Harold Grinspoon Foundation

Legal name: The Harold Grinspoon Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
046685725
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Agawam, MA, USA
Phone
4137810712
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$129,335,075
Expenses
$62,200,293
Assets
$1,159,806,523
Liabilities
$25,114,184

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WINIFRED SANDLER (TRUSTEE & PRESIDENT)
  • ALEXANDER ZABLOTSKY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PJ LIBRARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • ADRIAN DION (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $373,829 total reported compensation
  • RACHEL GOLDKLANG (CHIEF PHIL. OFFICER THROUGH 11/29/24): $326,905 total reported compensation
  • ERIC JORDAN (CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER): $324,734 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Inspired by the deep meaning and joy offered by Jewish living, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) helps people connect to Jewish values, faith, traditions, and culture and build vibrant Jewish communities. supports local and national programs that fit with our mission. missions operate From Local to Global. Locally, the HGF provides a range of programming and support to our Jewish community of Western Massachusetts. Nationally, the HGF supports vibrant Jewish programs through PJ Library, JCamp 180, and Life & Legacy across North America. Internationally, the HGF supports Jewish communities in 40 countries worldwide through the global reach of PJ Library.

What it reported doing in 2024

Life & legacy assisted over 45 communities through partnerships with jewish federations and foundations, to promote after-lifetime giving to build endowments that will provide financial stability to jewish day schools, synagogues, social service organizations, and other jewish entities. Through training, support and monetary incentives, this partnership program motivates jewish organizations to secure legacy gifts, steward donors, and integrate legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of the jewish community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 57% for direct work, and 43% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.8%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 85.7%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.5%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 55.6%; rating input score 56; 15th 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: 51.9%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.65; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 53.8% of revenue deployed · 85.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $53.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $374K · 19 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 44 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 252 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 249 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 56/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.