Samuel and Althea Stroum Jewish Community Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 900953408
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Mercer Island, WA, USA
- Phone
- 2062327115
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Neighborhood Centers
- Affiliation
- Judaism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $33,959,749
- Expenses
- $13,034,584
- Assets
- $46,769,254
- Liabilities
- $3,412,974
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JILL HANDALY (PRESIDENT)
- JAY BEHAR (VICE PRESIDENT)
- AMY LAVIN (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- AMY LAVIN (CEO): $301,913 total reported compensation
- RENEE GOODWIN (COO): $206,798 total reported compensation
- MICHELLE BECQUE (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $174,906 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To offer experiences that amplify profound jewish connections for every generation.
What it reported doing in 2024
The sjcc schwartz early childhood school (ecs) is a unique place, where the elements of preeminent early childhood education intersect with daily jewish traditions, holiday celebrations, and ultimately friendships that create an unmatched community for young families. Serving 212 kids in 2025-2026, a reggio emilia-inspired program, ecs creates an environment fostering compassionate, curious, and confident learners. Ecs is a compounding foundation of the sjcc, as new families build upon preceding generations, reaping the benefits of those that have come before as they also fortify the future.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 67% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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. 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: 42
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 97
- Sustainability: 80
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 21.9%; rating input score 22
- Program expense ratio: 57.6%; rating input score 58
- Fundraising efficiency: $222.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 29th 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: 61.6%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.59; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; 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: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 21.9% of revenue deployed · 57.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $302K · 29 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $781K reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 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: Mission deployment rate scored 22/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.