | President/CEO - Current | since 2020 |
| Ellen Bieler | Chairperson | since 2019 |
| Howard Hitzel Psyd | President/CEO - Former | since 2019 |
| Joseph Distasio | Treasurer | since 2019 |
Pay and hours
year to 31 December 2024iFrom Part VII of the Form 990: compensation reported for each officer, director, trustee, key employee and highest-paid staff member, and the average hours a week they report. Most board members are unpaid; a blank means nothing was reported. Pay from related organisations is shown separately.| Name | Title as filed | Hours a week | Pay from the organisation | Related organisations | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christine Barnaby | Co-Chair | 1 | $0 | ||
| Bonnie Cywinski | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Mark Gaulin | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Annette Smith | Secretary | 1 | $0 | ||
| Neal McMullen | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| John Miller | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Amy Popadick | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Beverly Robinson-Smith | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Kate Schrum | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Dorothy Shuldman | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Helen Tederous | Treasurer | 1 | $0 | ||
| Mathew Whitehead | Co-Chair | 1 | $0 | ||
| Ellen Bieler | Director | 1 | $0 | ||
| Joseph Distasio | Chief Financial Officer | 1 | $0 | $314k | $25k |
| Elizabeth Woike | President/CEO | 1 | $0 | $447k | $29k |
About
- Legal name
- Bestself Foundation Inc
- EIN
- 161416158
- Address
- 899 Main St, Buffalo, NY, 14203-1109
- State
- New York
- Mission
- Bestself foundation supports the mission of its parent organization, bestself behavioral health, inc., by soliciting contributions and engaging in other charitable activities all in support of bestself behavioral health. Bestself behavioral health's mission is to provide innovative, evidenced-based, accessible and family-focused behavioral health services to promote health, hope, recovery... (as filed on the Form 990)
- Activity (NTEE)
- P34J Human services
- IRS classification
- 501(c)03 (tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) where shown)
- Classified purpose
- Human Services
- Size band
- 6 (IRS master file code)
- Formed
- 1991
- Principal officer
- Elizabeth Woike (as named on the Form 990)
- IRS ruling date
- 1 January 1993
- Status
- Code 01 (unconditional exemption)
- Form 990 filings on record
- 3, latest 2022
- IRS Publication 78
- SOUNK (contributions deductible)
Most connected
Related organisations (Schedule R)
RelatedPROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE ARRAY OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICESBestself Behavioral Health IncRelatedPROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO BESTSELF BEHAVORIAL HEALTH, INC.Bestself Properties IncRelatedTO SUPPORT THE CHARITABLE PURPOSES OF BESTSELF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, INC.Bestsupport Inc
Longest observed on the filings
≥7years on the filingsJennifer Lynn Brady
≥6years on the filingsTherese Hickok-Fuerst
Latest return
year to 31 December 2024iFigures from the newest Form 990 or 990-EZ in the IRS e-file releases of 2025 and 2026, for the year ending 31 December 2024. US dollars, as filed.- Total assets
- $1.8m
- Total liabilities
- $716k
- Net assets or fund balances
- $1m
- Contributions and grants received
- $1.2m
- Program service revenue
- $0
- Grants and similar paid out
- $1.1m
- Employees
- 0
Grants paid
1 listediFrom Schedule I of the Form 990: grants and assistance to organisations in the United States, largest first (up to 25). Schedule I is filed only by organisations that gave more than $5,000 to any one recipient.| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bestself Behaviotral Health Inc | The grant/assistance iwas made to bestself behavioral health inc. That provided innovative, evidenced based, accessible, and family focused | $1.1m |
State registration
1 entityiBusiness-entity registers published by US states. These records are matched to this organisation by name and state, not by EIN, and are labelled as likely matches. Street addresses are not shown.Bestself Foundation, Inc. likely matchiMatched by exact name and state (and ZIP where shown). State registers do not publish EINs, so this is not a confirmed match. Source: New York Department of State, active corporations (data.ny.gov n9v6-gdp6). Licence: New York open data terms of use. Data last fetched 18 October 2026.
- State
- New York
- Entity type
- Domestic Not-For-Profit Corporation
- Status
- Active
- Formed
- 8 November 1991
- Registered agent
- Not stated