Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County

Legal name: Lorraine & Jack N Friedman Commission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
650219982
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2015
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
West Palm Beach, FL, US
Phone
561-242-6664
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,178,020
Expenses
$1,224,598
Assets
$1,652,715
Liabilities
$81,128

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALAN L SHULMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • CHARLES COHEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CYNNIE S LIST (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DEBBIE SHAPIRO (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DR ELIZABETH S SHULMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ELLEN RAMPELL (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHARLES COHEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $120,549 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Lorraine & Jack N Friedman Commission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches, a program of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, provides educational services and resources to the Jewish community in Palm Beach County.

What it reported doing in 2015

Professional development/school services ("pd/ss") develops curriculum and resources for teachers and provides classes, workshops, conferences, professional networks and leadership training for school directors, lay leaders and teachers in jewish schools throughout the greater palm beaches. The pd/ss program also assists jewish schools in meeting the education needs of their students by giving teachers tools to evaluate students and strengthen diagnostic and teaching skills. Pd/ss professional staff evaluate teachers for best practices in jewish day schools, synagogue schools, and preschools, while maintaining and analyzing statistical and demographic information regarding jewish education in the greater palm beaches.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.1%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 54.7%; rating input score 55
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 29%; rating input score 29; 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.35; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 57.1% of revenue deployed · 54.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $669K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 33 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2009 to 2015
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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 57/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 29/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.