Bikur Cholim of Cleveland

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341809885
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cleveland Heights, OH, USA
Phone
2163201771
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,059,350
Expenses
$1,967,724
Assets
$1,730,064
Liabilities
$168,516

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR MICHAEL POLLACK (PRESIDENT)
  • AVI YUSPEH (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ALAN JOSEPH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALAN JOSEPH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $252,115 total reported compensation
  • ESTI ROKOWSKY (BOARD MEMBER): $16,204 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Established in 1988, bikur cholim of cleveland is a supportive, jewish community resource that promotes health and well-being in a timely and accessible manner through physical and emotional support, education and advocacy. (continued on schedule o)we strive to help young and old, within cleveland and beyond, by offering comfort, shelter and support through a variety of services.we accomplish this through the coordinated effort of dedicated staff and volunteers who selflessly perform the mitzvah of "bikur cholim" - literally "visiting the sick" - with all of the nuances of care and concern which this community embraces. Bikur cholim sees its duty to stand with individuals and their families during times of medical crisis in accordance with jewish tradition, as are the practices of the organization.

What it reported doing in 2024

Bikur cholim provides hospital aid and assistance to patients in area hospitals, including food, transportation to and from hospitals, and interpretive services when needed. As a medical support organization grounded in religious values, we support the religious needs of our community, enabling our patients and families to have meaningful experiences during shabbat and the jewish holidays. In addition to shabbat meals sent to hospitals, we launched a shabbos in a box kit for patients so they can have all of the provisions they need to observe. Bikur cholim also arranges visits to people in hospitals, assisted living facilities and to private homes. In 2024, bikur cholim provided 8,647 kosher weekday meals and a total of 9,517 shabbat meals. (continued on schedule o)bikur cholim provided over 1,100 rides to people unable to make their own way to medical appointments. We acquired a handicapped-accessible van this year to aid in our ability to transport this patient population.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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; 72nd 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.4%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64% of revenue deployed · 66.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $252K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $394K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.