Jewish Family Service
Legal name: Jewish Family Service of Colorado Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 840402701
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Denver, CO, USA
- Phone
- 3035975000
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Family Services
- Affiliation
- Judaism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $21,792,486
- Expenses
- $24,131,887
- Assets
- $17,374,294
- Liabilities
- $1,839,453
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
36 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LINDA P FOSTER (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- LINDA P FOSTER (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $381,586 total reported compensation
- JESSICA ZEIDMAN (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $218,727 total reported compensation
- SALLY HERBERT BEGIN 51625 (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $128,772 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Improve the lives of individuals and families in need throughout Colorado by taking an integrated approach to delivering comprehensive support services. Founded 154 years ago, we currently offer more than 30 programs and services, including food security, housing stability, mental health counseling, aging care, employment support, refugee resettlement, chaplaincy and Jewish life, disability services, and aeroponic farming. JFS takes a holistic approach, assessing the various needs of the individual or family and provides the appropriate services all from one organization. We continuously evaluate the evolving challenges of our community and adapt or develop programs that respond to the resulting needs. Mission Improving the lives of individuals and families in need throughout Colorado by taking an integrated approach to delivering comprehens.
What it reported doing in 2024
Community resources for stability (crs) offers robust and comprehensive assistance to individuals and families in crisis while promoting long-term self-sufficiency and preventing homelessness. By providing supportive services such as financial assistance, case management, housing stability, and food security. Through its emergency housing assistance program, jfs provides emergency financial assistance protecting families facing eviction, ensuring their ability to pay their rent, mortgage, or bills, and increasing their long-term financial stability. 563 individuals were served in fy25. In addition, jfs increases access to fresh, healthy, and nutritious foods and meals at the weinberg food pantry serving 3,639 households.the jfs mobile food & hygiene pantry which provides food assistance in areas of need for those facing food insecurity. The mobile pantry travels to denver neighborhoods and housing complexes with high percentages of food insecurity and to community and recreation centers to reach those with transportation barriers. Removing transportation barriers ensures families experiencing food insecurity will have continued access to healthy, fresh, and culturally relevant foods such as produce, meats, and dried goods, as well as information on how to access the more than 30 programs and services offered by jfs. The mobile food pantry served 5,323 households.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 63% for direct work, and 37% for 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 25
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.7%; rating input score 89
- Program expense ratio: 79.2%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $11.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd 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: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 88.7% of revenue deployed · 79.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $19.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $382K · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $567K reported
- Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 12 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.