Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310537174
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5139851500
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$33,911,285
Expenses
$30,425,920
Assets
$192,354,060
Liabilities
$33,008,725

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

Leadership & pay

55 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Debbie Brant (Immediate Past President)
  • Elida Kamine (Vice President - Exit 05/24)
  • Tedd Friedman (Vice President)
  • Robert Fisher (Vice President)
  • Miriam Hodesh (Vice President)
  • Vallie Freeman (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Danielle Minson (CEO): $390,793 total reported compensation
  • Lindsey Wade (COO): $211,430 total reported compensation
  • David Harris (Chief Development Officer): $189,479 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 Cincinnati develops and connects leaders, contributors, organizations, and ideas to build an inclusive Jewish community that helps people in need, supports Israel, and assures a vibrant Jewish future.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Federation conducts an annual fundraising campaign in the Greater Cincinnati area. After deducting estimated uncollectible pledges & administrative and fundraising costs, allocations are made to local and national beneficiary agencies. Commitments are made from the current year's campaign to these agencies.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • 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: 97.5%; rating input score 98; 28th 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: 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: 10.3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.32; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.1% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 36 of 36 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $26.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $391K · 55 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 38 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 133 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 124 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.