Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231352338
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Harrisburg, PA, USA
Phone
7172369555
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Neighborhood Centers
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,806,707
Expenses
$8,164,970
Assets
$24,322,143
Liabilities
$10,034,900

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ZACH BENJAMIN (PRESIDENT/CE)

Highest reported compensation

  • ARNIE SOHINKI THROUGH JULY 2024 (INTERIM PRES): $109,992 total reported compensation
  • DENA MARKOWITZ (CFO): $107,884 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to ensure that the Jewish community of Greater Harrisburg flourishes by serving as its central unifying communal organization, and by strengthening the bonds within our community and with Israel and Jews around the world. Our vision is to create a strong and supportive community sheltered under the umbrella of the Federation providing financial, cultural, and physical support to the organizations and individual members in the Capital region and internationally, promoting the quality of Jewish life. Guiding Principles of the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg.

What it reported doing in 2023

The sports, fitness and recreation department provides overall management of all fitness facilities and equipment. It also organizes and supervises all programming including in person and 400 virtual fitness classes, basketball programming for all ages, from iddy biddy to middle and high school competitions and adult pick-up games, the maccabi games, rocksteady boxing, girls on the run, numerous aquatics activities (free swim, swim lessons including to low-income families, water aerobics, swim team, educational and safety courses), an annual community 5k and corporate clash. There were over 300 unique youth as part of registrations for youth programming. Scholarships are provided to families in need participating at our elc and day camp. Monies are paid to local and national jewish organizations.

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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: -69.9%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.98; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.7%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $6.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 27 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.