Be’chol Lashon

Legal name: Institute for Jewish & Community Research DBA Bechol Lashon

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943307253
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4153862604
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Ethnic Studies
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,114,271
Expenses
$1,022,090
Assets
$4,433,888
Liabilities
$49,294

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Julian Voloj (Executive Dir.): $158,026 total reported compensation
  • Melina Rosenberg (Dir. Operations): $113,230 total reported compensation
  • Amy Albertson (Board Member): $27,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Be’chół Lashon celebrates and prioritizes diversity as a Jewish value by uplifting the historic and contemporary racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the Jewish people and in doing so, strengthens the entire Jewish community. Be’chol Lashon celebrates and prioritizes diversity as a Jewish value by uplifting the historic and contemporary racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the Jewish people and in doing so, strengthens the entire Jewish community. Vision. Be’chol Lashon is honored to support projects that are aligned with Be’chol Lashon’s mission of celebrating the ethnic and racial diversity of Jewish life. Trainings . The Be’chol Lashon Campership Fund launched on Hanukkah 5784 (December 2023) for the 15 years of Camp Be’chol Lashon to ensure we keep the lights shining on our future and nurture the Jewish identities of our youth. We have always provided assistance to...

What it reported doing in 2024

Experiential ActivitiesCamp Bechol Lashon (CBL) is Jewish overnight camp for multicultural children located in the San Francisco Bay Area, with campers from around the US and the world. Each day campers encounter Judaism through the history and culture of Jewish communities around the world, highlighting the ways in which universal Jewish values find unique expression in different places. Children explore personal identity, moving from their individual stories to seeing themselves as an integral part of global Jewish life.Community Events strengthen Jewish identity by expanding awareness of the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of Jewish identity, language, and experience. We celebrate Jews as a multicultural people through partnering and co-sponsoring a variety of community events and programs, often bridging the gap from Jews on the margins to mainstream Jewish life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 80% for direct work, and 20% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.1%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 58.1%; rating input score 58
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.63 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: 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st 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: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.3%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.34; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.3% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 64.1% of revenue deployed · 58.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $594K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $158K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.