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EDITH & CARL MARKS JEWISH COMMUNITY HOUSE BENSONHURST INC

BROOKLYN, NY · EIN 111633484 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE N310 · Recreation & Sports · Large ($10M-$50M) · jchb.org
revenue
$15.6M
expenses
$14.4M
net assets
$18.5M
employees
435
volunteers
250
program ratio
89%
mission · from form 990

A COMMUNITY CENTER AND FULL SCOPE HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY.

profile · synthesized from sources

Community center in Brooklyn, NY serving Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants and refugees, with a focus on economic self-sufficiency, mental health, and cultural continuity. Provides social services, workforce development, senior programs, and youth initiatives rooted in Jewish values. Has expanded its mission to support Ukrainian refugees since 2022, offering job placement, benefits counseling, and trauma-informed care.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $3.98M
    CAMMARATA AMERICAN DREAM SELFSUFFICIENCY CENTER - FUNDED BY ROBIN HOOD, TIGER FOUNDATION, UJA FEDERATION OF NY, NYC COUNCIL DISCRETIONARY FUNDS AND NYS OTDA. PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES SUCH AS EMPLOYMENT PREPARATION, JOB SKILLS AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, DIRECT JOB PLACEMENT AS WELL AS POST PLACEMENT SUPPORT TO INSURE JOB RETENTION THAT LEADS TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY TO OVER 3,000 ENROLLED ADULTS. MORE THAN 1,500 CLIENTS WERE PLACED IN EMPLOYMENT, WITH MORE THAN 80% OF CLIENTS RETAINING THEIR EMPLOYMENT BEYOND 3 MONTHS - AN INDUSTRY STANDARD REPRESENTING A HIGH LEVEL OF SUCCESS. IN ADDITION, OVER 1,500 CLIENTS WERE ENROLLED IN ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES (ESOL) AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION (ABE) COURSES AT THE MARKS JCH, FUNDED BY NYS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND NYC DYCD.
  2. #2 $2.94M
    SOCIAL AND SENIOR ADULT SERVICES - MARKS JCH UPLIFT: COMMUNITY SOCIAL RESPONSE, FUNDED BY UJA FEDERATION OF NY, PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES TO OVER 6,500 CLIENTS ANNUALLY, ASSISTING PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TO COMBAT POVERTY, SOCIAL ISOLATION AND PROMOTE FAMILY STABILITY AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY. USING OUR 360 DEGREE APPROACH, SERVICES ARE INDIVIDUALIZED, TOUCH MULTIPLE GENERATIONS' WITHIN FAMILIES AND ADDRESS ONGOING AND/OR EMERGING NEEDS OF IMMIGRANTS. MARKS JCH SENIOR CENTER, HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS CENTER AND THE GOOD NEIGHBORS NNORC PROVIDES DAILY LUNCHES, MEALS ON THE GO AND EMERGENCY FOOD SERVICES. IN ADDITION, TO EDUCATION, RECREATION, WELLNESS GROUP SESSIONS, HEALTH MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUSIVE OF PERSONAL AND CARE ASSISTANCE SERVICES, CASE MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE TO 5,000 SENIORS WITH OVER 12,000 UNITS OF SERVICE.
named programs · 6 · from sources

What they call their work

Cammarata American Dream Center
Provides workforce readiness workshops, internships, and job placement for over 1,000 young adults annually.
Keystone Program
Offers workforce development, job training, and benefits counseling to help low-income clients maintain public benefits while gaining employment.
Never Again – Holocaust Survivors Project
Educational initiative documenting the experiences of Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors and providing culturally informed support services.
Shalom Dragon Family Festival
Annual cultural event fostering connections between Jewish, Asian, and other communities in Brooklyn.
Summer Day Camp
Recreational and educational summer program for children, with registration and camper management through an online platform.
Ukraine Crisis Response Center
Provides resettlement support, job placement, mental health services, and benefits counseling for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.
activities · 8 groups

