Baltimore Jewish Council

Legal name: Baltimore Jewish Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521912836
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Baltimore, MD, United States
Phone
410-542-4850
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,375,567
Expenses
$1,495,268
Assets
$690,688
Liabilities
$448,481

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HOWARD LIBIT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ROBIN WEIMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • AMALIA HONICK (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ELIZABETH GREEN (PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • HOWARD LIBIT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $221,465 total reported compensation
  • DAVID FOLDERAUER (DIRECTOR OF SECURITY): $119,104 total reported compensation
  • SARAH MERSKY (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $112,365 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Baltimore Jewish Council fosters cooperation and understanding within the Jewish community; builds relationships and mutual understanding with ethnic, racial, and religious groups across Maryland; advocates at all levels of government for social justice and public resources on issues of concern to the Jewish community; and through education and action, promotes strong support for Israel and the Jewish people at home and throughout the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Government relations program: the council sought to address community priorities by securing more than $5 million in public funding for social services for associated agencies and programs and jewish community institutions. This focused on areas such as social services for older adults, protection for domestic abuse victims, and tuition assistance at day schools. In the Maryland general assembly and in local government, the council weighed in on more than 100 pieces of proposed legislation affecting members of the community and agencies of the associated. (continued on schedule o)at the federal level, the baltimore jewish council (bjc), in concert with other national organizations, worked to secure funding and took positions on issues that impacted the greater jewish community of Maryland such as increasing and helping to secure the department of homeland security's $13 million nonprofit security grant program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.2%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -8.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 88.2% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $221K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.