UpStart

Legal name: Upstart Bay Area

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263094076
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Oakland, CA, United States
Phone
(415) 536-5918 ext. 1
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonprofit Management
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,096,349
Expenses
$6,825,997
Assets
$1,355,629
Liabilities
$583,287

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AARON KATLER (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • AARON KATLER (CEO): $305,424 total reported compensation
  • ALIZA MAZOR (CHIEF FLD BLD OFC.): $219,612 total reported compensation
  • JED SNERSON (CFOO): $205,183 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We accelerate growth, nurture ideas, and advance new experiences for the Jewish community by connecting impact-driven entrepreneurs to expertise, community, and capital. Guided by our Mission, Vision, and Values, Upstart is committed to building thriving Jewish communities, including its own as an organization. The UpStart staff and board reflect the broad diversity of the communities in which we work. We share a commonality through our mission and vision, and as we interact with each other we feel a sense of mutual responsibility for each other and those we serve. We believe that Jewish wisdom, ethics, and values are essential in shaping communities rooted in Belonging. Our vision is one of Jewish _communities_ flourishing as hubs of innovation, fostering a more just, vibrant, and inclusive future. This vision embodies a commitment to justice, with initiati.

What it reported doing in 2023

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND VENTURE NETWORK: UpStart supports a diverse set of Jewish entrepreneurs at every stage of their ventures development. Idea-stage programming is specifically designed to support underrepresented Jewish social entrepreneurs seeking to develop ideas that answer unmet needs in the community; Early-stage cohort programming provides resources and training to support social entrepreneurs to achieve product-market fit for their ventures; Growth-stage cohort programming teaches social entrepreneurs how to run effective organizations, acquire sustainable revenue, and create impact; Services for mezzanine-stage ventures formalize their operations.UpStart participants and program alumni have ongoing access to a clearly defined network that provides robust resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 7
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.2%; rating input score 98; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 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: -66.6%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.2; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.8%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $305K · 24 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $622K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 39 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 29 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.