The Workmen's Circle Arbeter Ring Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
136178558
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2128896800
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,779,882
Expenses
$4,371,560
Assets
$36,462,120
Liabilities
$1,944,119

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANN TOBACK (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • SALLY GUTTMACHER (Vice President)
  • Eva Zasloff (Vice President)
  • RICHARD RUMELT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANN TOBACK (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $271,833 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA KARACHALIOS (DEPUTY EX. DIR. & DIR. OF DEV.): $203,842 total reported compensation
  • Shelley Binder (Associate Director of Special): $160,826 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Workers Circle, formerly known as The Workmen's Circle, is a 501(c)(3) organization that continues to serve as a dynamic force in Jewish identify formation for secular and progressive Jews. The organization officially adopted the name The Workers Circle in 2019, reflecting its ongoing mission and vision as a welcoming and inclusive home for Jewish cultural engagement. Rooted in a strong tradition of activism and community, The Workers Circle brings together a multigenerational community united by a shared commitment to celebrating Jewish heritage and advancing progressive values. Our members, friends, and allies connect through Jewish culture, history and traditions, while working collectively to protect democracy and ensure that all voices are heard. Our model for growth responds to the ongoing demand among American Jews for new connections to Jewish identity and culture. It is rooted in the fundamental belief that if given the opportunity, modern American Jews can find in Jewish

What it reported doing in 2024

The Workers Circle experienced significant growth and renewal across its programs, advocacy, and community engagement. Educational offerings expanded through new and diverse classes in Yiddish language, Jewish cultural history, and social justice. The Workers Circle activist community reached over 1.6 million voters in states that had enacted new voter suppression laws, many targeting voters of color. Our outreach took the form of phone banking, texting, handwritten postcards, and door knocking. Our Demand Democracy/Fight Fascism Campaign connected with thousands of new activists, and we created powerful partnerships with Black-led organizations, including the Center for Common Ground, Black Voters Matter, and more. The Workers Circle Democracy Circles emerged as vibrant hubs of grassroots organizing and activism since their launch in 2023. Our network expanded to over 80 circles nationwide, connecting over 350 participants in a grassroots movement that powers our activism. The Workers Circle continues to be the world's leading center for Yiddish language instruction and the largest provider of Yiddish language classes in the U.S. We've offered 160 classes through our world-renowned program, engaging nearly 2,000 students with 50 instructors worldwide.. Our daylong Winter in Yiddishland virtual program drew over 500 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.5%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 55.8%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: Missing
    • 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: 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: -15.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.34; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.5% of revenue deployed · 55.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $272K · 20 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 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: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.