Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts Inc

Overview

Mission

To ensure the continuity and well being of the jewish community in western ma, israel and the world by teaching the values of torah (jewish learning), klal yisrael (responsibility of each other), tikkun olam (repairing the world) and tzedakah (justice, righteousness and philanthropy) the federation, together with its worldwide partners, educates, advocates for, and supports the jewish community locally and worldwide by planning and evaluating strategically, raising and allocating funds and developing, inspiring and providing leadership.

What it reported doing in 2024

The jewish endowment foundation (jef) provides planned giving opportunities to individuals and provides funding for many jewish agencies as well as non-jewish, non-profit agencies.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 82% of its reported program spending out as grants.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042127023
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Springfield, MA, USA
Phone
4137374313
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 72.6%; rating input score 73; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -67.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.54; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.7%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $140K · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 36 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 35 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • NORA GORENSTEIN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (FORMER)): $140,225 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.