Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles

Legal name: Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
956111928
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Phone
323.761.8700
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Federated Giving Programs
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$168,538,558
Expenses
$140,855,325
Assets
$1,190,830,619
Liabilities
$251,010,156

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

Leadership & pay

46 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ABBY LT FEINMAN (TRUSTEE/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ADLAI W WERTMAN (TRUSTEE/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ANTHONY CHANIN (TRUSTEE/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • EUGENE P STEIN (TRUSTEE/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MARCIA WEINER MANKOFF (TRUSTEE/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MARK N SCHWARTZ (TRUSTEE/VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • AARON LERNER (President & CEO): $664,762 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL M ROTHBLATT (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $447,607 total reported compensation
  • DEBORAH JOHNSTON (CFO/SENIOR VP OF FINANCE): $369,842 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 of Los Angeles strengthens our community to better our world by empowering Jewish philanthropists with counsel, connections, and resources to elevate their impact. For more than 70 years, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles has been a trusted partner to individuals and families seeking to give with purpose and impact. We combine deep community knowledge with personalized philanthropic counsel to help you navigate your giving with clarity, confidence, and intention. We understand that every philanthropic journey is unique. Whether you are just getting started, refining your strategy, or planning for the future, we work alongside you to align your giving with your values and goals—maximizing both individual and collective impact. JCF logo.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, the foundation managed more than 1,400 charitable funds, primarily donor advised funds, stewarding $1.5 billion in assets. Together with our clients, we directed $207 million through 14,000 grants to 3,320 nonprofits. Grants included $82m across los angeles, $24m to israel, and $101m to the jewish community. By interest area, this encompassed $58m for human services, $58m for health, sciences & environment, $52m for jewish life, $35m for education, and $5.8m for arts & culture. Through our community impact funds, we supported a vibrant and secure jewish community, helped israelis heal and rebuild after october 7, and provided emergency aid to vulnerable families in los angeles. Our $309m endowment funds provide lasting charitable capital, sustaining vital causes and building multigenerational legacies. As a trusted partner, the foundation offers comprehensive administrative support, full-service charitable advisement, and legacy planning that empower fundholders to achieve their philanthropic goals with confidence and impact.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 99% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.2%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 93.8%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $39.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • 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: Pass
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.3%; rating input score 99; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.4%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.45; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 89.2% of revenue deployed · 93.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 32 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $132.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $665K · 46 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.8M reported
  • Consistency: 47 of 49 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1077 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1099 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.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.