Community Security Service
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 260803826
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014, Form 990-N 2009
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 6466361200
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
- Affiliation
- Judaism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,990,611
- Expenses
- $3,913,950
- Assets
- $3,420,065
- Liabilities
- $740,861
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Richard Priem (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Richard Priem (CEO): $363,647 total reported compensation
- Beth Katznelson (Director of Delvelopment): $163,342 total reported compensation
- Charles Berkowitz (Senior Director of Law Enf): $158,507 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Protecting Jewish Life and Jewish Way of Life by Partnering with Jewish organizations, governmental authorities, and law enforcement agencies, CSS empowers and safeguards the community by training students, young professionals and synagogue volunteers in professional safety and security techniques as well as providing physical security at synagogues and Jewish events.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provided basic training, guidance and resources to over 15000+ community members to be more resilient and secure against an atmosphere of violent incidents and terrorism. Provided advanced training, operational support and resources to the 5600+ volunteers that are already involved with providing regular safety, security and protection services to different Jewish institutions and events. Implemented training programs for Jewish students at 25+ different college campuses.
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 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.4%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st 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: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -30.9%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.87; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 35.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 31.9% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 28.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $364K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.