Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc
JEWISH FEDERATION OF CENTRAL is a public charity based in Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 1930. It supports programs intended to preserve and enrich Jewish life in Central Massachusetts and around the world, and its 2025 filing reports 20 grants totaling $583,060.
Key facts about Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc
In short: Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc gave $583K across 20 grants in 2025 (avg $29K), mostly in Massachusetts. 15% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- EIN
- 04-2104363
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025
- Annual giving (2025)
- $583,060
- Grants made (2025)
- 20
- Average grant
- $29,153
- Median grant
- $12,089
- New grantees (estimate)
- 15% first-time grantees (3 of 20, 2025; small sample)
- Total assets
- $19,868,585
- Primary geography
- Massachusetts (85% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing
Total Assets
$19.9M
+8.2% YoY
Annual Giving
$583K
+17.2% YoY
Grant Count
20
-4.8% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$29K
+23.0% YoY
Is Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc open to new grantees?
15%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 3 of 20 grantees (15%) were first-time recipients. With only 20 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $18K; repeat grants $31K. How we count
Medians: $7K first-time, $13K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization’s stated mission is “the preservation and enrichment of Jewish life in Central Massachusetts and throughout the world.” Its filing describes Rachel’s Table as distributing donated and purchased food and milk to social-service agencies assisting people facing hunger in Worcester, while also reducing food waste. Clark Hillel serves students at Worcester Consortium schools through programming centered on Jewish culture, identity, pluralism, and community.
In 2025, grants supported cultural and educational programming, Jewish education and family education, social services, emergency medical and disaster relief, veterans’ assistance, health services, and environmental assistance. Among the grantees, American Friends of Magen David Adom describes its mission as supporting Magen David Adom’s life-saving efforts in Israel. Veterans Inc. says its mission is to end homelessness among veterans by helping them regain control of their lives. World ORT Inc. describes work to inform American Jewish nonprofit and religious organizations about charitable programs run or supported by World ORT, and MetroWest Jewish Day School says it educates students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the organization reported 20 grants totaling $583,060. Grants ranged from $6,000 to $171,750, with a median of $12,088.
Its largest reported grants included $171,750 to The Jewish Federation of North America for social services; $110,815 to Jewish Community Center in Worcester for cultural and educational programming; $47,373 to American Friends of Magen David Adom for emergency medical, blood, and disaster relief services; and $41,650 to Central MA Torah Center for Jewish education programming. Other notable grants included $30,000 to Veterans Inc. for veterans’ assistance, $23,200 to Jewish Health Care Center for health services, and $10,000 to Community Gardens for environmental and ecological assistance.
The organization’s 2024 filing describes its foundation as holding endowment funds from more than 75 donors in five categories: donor-advised, permanently restricted, temporarily restricted, held in trust for others, and unrestricted. It reports 53 endowment disbursements totaling approximately $366,000 in the past fiscal year.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The organization’s stated mission covers Central Massachusetts and communities throughout the world. In 2025, 85% of grant dollars went to recipients in Massachusetts, 12% to New York, and 3% to Maine.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 20 itemized grants.
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $63K (2020) to $583K (2025). In 2025 it made 20 grants totaling $583K.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was The Jewish Federation of North America ($172K). Together the top 10 received $510K.
