TacklingTorah
Legal name: Tacklingtorah Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 834454642
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Phone
- 6318973084
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Judaism
- Affiliation
- Judaism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $55,652
- Expenses
- $54,654
- Assets
- $998
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Rabbi Elyssa L Cherney (CEO)
- Alan Cherney (President and Treasurer)
Highest reported compensation
- Rabbi Elyssa L Cherney (CEO): $43,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
TacklingTorah seeks to help people through every transition as a new way to integrate holiness into our everyday lives. So much of what I have learned from Jewish wisdom teaches that we must come to terms with closure rituals before our next phase can begin. I have found this to be true. Thank the items for having been a part of your life in your time of need and keep moving forward! Remember that you are responsible to make this change! RULE 4: Tidy by category, not by location. (Enthusiasm – Ze _r_ izut, Truth – _Emet_) For me this means first admitting there are items of each category all over the house! Putting them together allows you to see what you may need for function and what pieces you may be holding onto even though your life has continued to move forward. Muster all your energy toward it, and rec.
What it reported doing in 2024
TacklingTorah Inc is a religious nonprofit that provides religious services to Jews and those who love them. This includes social programming, religious education, and lifecycle events (weddings, funerals, etc). Many individuals who use our services are unaffiliated with religious organizations or are from interfaith families. TacklingTorah helps these individuals navigate the modern religious landscape in a more connected world.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 61% for direct work, and 39% for member benefits.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and assets have declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.2%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 1.8%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -54.5% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 98.2% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $55K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $43K · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.