THE 2015 990

Well, JFNA's 2015 IRS 990 for the FY 2015-2016 was filed in May and is now linked on the Jewish Federations of North America website. It isn't a pretty picture my friends; not pretty at all. But it never is.

Here's a snapshot:

1. JFNA is not a functioning organization; JFNA is a functioning ATM: of the 14 highest compensated professionals, 12 were paid in excess of $200,000; Silverman's total compensation was $683,000, Mark Gurvis -- $399,000; Becky Caspi -- $345,000 and so on. Perhaps what is needed at JFNA, inasmuch as never is heard a discouraging word from the Board (and certainly not from the Board Chair or sole Vice Chair) is that a Gordon Gekko rise up, point out the number of Vice-Presidents (I count 9, not including Caspi's exalted position as "Director General") stopping there as JFNA Jerry and associates have already proven that "greed is good." We all know that some these women and men are doing incredible professional work -- William Daroff, Gloria Nilsen, maybe Gurvis. But, Jerry...really? After Gurvis was hired to do at least 50% of Silverman's job why does the organization continue to overpay him as if he were performing with excellence 100% of the functions for which he was hired; especially when it appears that the remainder of Silverman's responsibilities could not possibly be identified by a management consultant were one ever hired.
2. The Consultant Roster continues to rise unchecked. JFNA continued to go down the consultant path, stating that in 2015-2016 there were 22 consultants -- that's twenty-two, my friends -- "...who received more than $100,000 of compensation." Among the consultants were our "old friends," Shepardson Stern Kaminsky -- SS+K -- in for another $1,000,000 in an undisclosed "secret" conduit agreement whereby JFNA accepted the $1million "grant" from a secret donor and passed the funds through to a for-profit "consultant" for an undisclosed purpose. This is a  prohibited "conduit" transaction about which JFNA has claimed -- as it does for all of its consultant contracts -- a false "confidentiality." Shame on them? Yes, and shame on us.

Where is accountability? Diogenes himself couldn't find it? Where is the JFNA Board? Ignorance is truly bliss.

Rwexler