Jewish Community Foundation

Legal name: Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
061372107
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
West Hartford, CT, United States
Phone
860.523.7460
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,161,117
Expenses
$8,856,186
Assets
$192,143,216
Liabilities
$27,507,721

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael Elfenbaum (Vice President Community Engagement)
  • Susan Lotreck (Vice President Operations)
  • Jacob A Schreiber (President and CEO (End 1/16/24))
  • Walter Harrison (Interim President and CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Laura Whitney (Chief Financial Officer): $197,034 total reported compensation
  • Michael Elfenbaum (Vice President Community Engagement): $155,971 total reported compensation
  • Susan Lotreck (Vice President Operations): $150,032 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 Jewish Community Foundation helps donors achieve their philanthropic goals, while building a permanent pool of funds to ensure that Greater Hartford’s Jewish community is here forever. We invest your funds so they grow and continue to support the causes you love today and in perpetuity. Guided by Jewish values, we establish a culture of endowment giving. We reflect the community we serve and are guided by the Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), Tzedakah (caring for those in need), and Tzedek (pursuing justice). Our vision: Jewish. Community. Forever.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education. The Foundation supports numerous institutions whose focus is on Jewish education. The largest proportion goes to area Jewish day schools for general operating support, scholarships and curriculum enhancement. Other grants include literacy for at-risk youth, supplemental religious school education, college scholarships and general support of secular secondary and college institutions. Grantees include Solomon Schechter Day School, New England Jewish Academy, Loomis Chafee School, and the University of Connecticut Foundation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 89% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • 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. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.6%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 47%; rating input score 47; 11th 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; 66th 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: 48.4%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 21.7; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 68.6% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $197K · 22 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $114K reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 47 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 121 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 116 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 47/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grants require schedule f did not reconcile in the filed values.