Mission: Gateways provides high quality special education services, expertise and support to enable students with diverse learning needs to succeed in Jewish educational sett ... (More)
Gateways: Access to Jewish Education is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 2000, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Important note on the timeliness of ratings
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Financial and Accountability & Transparency score for Gateways: Access to Jewish Education is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
Good
This charity's score is 81.35, earning it a 3-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 73.63 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 100.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2019, the latest year published by the IRS.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
Star Rated Report
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Program Expense Ratio
65.8%
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).
This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Administrative Expenses
20.3%
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Expenses
13.7%
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
11.1%
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Efficiency
$0.17
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Working Capital Ratio
0.59 years
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Growth
2.12%
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Governance
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Governance: | |
|---|---|
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
| No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
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| Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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| Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
| Compensates Board ... (More) |
Policies
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Policies: | |
|---|---|
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
| Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Transparency
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Transparency: | |
|---|---|
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
Additional Information
Unscored
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Total Revenue and Expenses
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Salary of Key Persons
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Arlene Remz, Executive Director
$164,737 (6.57% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2020
Business Master File Data
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
Foundation Status:
School 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) (BMF foundation code: 11)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources: IRS Forms 990
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Pandemic Response
Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Gateways: Access to Jewish Education reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
Gateways saw a decline in fundraising revenues and program revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were fortunate to receive a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in May 2020 to help offset these losses – the loan shows as a liability for FY20 but is expected to be fully forgiven within FY21.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
All of our programs have traditionally been held in person. Due to social distancing and school shutdowns, each and every one of our programs had to be re-imagined.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
As mentioned above, all of our programs had to be reimagined as we were not able to host our educational programs in person. We leveraged the expertise of our program staff and new technologies to develop new online offerings. To make the shift to Gateways Online during 2020 possible, our Jewish Education Program staff worked tirelessly to transform their physical materials into digital ones and to work collaboratively with all our families. Ultimately, every student who participated in Gateways’ Jewish Education programs in 2019-2020, whether in person or online, received high-quality, compassionate support, and joined in our caring community.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
As the world locked down and schools were closing, Gateways pivoted to online programming to continue serving our population, even from a distance. In the fall of 2021, as we prepared to return to in-person learning, we discovered that we could provide services to families outside our usual catchment area by piloting a hybrid program, combining online and in-person education. The new hybrid program succeeded at keeping all students engaged, as we worked with three children, each with distinctive needs, in preparing for their b’nei mitzvah – two online and one in person. This success indicated that our long-held goal of overcoming geographical barriers to serve more students was newly within reach. In the year to come, we plan to maintain and expand this hybrid program to allow students, regardless of location, to participate in individualized and specialized one-to-one tutoring under the supervision of experienced special education teachers.
Historical Ratings
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 2/1/2021 | 2019 | 81.35 | |
| 9/3/2019 | 2018 | 85.18 | |
| 7/1/2019 | 2018 | 85.03 | |
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990. | |||
| 8/1/2018 | 2017 | 83.10 | |
| 7/1/2018 | 2017 | 82.96 | |
| 9/1/2017 | 2016 | 78.93 |  |
| 8/1/2017 | 2016 | 78.74 | |
| 6/1/2016 | 2015 | 76.52 | |
| Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
| 9/1/2015 | 2014 | 77.36 | |
| 6/1/2014 | 2013 | 81.99 | |
| 6/1/2013 | 2012 | 83.34 | |
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
Impact & Results
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Impact & Results Score
Not Currently Scored
Gateways: Access to Jewish Education cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Do you work at Gateways: Access to Jewish Education? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
Gateways: Access to Jewish Education reported its three largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
$878,075
Spent in most recent FY
53%
Percent of program expenses
Student and Family Services
$553,401
Spent in most recent FY
33%
Percent of program expenses
Center for Professional Learning
$207,279
Spent in most recent FY
12%
Percent of program expenses
Peer Development Initiative
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Leadership & Adaptability Score
100
out of 100
The score earned by Gateways: Access to Jewish Education is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.
Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.
Leadership & Adaptability Report
100
of 100 points
Mission
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission
GATEWAYS PROVIDES HIGH QUALITY SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, EXPERTISE, AND SUPPORT TO ENABLE STUDENTS WITH DIVERSE LEARNING NEEDS TO SUCCEED IN JEWISH EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS AND PARTICIPATE MEANINGFULLY IN JEWISH LIFE.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Vision
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Every Jewish student, regardless of ability, will have access to quality Jewish education and the opportunity to participate meaningfully in Jewish life.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Strategic Goals
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Clearly articulate those elements of our philosophy and approach that apply across a range of educational settings and build our capacity to share and implement these more broadly.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: Continue adapting current programs to meet the existing and emerging needs of the community and wherever the impacted children and teens are.
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
Goal Three: Build our capacity for compelling, persuasive communication to support resource generation; dissemination of ideas and practices; and our ability to broadcast the viewpoints of our constituents.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Leadership Development
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
Gateways continually invests in our leadership by pushing our leadership team to take part in regular cohort-based trainings. Currently our CEO is a part of the fourth cohort of the Leading Edge CEO Onboarding Program, the first-of-its-kind leadership development program for new top executives leading nonprofits in the North American Jewish community. Cohort participants are CEOs and Executive Directors leading organizations including educational and religious institutions, Jewish community centers, social service organizations, and more. All are in the first 30 months of their tenure and face new challenges and opportunities as the Jewish nonprofit sector adapts to the ebbing of the COVID-19 crisis. Our Chief Strategy and Operating Officer is similarly in a cohort of 28 other bold Jewish leaders to #MakeChangeFromWithin through the UpStart lab National Change Accelerator.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Mobilizing for Mission
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
As described previously our leadership team regularly participates in cohort based leadership development programs. In addition we partner with local organizations to provide education and work opportunities, put on webinars to teach skills and open doors to conversation amongst our community members, and produce articles for publication in local newsletters and online journals.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Story of Adaptability
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
To make the shift to Gateways Online during 2020 possible, our Jewish Education Program staff worked tirelessly to transform their physical materials into digital ones and to work collaboratively with all our families. Ultimately, every student who participated in Gateways’ Jewish Education programs in 2019-2020, whether in person or online, received high-quality, compassionate support, and joined in our caring community Despite unimaginable changes to what school has looked like in this past year, Gateways’ Day School Program has continued to provide direct support services in Jewish day schools, making it possible for children with diverse learning needs to access a Jewish education even in the midst of a pandemic. When COVID-19 shut down the day schools in March 2020, roughly 70% of students continued with support sessions remotely. Meanwhile, Gateways therapists participated in dozens of hours of additional training, seamlessly reshaping the way they provide supports. In addition to serving students and children directly Gateways also made sure that our teachers and partners were supported throughout the pandemic. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools in March 2020, teachers experienced a flurry of emotions, from denial, to confusion, to utter disbelief. But one common reaction that we at Gateways were continually hearing over and over again from teachers in our orbit was worry about how they would reach students with diverse learning needs. These are the students who already faced additional barriers to learning before the onset of a global pandemic. These are the very kids for whom Gateways exists.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Additional Information
Unscored
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Organization Leadership
Tamar Davis
Chief Executive Officer
Nora Friedman & Dara Grossman
Co-President
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
Culture & Community Score
Not Currently Scored
Gateways: Access to Jewish Education is currently not eligible for a Culture & Community score because we have not received its Constituent Feedback or Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion data. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the How We Listen and Equity Practices sections of their Candid profile.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Culture & Community Report
Unscored
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
This organization has not provided information regarding the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Methodology
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Constituent Feedback
Constituent Feedback and Listening Practice data are not available for this organization. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Methodology
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Analysis and Research
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
Constituent Feedback
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
