Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042104363
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Worcester, MA, USA
Phone
5087561543
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,426,384
Expenses
$2,206,114
Assets
$19,868,585
Liabilities
$1,560,753

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BEN LYONS (PRESIDENT)
  • JONATHAN SIGEL (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • STEVEN SCHIMMEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN SCHIMMEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $154,739 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 federation of central mass, inc. Is dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of jewish life in central Massachusetts and throughout the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Rachel's table - the mission of rachel's table is to distribute donated and purchased food and milk to social service agencies helping the hungry in worcester, Massachusetts and to reduce the waste of nourishing food. Since its inception in 1989, rachel's table has distributed over 14 million pounds of food and milk, at no cost, to 30 local shelters, soup kitchens, group homes, day programs. And food pantries. The children's milk fund provides milk for approximately 20,000 individual children at 21 of these agencies throughout the year. Rachel's table also purchases fruits and vegetables for the summer meal program for worcester's children run by friendly house neighborhood center to help children when school is closed and school meals unavailable.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 61% for direct work, and 39% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.5%; rating input score 97; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.1%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.01; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.8% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $155K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 21 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 20 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.