Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life

Legal name: Institute of Southern Jewish Life

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
640762027
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jun 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Jackson, MS, USA
Phone
6013626357
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,827,430
Expenses
$1,677,204
Assets
$5,573,070
Liabilities
$62,489

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHELE SCHIPPER (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELE SCHIPPER (CEO): $185,073 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

| ** The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) supports, connects, and celebrates Jewish life in the South. _Vision_ The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) provides programs and services across the south. We offer resources tailored to meet the needs of communities of all sizes. From the largest congregations to the last-Jews-in-town, we offer resources at every level. Throughout our thirteen-state region, we work with individuals, congregations, and organizations to preserve the storied past of Southern Jewish life, while at the same time enriching the ongoing experience of Jews in the contemporary American South.

What it reported doing in 2024

In order to carry out our mission to support, connect, and celebrate jewish life in the south, the goldring/woldenberg institute of southern jewish life (isjl) provides a range of programs and services. This includes an annual southern & jewish conference, providing an opportunity for participants from across the region to gather and connect each summer. Throughout the year, we also coordinate in-person events, put our staff on the road, and offer online opportunities for engagement. All told, over 10,000 people were served by isjl programs in 2024-2025. Our programs are coordinated by our three programming divisions: education, culture, and spirituality.education: the isjl education division supports jewish learning across the south. In the 2024-2025 school year, 70 religious schools utilized our curriculum; this means approximately 3,000 students were impacted by isjl resources. Our team of education leaders also coordinated a regional cohort of teachers and school professionals, able to network, collaborate, and share best-practices year-round.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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 - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.2%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.32; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 66.7% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $185K · 26 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.