Jewish Federation of San Diego
Legal name: Jewish Federation of San Diego County
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 951319015
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Diego, CA, United States
- Phone
- 858-571-3444
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Affiliation
- Judaism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $17,617,403
- Expenses
- $13,516,427
- Assets
- $39,715,808
- Liabilities
- $3,079,085
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
39 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JEREMY PEARL (PERMANENT GUEST (JCF CEO))
- HEIDI GANTWERK (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- HEIDI GANTWERK (PRESIDENT & CEO): $388,859 total reported compensation
- DARREN SCHWARTZ (CHIEF PLANNING & STRATEGY): $203,182 total reported compensation
- CARLY EZELL LOBENSTEIN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $160,558 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Inspired by Jewish values, we broaden and deepen engagement in Jewish life to strengthen Jewish identity, foster dynamic connections with Israel, and care for all Jews in need. Jewish life only flourishes when we work together. By focusing on these four priorities, we create a profound impact locally, in Israel, and around the world. Join Federation in our mission to strengthen and support the San Diego Jewish community and our global Jewish family – for today and for generations to come. Questions? Contact: Darren Schwartz. As an integral part of Federation’s mission to support Jews in need, we recognize our collective responsibility to support those facing hard times. It is imperative that as a cohesive community – one blessed with a multitude of institutions, agencies, schools, and synagogues all united by a common goal – we collaborate to extend a helping hand to those enduring...
What it reported doing in 2024
Jewish federation of san diego county ("federation") is a California not-for-profit organization formed in 1936. Inspired by jewish values, we broaden and deepen engagement in jewish life to strengthen jewish identity, foster dynamic connections with israel, and care for all jews in need. We mobilize our community's resources, leaders, and organizations to address the community's most critical needs, creating profound impact locally, in israel, and around the world.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 44% for direct work, and 56% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 59.2%; rating input score 59
- Program expense ratio: 76.2%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th 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: 88%; rating input score 88; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 84.8%; rating input score 85; 18th 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: 23.3%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.94; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 59.2% of revenue deployed · 76.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 28 of 33 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $389K · 39 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $129K reported
- Consistency: 38 of 40 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 58 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 52 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.
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.