JCP Downtown

Legal name: The Jewish Community Project of Lower Manhattan

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
113706587
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, United States
Phone
212-334-3522
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Neighborhood Centers
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,518,219
Expenses
$6,518,027
Assets
$5,073,469
Liabilities
$3,052,957

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Rachel Ziff (Co-President)
  • Shara Levy (Co-President)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEENA SILVERSTONE (RABBI): $237,396 total reported compensation
  • PETER RETZLAFF (Executive Dir.): $218,012 total reported compensation
  • Rachel Mintz (Presch. Dir): $158,705 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our Mission To lead a come-as-you-are model of Judaism that builds and cultivates a Proudly Jewish downtown community rooted in ongoing learning, spirituality, and celebration. We welcome people wherever they are on their Jewish journey. From meaningful High Holy Days services to the joy of a lively cocktail party, we offer many ways to connect with Judaism. Unaffiliated and rooted in pluralism, we pride ourselves on being the most diverse and inclusive Jewish community in New York, embracing different expressions of Jewish identities from interfaith families and cultural curiosity to more traditional observance and practice. Belonging & Support We treasure the sense of belonging and fulfillment that comes from genuinely connecting with our neighbors and with Jewish life. By bringing centuries of Jewish wisdom into the rhythm of modern city living, we create a spac.

What it reported doing in 2024

Jewish learning experiences for ages pre k - 12th grade and adults: inspired by tradition and rooted in jewish values, jcp offers joyful and meaningful jewish experiences that celebrate the unique learning path of every individual in the context of community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 64% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.5%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.6; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.9%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 82.5% of revenue deployed · 82.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $237K · 35 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $463K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.