Jewish Federation of Howard County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237072654
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Columbia, MD, USA
Phone
4107304976
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$954,049
Expenses
$1,073,604
Assets
$1,744,948
Liabilities
$434,669

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KIRK WISEMAYER (President & CEO)
  • GORDON FULLER (INTERIM CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KIRK WISEMAYER (President & CEO): $116,154 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN STEWART (COO): $89,472 total reported compensation
  • SHAUNA LEAVEY (COMM ENGAGE DIR): $69,648 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Form 990, part i, line 1, description of organization mission: the mission of the jewish federation of howard county is to support andserve the howard county jewish community and connect the localcommunity to the state of israel and jews throughout the world. Ourvision is to be the dynamic, integrating resource in howard county bypromoting the well-being of the jewish community as a whole, inpartnership with other jewish-based and community organizations. Ourstrategic purpose is to build community by caring for, supporting, andenriching jewish life in howard county.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program and supporting servicesjewish federation of howard county assumes an active leadership role in the cultural, educational, religous, social, and social welfare needs of the jewish community. It is active in the advancement of local, national, and global jewish interests, particularly with respect to israel and vulnerable jewish populations around the world. Jewish federation develops and sponsors programs for individuals and the community to realize and fulfill its mission of connecting and engaging jews in howard county to community. This achieved through the efforts of staff and volunteers who work with the following program committtees: development, engagement, holocaust remembrance, jewish community relations and social services.jewish federation's dedicated leadership, volunteers, and professional staff create engaging events and programs to connect jews in howard county to one another and to celebrate jewish life, tradition, and values, and to disseminate information and develop programs and services that create awareness and understanding of issues important to all americans, of all ethnicities, including anti-semitism, holocaust education, discrimination and racism, the fight against international terrorism, human rights, and poverty.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 25th 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: -12.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.63; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.4%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.6% of revenue deployed · 71.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $768K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $116K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.