Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

Legal name: Hebrew Free Loan Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381359260
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
Phone
248-723-8184
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Named Trusts N.E.C.
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,486,461
Expenses
$1,066,248
Assets
$14,045,950
Liabilities
$281,801

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

Leadership & pay

73 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMY BERLIN (PRESIDENT)
  • JONATHAN STERLING (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • NITA COHEN (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • RALPH MCDOWELL (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID C CONTORER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID C CONTORER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $212,415 total reported compensation
  • KIMBERLEY BERNZWEIG (CONTROLLER): $97,812 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

HFL’s mission, vision and values. Mission statement: Hebrew Free Loan provides financial help to Jewish people in the state of Michigan through the lending of money without interest. We help people help themselves in accordance with core Jewish values, respect, compassion and confidentiality. Hebrew Free Loan provides financial help to Jewish people in the state of Michigan through the lending of money without interest. Vision statement:.

What it reported doing in 2024

The association administers the william davidson jewish college loan program by providing support to students in need with interest-free loans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.8%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 69.4%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 26th 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: 28.3%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.17; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 57.8% of revenue deployed · 69.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 71 of 73 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $740K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $212K · 73 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.