Jewish Federation of Greater Raleigh

Overview

Mission

To welcome, engage, and enhance Jewish life through connection, care, and community. The seeds of our organization first took root in 1984, when an ad-hoc committee was formed to determine the need for, and feasibility of, a Jewish family service in the Raleigh area. This effort culminated in 1985 with the formation of Jewish Community Services, whose purpose was to preserve, to develop, and to promote healthy family life in the Jewish community of Wake County. In 1986, the Wake County Jewish Federation was formed by the Raleigh Convening Group, with the support of local synagogues, Jewish Community Services, and the assistance of the Council of Jewish Federations. In 1987, the Federation incorporated, and Jewish Community Services shared office space and worked side-by-side.

Operating model

Revenue model

Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.

Distribution model

Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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.

• Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

• Financial Efficiency: 57
• Transparency & Controls: 69
• Accountability: 95
• Sustainability: 55
• Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Details

• What they do: 1 operating location identified
• Where the money goes: 62% of revenue deployed · 63.6% of spending went to programs
• Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
• Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
• Leadership: top reported pay $181K · 25 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
• Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $149K reported
• Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
• Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
• Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
• 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.

Key Signals

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

• High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
• Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 57/100.
• Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
• Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
• High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
• Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
• Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.