Hebrew Free Loan

Legal name: Hebrew Free Loan Association of San Francisco

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
941156545
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
(415) 546-9902 x110
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Financial Institutions
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,389,390
Expenses
$2,951,827
Assets
$27,433,565
Liabilities
$4,559,673

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MAUREEN HOLT (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • MADELINE CHALEFF (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ROMAN POLNAR (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • GREGG RUBENSTEIN (IMM. PAST PRESIDENT)
  • CYNTHIA ROGOWAY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CYNTHIA ROGOWAY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $319,261 total reported compensation
  • JAMIE HYAMS (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $196,632 total reported compensation
  • MENILEK MEKBEB (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $179,182 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide interest-free loans to help Jewish individuals in Northern California overcome financial challenges and pursue life dreams. _**“Hebrew Free Loan has supported me since I began college. Now I’m starting medical school, an astronomically expensive endeavor. I appreciate the agency so much! With antisemitism on the rise, having the backing of a Jewish organization means so much to me. They are a beacon of empathy and resilience.”**_**-Ari _“Hebrew Free Loan is such an incredible organization, embodying the Jewish principle of interest-free lending to support our community. The staff was wonderful — so knowledgeable and supportive during my application process. Thank you for setting me up for success on multiple levels!” -Sheerlie_ _**“Hebrew Free Loan has helped me at several different times, beginning when I was a.

What it reported doing in 2024

We disbursed 591 interest-free loans during the year, totaling $8.6 million. This is similar to the amount disbursed last year, but 52 more loans, which means we helped more people. We closed the year with 1,670 loans out in the community (125 more than last year) totaling $20.5 million.our 18 loan programs help people pursue life goals and address financial hardships. Student loans were the most frequently requested loan type, followed by debt consolidation and general needs.the need for assistance continues to increase, as many still struggle to find their footing after losing income or depleting savings during the pandemic. We are working hard to grow our resources to meet community need.

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 95% 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: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.2%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 66%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.9%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.29; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 44.1%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 58.2% of revenue deployed · 66% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $319K · 32 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.