Westchester Jewish Council

Legal name: Westchester Jewish Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132856699
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
White Plains, NY, United States
Phone
(914) 328-7001
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Judaism
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$929,419
Expenses
$911,481
Assets
$1,161,441
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

64 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL MITTELMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • JEFFREY KOHN (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MARC KLEE (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ARLENE KLEINBERG (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • WILLIAM SCHRAG (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL B WARHIT (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELLIOT FORCHHEIMER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $222,780 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 Council connects and convenes Jewish organizations, fosters support for the State of Israel, and cultivates and strengthens relationships with elected officials, other ethnic and faith-based groups, and the community at large. The Council connects and convenes Jewish organizations, fosters support for the State of Israel, and cultivates and strengthens relationships with our elected officials, other ethnic and faith based groups and the community at large. The Council encourages participation in Jewish life and supports and develops initiatives and programs that meet existing and emerging Jewish communal needs. _Action Statement_ _The Westchester Jewish Council**connects, convenes** and helps to **safeguard** Westchester’s Jewish communities and strengthens relationships among Jewish organizations, to Israel, to our elected officials, to other ethnic and faith based groups and to...

What it reported doing in 2024

The top three events for the westchester jewish council for the 2024-2025 year are our afternoon of music and joy, 49th anniversary gala, and the julian y. Bernstein distinguished service award.the afternoon of music was held on november 17, 2024. Thirty-two cantors entertained singing songs of broadway, pop, celebration, and peace. Approximately 420 people attended. Tickets were $25/person if paid by november 6 and $30/person afterwards. Walk-in on the day of the event had to pay $30/person.our 49th anniversary gala was held on february 1, 2025. Our honorees betty berenson and richard spitz. Robert shasha from the cotswold group was our business honoree. Comedian jon firsch, was the entertainer. Approximately 450 tickets were sold.our julian y. Bernstein distinguished service award was held on may 6, 2025. Mr. Bernstein (of blessed memory) was a westchester jewish council board member, who believed in community service and appreciated volunteers. Twenty-three volunteers from synagogue/member organizations were honored. A program was published with journal ads honoring the honorees. Approximately 500 people attended. The event was free and open to all.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.6%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.9%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24.4%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 90.6% of revenue deployed · 91.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 63 of 63 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $838K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $223K · 64 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.