Jewish Community Center in Manhattan

Mission:
The mission of The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan (JCCM),
www.jccmanhattan.org is to build an inclusive Jewish community
that celebrates the strength of diversity. We are a home for
individuals and families of all backgrounds to grow and to learn,
and to care about and deepen their connections to one another.
Rooted in Jewish values, our cultural, social, educational, and
recreational programs offer multiple pathways into the richness of
community life for members of all ages. Through our partnerships
and programs, we seek to fulfill our responsibility to the people of
Israel and Jews throughout the world, and to improve the quality of
life in our neighborhoods and our city.

Financial Efficiency Evaluation:
According to Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/),
America’s leading charity evaluator, JCCM has an overall rating of
3 stars (four stars is the highest rating.) Charity Navigator provides
the following breakdown of JCCM based on 990 tax returns through
2006:
Overall Rating: 3 stars ***
Organizational Efficiency: Efficiency Rating 2 stars**
Program Expenses: 69.4%
Administrative Expenses: 27.2%
Fundraising Expenses: 3.2%
Fundraising Efficiency: $0.05 (JCCM spends $0.05 to raise $1)
Organizational Capacity: Capacity Rating 4 stars****
Primary Revenue Growth: 15.3%
Program Expenses Growth: 7.5%
Working Capital Ratio (years): 0.80
(JCCM can sustain itself for 0.80 years without
generating new revenue.)
Organizational Capacity refers to an organization’s ability to
sustain itself over time. Charities that exhibit consistent
revenue and expenses growth are more likely to sustain its
programs and services over the long haul.

JCCM has net assets of $47,748,138. Compensation for
its Executive Director, David Black, was $232,511 which
represents 1.06% of expenses. For comparison purposes,
compensation for the President of the American Jewish
World Service (AJWS), Ruth Messinger, was $191,000
which represents 0.79% of expenses.

Upcoming Events:
November 10: Kristallnacht Commemoration: A story
of music & spiritual resistance during the Holocaust:
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the conflagration that
engulfed Jews all over Germany and marked the beginning of
the end for European Jewry. We commemorate this event with
a remarkable story of hope sustained during those nightmarish
years. Sonia Pauline Beker, author of Symphony on Fire will
tell the story of her parents who shared their music with inmates
of the Vilna Ghetto, concentration camps, and finally, as part of
the Displaced Person’s Orchestra of the St. Ottilien DP Camp.
Beker will also screen Creating Harmony, the documentary film
based upon her family’s story.

Recommmendation:
The JCCM has a four star organizational capacity rating (the
highest rating) and is thus well situated to sustain its programs
and services during the present economic downturn. Its efficiency
rating, however, is only two stars. In order to earn a four star
rating from Charity Navigator, the JCCM would have to increase
the percentage of revenue spent on its programs from 69.4% to at
least 80%. This can be accomplished by reducing its administrative
expenses from 27.2% of expenses to approximately 15%. For
comparison purposes, Charity Navigator has given the AJWS an
efficiency rating of four stars and the AJWS spends only 7.1% on
administrative expenses.

Next Week’s Blog: The Museum of Jewish Heritage