Grant Size Distribution
82 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 71 grants of 82 (87%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| The Jewish Federation of North America Brighton, MA | Social Services | $171,750 |
| Jewish Community Center Worcester, MA | Cultural and Educational Programming | $110,815 |
| American Friends of Magen David Adom New York, NY | Emergency Medical, Blood and Disaster Relief Services | $47,373 |
| Central Ma Torah Center Worcester, MA | Jewish Education Programming | $41,650 |
| Congregation B'nai Shalom Westbourough, MA | Jewish Family Education | $32,066 |
| Veterans Inc Worcester, MA | Veteran's Assistance | $30,000 |
| Jewish Health Care Center Worcester, MA | Health Services | $23,200 |
| Temple Emanuel Sinai Worcester, MA | Jewish Family Education | $19,894 |
| Beth Tikvah Synagogue Westbourough, MA | Jewish Family Education | $19,576 |
| Umass Medical Chabad Worcester, MA | Health Services | $13,400 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $19,868,585 | $2,426,384 | $2,206,114 | $583,060 across 20 grants |
| 2024 | $18,358,207 | $2,746,775 | $2,322,644 | $497,677 across 21 grants |
| 2023 | $15,479,629 | $2,859,216 | $1,933,271 | $426,472 across 16 grants |
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $19,868,585 | $18,358,207 | $15,479,629 |
| Revenue | $2,426,384 | $2,746,775 | $2,859,216 |
| Expenses | $2,206,114 | $2,322,644 | $1,933,271 |
| Net Investment Income | $479,461 | $405,465 | $245,163 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 16, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS June 15, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 30, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS July 30, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 31, 2020)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 9, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Ben Lyons as president, Dan Shertzer as treasurer, Karen Rothman as secretary, and Jonathan Sigel as past president. Directors listed as members are Becky Pins, Bernie Rotman, Dan Margolis, Debbie Fruchtman, Dennis Lindenberg, and Jeremy Lurier.
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc is led by Steven Schimmel, Executive Director on every filing since 2019; 1 of 20 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Steven Schimmel
Executive Director
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$122K (2019) → $154K (2025)
Ben Lyons
President
Vice President → President, 2021
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dennis Lindenberg
Member
Vice President → Member, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jonathan Sigel
Past President
President → Past President, 2021
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Marcy Shuster
Member
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Becky Pins
Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jeremy Lurier
Member
Member → Treasurer, 2021
Treasurer → Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dan Margolis
Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dan Shertzer
Treasurer
Member → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karen Rothman
Secretary
Member → Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Debbie Fruchtman
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mattie Castiel
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Nina Stoll
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Wendy Bergman
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Joel Baker
Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jonathan Sadick
Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bernie Rotman
Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Joshua Honig
Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mark Shear
Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tarah Joseph
Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (17)
- Former: Barbara Rossman (2019–2024) — Member
- Former: Carol Kaufman (2019–2024) — Secretary
- Former: Elliot Honig (2019–2024) — Member
- Former: Josh Robins (2019–2024) — Member
- Former: Michael Smith (2019–2024) — Vice President
- Former: Benjamin Gold (2023–2024) — Member
- Former: Ej Dotts (2019–2023) — Vice President
- Former: Jeff Narod (2019–2023) — Member
- Former: Anna Ben Moshe (2019–2022) — Member
- Former: Jody Yoffie (2019–2022) — Member
- Former: Steve Sosnoff (2019–2022) — Member
- Former: Cari Lynn Fisher (2020–2022) — Member
- Former: Allan Shriber (2019–2020) — Treasurer
- Former: Carol Sleeper (2019–2020) — Secretary
- Former: Abigail Averbach (2019) — Past President
- Former: Ben Joseph (2019) — Member
- Former: Merilee Freeman (2019) — Member
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $154K, to Steven Schimmel (Executive Director).
Contact
Mailing address: 646 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA 01609-1121
Phone: (508) 756-1543
Website: https://jfcm.org
Frequently asked questions about Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc
How much does Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc give each year?
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc gave $583K across 20 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $498K across 21 grants.
What is Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc's typical grant size?
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc's median grant in 2025 was $12,089, and its average grant was $29,153, across 20 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc that year got $18K on average.
Where does Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc give grants?
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc gives mostly in Massachusetts: 85% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (12%). The most frequent recipient cities were Worcester, MA (8 grants), Westbourough, MA (3 grants), New York, NY (2 grants) and Ellsworth, ME (2 grants).
Does Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 20 grants with a stated purpose on Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Jewish Family Education" (5 grants) and "Jewish Education Programming" (4 grants).
Who are Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc's largest grantees?
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc's largest 2025 grantees include The Jewish Federation of North America ($171,750), Jewish Community Center ($110,815) and American Friends of Magen David Adom ($47,373), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 57% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc?
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc reported $19.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $2.4M.
What does Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc fund?
The organization’s stated mission is “the preservation and enrichment of Jewish life in Central Massachusetts and throughout the world.” See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc?
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check jfcm.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc's EIN?
Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 04-2104363. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Here's the math on researching Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts Inc by hand.
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