Jewish Federation of the Berkshires

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042131409
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Pittsfield, MA, USA
Phone
4134424360
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,211,675
Expenses
$2,073,861
Assets
$5,384,509
Liabilities
$211,873

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ARLENE SCHIFF (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DARA KAUFMAN (EXECUTIVE DI): $168,085 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The jewish federation of the berkshires cares for those in need and nurtures and sustains the jewish community locally, in israel and around the world today and for future generations.

What it reported doing in 2025

The federation allocates funds to its affiliate organizations, oversees needs and other initiatives and organizations it deems appropriate. During 2024, the federation produced 126 educational, cultural, family, and holiday programs for the community with over 6,600 attendees and engaged over 200 volunteers. The federation received donations from over 1,100 donors and assisted numerous organizations. Camp and israel travel scholarships were awarded to cover 40 children and teens.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 45% for direct work, and 55% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.6%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 80.6%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 61.7%; rating input score 62; 22nd 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; 63rd 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: 6.2%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.6; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.6% of revenue deployed · 80.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $168K · 27 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 12 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.