Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Val

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237344525
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Allentown, PA, USA
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools
Affiliation
Judaism

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,932,308
Expenses
$1,999,366
Assets
$2,310,498
Liabilities
$36,635

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOANNA POWERS (HEAD OF SCHO): $88,000 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 day school of the lehigh valley is a nonprofit community school for primary-kindergarten to grade eight, that is dedicated to a holistic approach to education. The school is devoted to the development of bright, confident students with a strong american and jewish identity who are well prepared to meet the world. The school combines a well-rounded general studies curriculum, a richly fortified jewish education, and a deep commitment to the land and people of israel.

What it reported doing in 2024

The jewish day school, a community based school located in allentown and serving the jewish communities of allentown, bethlehem, easton, and their environs, offers a dual-language, general/judaic studies curriculum to students in grades primary-kindergarten through eight. The school fills a critical educational niche in the lehigh valley, one that a public school education cannot provide. It is the only institution in the area offering jewish children the highest quality secular education combined with a deep appreciation of jewish culture and values, an understanding of the historical and religious foundations of the jewish people, and a facility for reading, writing, and speaking hebrew.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.8% of revenue deployed · 80.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.