Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia

Legal name: Jewish Family & Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231352026
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bala Cynwyd, PA, United States
Phone
866.JFCS.NOW (866.532.7669)
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's, Youth Services
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,187,911
Expenses
$14,647,692
Assets
$11,279,870
Liabilities
$2,418,712

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAULA GOLDSTEIN (CEO (TO 08/2025))
  • ROBIN BRANDIES (CEO (AS OF 09/2025))

Highest reported compensation

  • PAULA GOLDSTEIN (CEO (TO 08/2025)): $293,551 total reported compensation
  • PIA EISENBERG (CHIEF BUSINESS & RESOURCE DEV. DIR.): $191,263 total reported compensation
  • KEVIN ROSSI (CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER): $170,678 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

JFCS’s mission is to strengthen families and individuals across generations and cultures to achieve stability, independence, and community. Large group of staff members in multicolored shirts pose for group photo under trees. Our Mission Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia has a unique and vital mission: to strengthen families and individuals across generations and cultures to achieve stability, independence, and community. Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia has a unique and vital mission: to strengthen families and individuals across generations and cultures to achieve stability, independence, and community. We work to fulfill that mission by adhering to the key principles of:.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our closet in your neighborhood (ociyn) is a free mobile program that provides those in need across our city with the basic necessities of food and clothing, as well as access to services and benefits. The ociyn bus visits host sites in under-resourced neighborhoods and central locations with fresh, healthy produce and pantry staples, a mini pop-up clothing shop, and an onsite social worker. Host sites include churches, synagogues, hospitals, community centers, and agency partners. There are no referrals required or forms to fill out. All free, quality food and clothing items are provided with dignity and respect in a warm and welcoming environment. Ociyn also provides customized packages of emergency clothing delivered straight to those in need, as well as food package delivery to homebound clients. In fy 25, we served 6,747 community members through 52 pop-ups shops and distibuted groceries equivalent to 19,987 meals and 22,370 articles of clothing.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.8%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 95.8%; rating input score 96; 29th 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: 9.5%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 75.8% of revenue deployed · 83.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $12.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $294K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.