Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 362538957
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, United States
- Phone
- (312) 663-0960
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Urban, Community Economic Development
- Affiliation
- Judaism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,613,679
- Expenses
- $1,559,154
- Assets
- $3,453,589
- Liabilities
- $639,902
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Sara Cantor (President)
- Cydney Wallace (Vice President)
- Judith Levey (Executive Director)
- Jessica Schaffer (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Judith Levey (Executive Director): $134,312 total reported compensation
- Jessica Schaffer (Executive Director): $99,504 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
JCUA combats poverty, racism, and antisemitism in partnership with the diverse communities of Chicago and Illinois. 3. We act with the conviction that our liberation is collective.** We know that our well-being as Jews is bound up in the safety of our neighbors, and that systems of hate are interconnected. Understanding that white supremacy manifests as antisemitism, anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of oppression, we build relationships and act in solidarity with communities who are directly impacted. By working in partnership to address the causes and expressions of injustice, we ensure mutual protection and support for all. 4. We are activated by knowledge and fueled by impact.** We empower members and partners with the knowledge, skills, and political analysis needed to lead. L.
What it reported doing in 2024
Youth Engagement: The Or Tzedek Teen Internship and College-aged Fellowship year-long programs train youth in the JCUA model of addressing systemic issues of inequality from a root-cause approach; strengthening civic engagement as a core aspect of Jewish identity; and providing youth with community-organizing skills. Through the programs, youth deepen their identities as compassionate and civically engaged leaders.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 72% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 65.2%; rating input score 65
- Program expense ratio: 65.9%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.4%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.22; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 65.2% of revenue deployed · 65.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 22 people listed
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.