What they do

  • Jewish Holiday and Shabbat Community Events 1 activity
    • Community programming for Jewish families and intercultural engagement
      Hosts family festivals with arts, games, sports, and live entertainment to foster intercultural learning and relationship-building; offers Jewish family programming extending beyond Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and serves as a community gathering place for Jewish residents and neighbors.
  • Summer Camp Access Scholarships 1 activity
    • Comprehensive support for vulnerable families
      Provides individualized support, childcare and camp scholarships, emergency assistance, and intensive case management to help vulnerable families maintain access to critical resources, including summer camp programs for children and families.
  • Youth Volleyball Club Programs 1 activity
    • Participation in international Jewish athletic events
      Represented JCH Volleyball at the Pan American Maccabi Games in Santiago, Chile, with athlete Gaby Frid and Athletic Director Joseph Agrest as head coach.
  • Ukraine War Humanitarian Relief 1 activity
    • Resettlement and support services for Ukrainian refugees
      Resettled and served over 20,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war, including through job fairs that connected hundreds of refugees with hiring representatives from over 70 companies.
  • Holocaust Survivor Support Services 1 activity
    • Services for Holocaust survivors
      Has provided comprehensive services to Holocaust survivors for 25 years.
  • Culturally Specific Support Services 1 activity
    • Support for multilingual immigrant communities
      Serves Russian-speaking Jewish residents of Brooklyn with multilingual staff fluent in 12 languages and has served immigrant communities in Brooklyn for nearly a century.
  • Workforce Readiness Training 1 activity
    • Workforce development and job placement programs
      Provides workforce readiness workshops, career coaching, internships, occupational skills training, and direct job placement services to over 1,000 young adults annually; placed 3,150 new Americans in jobs over the past five years and operates the Keystone program to support low-income clients in job training and employment.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Advocacy and financial intervention for clients
      Provides client advocacy services, including intervention that reduced a client's medical bills from $320,000 to $40.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$15.63M
Contributions & grants$11.50M74%
Program service revenue$3.60M23%
Investment income$515K3%
Other revenue$12K
expenses
Total expenses$14.37M
Program expenses89%
Admin / overhead10%
Fundraising2%
Salaries & benefits$9.11M
Grants paid out$257K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$22.81M
Cash$20K
Investments$12.24M
Liabilities$4.35M
Net assets$18.47M
Liquid reserves10.2 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +4.9%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 4
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
ALEX BUDNITSKY CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $367K
GELENA BLISHTEYN COO/ ASST. EXEC. DIRECTOR 40 $243K
VIOLETTA SHMULENZON ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $232K
JAY BORENSTEIN DIRECTOR OF FINANCE 40 $177K
board members · 21
  • ALLAN L SHAW — TRUSTEE
  • ALVIN KUNEFFSKY — OUTGOING SECRETARY
  • ANTON GORSHKOV — VICE PRESIDENT
  • BEN KRULL — TRUSTEE
  • CAROL GOLDSTEIN — TRUSTEE
  • CARY J DAVIS — HONORARY CHAIR OF THE BOARD
  • CHERYL FISHBEIN — TRUSTEE
  • DAVID KLAFTER — VICE PRESIDENT
  • DAVID PINSKY — TRUSTEE
  • DAYLE J HENSHEL — TRUSTEE
  • ELINA COTLER — TRUSTEE
  • EUGENE YERMASH — TREASURER
  • FELIX FILLER — TRUSTEE
  • GARY MELAMED — TRUSTEE
  • GERALD P FARBER — TRUSTEE
  • HALIT COUSSIN — TRUSTEE
  • IRENE FAYN — TRUSTEE
  • IRENE MOLOD — OUTGOING TRUSTEE
  • JONATHAN E GOLD — CHAIR
  • KATHERINE BOAS — VICE PRESIDENT
  • KERRY GOLDEN — TRUSTEE
relationships · 13

Who they work with

  • Claims Conference Funder — Funder of the Never Again (Bolshe Nikogda) educational resource project.
  • Council Member Susan Zhuang Partner — Supported the Shalom Dragon Festival.
  • Kings Bay Y Partner — Collaborating with Kings Bay Y to provide a coordinated safety net of services for Ukrainian newcomers in south Brooklyn.
  • Kings Bay YM-YWHA Partner — Collaborates with Marks JCH to support Ukrainian families' mental health and resettlement.
  • NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin Partner — Supported the Shalom Dragon Festival.
  • Pan American Maccabi Games Partner — Participated in the event as representatives of JCH Volleyball.
  • SYEP Partner — Partner in placing youth with employer partners across New York City.
  • Shorefront YM-YWHA Partner — Collaborates with Marks JCH to support Ukrainian families' mental health and resettlement.
  • Shorefront YM-YWHA Partner — Partnering with Shorefront YM-YWHA to support Ukrainian refugees in south Brooklyn.
  • UJA-Federation Partner — Partner organization whose vision and aligned priorities support the growth of the Marks JCH.
  • UJA-Federation of New York Partner — Partnered with JCH to host a job fair for Ukrainian refugees.
  • UJA-Federation of New York Partner — Spearheading a south Brooklyn safety net of services for Ukrainian newcomers in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York.
  • campintouch.com Partner — Technology partner providing the registration platform for summer camps and programs
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Benefits as a Bridge to Stability
    methodology: benefits-as-bridge
    By treating public benefits like SNAP not as an end but as a bridge, the organization enables participation in job training and economic advancement, because financial stability during transition periods increases program engagement and long-term self-sufficiency.
  • Collaborative Service Delivery Network
    methodology: collaborative_service_delivery
    By partnering with established Jewish and community organizations, the organization extends reach and trust to deliver services to refugees and newcomers, because shared networks and aligned missions reduce access barriers and increase program effectiveness.
  • Community-Based Prevention Model
    methodology: community-based prevention
    By delivering mental health education and culturally informed support directly within communities, the organization reduces barriers to care and builds resilience among Ukrainian refugees, because proximity and cultural alignment prevent crises before they arise.
  • Culturally Informed, Trauma-Sensitive Engagement
    methodology: culturally-specific-engagement
    By grounding services in Jewish values and the lived experience of immigration, and delivering them through culturally specific programming, the organization builds trust and access among displaced populations, because shared cultural identity and trauma-informed design increase service utilization and resilience.
  • Integrated Services Model
    methodology: integrated-services-model
    By combining workforce development, vocational training, adult education, and benefits counseling into a single coordinated system, the organization increases clients' ability to secure employment while maintaining essential supports, because integrated access reduces systemic barriers and improves program retention.