Jewish Federation of Cleveland

What it reported doing in 2024

4b. Direct services include programs that help meet the social welfare, religious, and educational needs of people in cleveland, israel, and around the world. These include:1. The jewish volunteer network (jvn) connects volunteers to a wide range of opportunities in both the jewish and general community. In the past year, jvn volunteer efforts have included feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, helping the needy, beautifying community cemeteries and neighborhoods, and many others. Volunteer experiences through jvn are offered daily, weekly, bi-monthly, or can be tailored to individual schedules. Federation's community options and jewish community housing programs help 900 seniors in the (see sch o) community live longer independently through provision of activities, on-site health and wellness programs, volunteer opportunities, and service referrals.2. The overseas connections committee oversees and recommends funding to jewish federations of north america and other national and international organizations for a myriad of specialized programs that help disadvantaged children, young adults, and families in israel, ukraine, and around the world to foster the revival of jewish life. Clevelanders actively participate in these initiatives. 3. The federation's pj library program for jewish families with young children (birth to 12 years), has distributed over 133,000 books to over 4,300 children (since january 2009) and organized a large range of events to build community around the program.4. Access jewish cleveland, formerly known as the information & referral service, is a comprehensive resource that community members can access either through personalized, confidential phone assistance or a website. The program is a single point of contact and collaboration between the federation, its beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and organizations in the cleveland jewish community and provided access to a host of information about programs, services, and special events. Federation's roundtable on financial distress convenes all community organizations that work with clients facing financial hardship so they can network and collaborate on important issues facing their clients. As a result of this roundtable, the front-line staff from every organization have unprecedented levels of collaboration to serve the clients. This collaboration leverages the specialties and expertise of each organization and maximizes the effectiveness of services delivered to clients by each and every organization. This would not be possible without the coordinating efforts of access jewish cleveland.5. The cleveland israel arts connection is a program of the jewish federation of cleveland, connecting our community with the most dynamic 21st century cultural experiences that israel has to offer. Working in partnership with northeast Ohio's leading arts organizations, we strive to identify, enhance, promote, and create unique and engaging israeli cultural opportunities. Thousands of clevelanders enjoy attending israeli cultural events presented by our fine arts partners. The roe green gallery, located at the federation, hosted art exhibitions designed to appeal to both the jewish and general community audiences.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 66.5%; rating input score 66
• Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
• Fundraising efficiency: $13.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st 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: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Limited
  • Conducts field audits: Pass
  • May suspend future funding: Limited
  • Requires financial reports: Pass
  • Conducts site visits: Pass
  • Requires grant agreements: Pass
  • May require repayment: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 97.7%; rating input score 98; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 99.3%; rating input score 99; 54th 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 32.7%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.71; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings