American Friends Yad Eliezer

MISSION:
“American Friends of Yad Eliezer (AFYE), www. yadeliezer.org
provides financial aid and support to Yad Eliezer. Yad Eliezer,
founded in 1980, is the largest anti-hunger agency in Israel. Yad
Eliezer's mandate is to help families cope with financial
difficulties and to empower them to break through the cycle of
poverty and achieve self-sufficiency. Our objective is to combat
poverty at its root, through an array of programs that provide
critical short-term relief, while facilitating long-term recovery.
Each component of Yad Eliezer's comprehensive welfare system
- nationwide distribution of essential food, clothing and household
items, job training, and adolescent mentoring programs - contributes
toward economic recovery and social development.”

FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY EVALUATION:
According to Charity Navigator, (http://www.charitynavigator.org)
America’s leading charity evaluator, AFYE has an overall rating
of four stars (four stars is the highest rating.) Charity
Navigator provides the following breakdown of AFYE based on
990 tax returns through fiscal year 2007:

Overall Rating ****
Organizational Efficiency: Program Expenses 95.7%
Administrative Expenses 0.7%
Fundraising Expenses 3.4%
Fundraising Efficiency $0.03
(AFYE spends 0.03 to raise $1.)
Efficiency Rating ****

Organizational Capacity:
Primary Revenue Growth 15.2%
Program Expenses Growth 17.8%
Working Capital Ratio (years) 0.20
(AFYE can sustain itself for 0.20 years
without generating new revenue.)
Capacity Rating ****

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.

Compensation for its CEO, Sori Tropper, was $0. For
purposes of comparison, compensation for Ruth Messenger,
the President of the American Jewish World Service, was
$218,625 which was 0.76% of expenses.

As of fiscal year 2007, AFYE had net assets of $2,120,539
(up from 1,445,855 in 2006) and total assets of $2,120,539
(up from $1,450,501 in 2006.) AFYE had investments of
publicly traded securities of $1,241,340 (990 Tax return –
line 54a) and it had investments of other securities of $0
(line 54b). AFYE had cash non- interest bearing
investments of $829,620 (line 45) and savings and temporary
cash investments of $0 (line 46.) It had pledges
receivable less allowance for doubtful accounts of $0
(line 48b.) AFYE had fixed assets of land, buildings and
equipment less accumulated depreciation of $48,870
(line 57c) and other investments of $0 (line 56.)


FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY EVALUATION:
According to our PET (Philanthropy Economic Transparency)
Index, this blog’s financial transparency rating
system of information provided by the nonprofit on its
own website, AFYE has a transparency rating of 4 stars
(6 stars is the highest rating.) Of the following six
items, AFYE provide items 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the following
metrics on its website:

1) The nonprofits most recently filed 990 tax return
2) The nonprofit’s audited financial statement
3) The nonprofit’s annual report
4) An annual statement of achievements in each of the
three main programs supported by the nonprofit
5) A breakdown of the nonprofit’s expenses
6) The nonprofit’s rating from Charity Navigator


DISCUSSION:
As of fiscal year 2007, AFYE was a financially
efficient nonprofit with high organizational capacity.
Though AFYE had no direct exposure to Madoff
investments, the downturn on Wall Street will cause
its donors to reduce their support. As of fiscal year
2007, a larger percentage of its net assets (57%) were
in publicly traded securities and a smaller percentage
(38%) were in safe liquid assets; this aggressive
investment strategy combined with its poor working
capital ratio of 0.20 years will make it difficult for
AFYE to continue to provide support for social and
job training services in Israel.


RECOMMENDATIONS:
The recent financial turmoil, caused by the Wall Street
and Madoff scandals, has also affected the relationship
between donor and non-profit. The turmoil has caused
donors to become uncertain and more selective in giving to
non-profits. Non-profits that are transparent about their
finances will regain the lost trust of its donors sooner than
those non-profits that are not transparent about their
finances. Though AFYE is financially transparent in that it
does disclose financial information on its web site, in order
to reach out to more selective donors, AFYE should be even
more transparent about its finances. AFYE should provide
an audited financial statement and its most recently filed
tax return on its web site.