Chevra Simchas Shabbos
Crown Heights charity providing food and funds for Shabbat and festivals
| Crown Heights Chevra Simchas Shabbos V'Yom Tov, Inc.
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Public charity (files Form 990) |
| Founded | 1977 (own account); IRS ruling May 2004 |
| Founder(s) | Shimshon and Martha Stock |
| Registration ID | EIN 20-0780201 |
| Location | 596 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, NY 11225 (IRS address) |
| Services | Relief for poor families in Crown Heights |
| Key people | Tzvi Polter (IRS care-of name) |
| Website | cssy.org |
Chevra Simchas Shabbos V'Yom Tov (CSSY; incorporated as Crown Heights Chevra Simchas Shabbos V'Yom Tov, Inc.) is a Crown Heights, Brooklyn, charity. It gives money, food and other support to poor Jewish families, especially for Shabbat and festivals.[1] The Laber Foundation and the Korf Family Foundation reported grants of $272,826 to it.[2][3]
History and activities
CSSY's website (Chabad-side) says that it was "initiated by the Lubavitcher Rebbe" (Menachem Mendel Schneerson) at Rosh Hashana 1977. It honours "our beloved founders, Shimshon and Martha Stock", who "opened their home to the needy on a daily basis", and says CSSY continues by "discreetly providing funds, food and support 365 days a year". It gives its donation address as 593 Montgomery Street.[4][1]
The IRS lists the corporation at 596 Montgomery Street, care of Tzvi Polter, with a ruling date of May 2004 and revenue of $4,950,539 in its latest return.[5] Observation: Tzvi Polter is also the care-of name on the IRS record of Keren Peulos, another large recipient of the Laber and Korf foundations.[6]
Funding from the Korf and Laber foundations
Status: allegation. In 2020 the US Department of Justice filed civil forfeiture complaints alleging that Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov defrauded PrivatBank in Ukraine, and that their associates Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber "created a web of entities, usually under some variation of the name 'Optima,' to further launder the misappropriated funds".[7] Korf and Laber are claimants in those cases, not defendants. They deny any wrongdoing, and no criminal charge against either man has been found. The Forward reported in 2020 that "there is no evidence that any of the recipients were aware of the two men's connection to the laundering".[8] This page has found no authority that accuses Chevra Simchas Shabbos of wrongdoing, and no source that traces any of the alleged proceeds to it. The grants below are lawful grants as the Korf Family Foundation and the Laber Foundation reported them to the Internal Revenue Service. They are not evidence of tracing. The full account is on Chabad and Ukraine.
Every grant to Chevra Simchas Shabbos listed on the 990-PF returns of the two foundations is set out below, year by year. Tax years end on 30 November. The figures for the tax year ending November 2006 are those on the amended returns, which the foundation pages cite; the original returns gave slightly different amounts.[9][10] Payee names include "Chevra Simchas Shaboss" and "Chevra Simchas Shabbos & Yomtov - CSSY".
| Tax year ending | Korf Family Foundation | Laber Foundation | Year total | Payee name(s) and place as filed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2008 | $18,000 | — | $18,000 | Chevra Simchas Shaboss (Brooklyn, NY) | [2] |
| Nov 2009 | $21,366 | — | $21,366 | Chevra Simchas Shabbos (place not given) | [11] |
| Nov 2010 | $9,960 | $210,000 | $219,960 | Chevra Simchas Shaboss (Brooklyn, NY); Chevra Simchas Shabbos (Brooklyn, NY) | [12][3] |
| Nov 2012 | $2,500 | — | $2,500 | Chevra Simchas Shabbos & Yomtov - CSSY (Brooklyn, NY) | [13] |
| Nov 2015 | $11,000 | — | $11,000 | Chevra Simchas Shabbos & Yomtov - CSSY (Brooklyn, NY) | [14] |
| Total | $62,826 | $210,000 | $272,826 |
Revenue and expenses as filed
Basis column: e-file = IRS e-file XML; summary = ProPublica's summary of IRS Statistics of Income data (the return itself not held); scan = figures read by eye from the return's page images on ProPublica (not yet second-checked). Schedule B: a public charity must attach its list of large donors, but the names are not open to public inspection; a private foundation's are.
| Year ending | Form | Contributions | Programme service revenue | Total revenue | Grants paid | Total expenses | Net assets at year end | Schedule B | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2010 | 990 | $2,844,621 | $0 | $2,844,645 | — | $2,624,331 | $8,430 | — | summary |
| Dec 2011 | 990 | $2,466,564 | $0 | $2,466,604 | — | $2,492,978 | −$17,944 | — | summary |
| Dec 2012 | 990 | $2,183,549 | $0 | $2,183,579 | — | $2,274,547 | −$108,912 | — | summary |
| Dec 2013 | 990 | $2,228,219 | $0 | $2,228,233 | — | $2,256,841 | −$137,520 | — | summary |
| Dec 2014 | 990 | $2,303,483 | $0 | $2,303,484 | — | $2,221,313 | −$55,349 | — | summary |
| Dec 2015 | 990 | $2,240,928 | $0 | $2,240,928 | — | $2,247,847 | −$62,268 | — | summary |
| Dec 2016 | 990 | $2,279,246 | $0 | $2,279,246 | — | $2,148,409 | $68,569 | — | summary |
| Dec 2017 | 990 | $2,333,674 | $0 | $2,333,674 | — | $2,330,647 | $71,596 | — | summary |
| Dec 2018 | 990 | $2,366,743 | $0 | $2,366,743 | — | $2,357,429 | $80,910 | — | summary |
| Dec 2019 | 990 | $2,355,136 | $0 | $2,355,136 | — | $2,331,462 | $104,584 | — | summary |
| Dec 2020 | 990 | $4,203,923 | $0 | $4,203,923 | $3,735,883 | $3,785,480 | $523,027 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Dec 2021 | 990 | $4,985,750 | $0 | $4,985,750 | $4,681,850 | $4,787,917 | $720,860 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Dec 2022 | 990 | $3,806,823 | $0 | $3,806,823 | $3,651,042 | $3,780,577 | $747,106 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Dec 2023 | 990 | $3,773,164 | $0 | $3,826,150 | $3,277,807 | $3,744,384 | $828,872 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Dec 2024 | 990 | $4,345,187 | $0 | $4,347,796 | $4,045,072 | $4,390,645 | $786,023 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Dec 2025 | 990 | $4,949,279 | $0 | $4,950,539 | $4,138,090 | $4,548,760 | $1,108,427 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
Officers and directors
Names and titles as filed in Part VII of the e-filed returns (spellings as filed; one person may appear under more than one spelling).
| Name as filed | Title as filed | First e-filed year listed | Last e-filed year listed | Highest reported compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzion Stock | Trustee | 2020 | 2025 | $0 |
| Chaim Brook | Trustee | 2020 | 2025 | $0 |
| Tzvi Fass | Trustee | 2020 | 2025 | $0 |
| Yossef Zwiebel | Trustee | 2020 | 2025 | $0 |
| Zev Katz | Trustee | 2020 | 2025 | $0 |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chevra Simchas Shabbos V'Yom Tov, "About Us", cssy.org, checked 20 October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2008 (2007 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2010 (2009 form), e-filed 2011-03-17, IRS e-file object ID 201130769349100003, PDF via ProPublica, XML from the IRS e-file data mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ Chevra Simchas Shabbos V'Yom Tov, home page, cssy.org, checked 20 October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, Exempt Organizations Business Master File extract for New York (eo_ny.csv), irs.gov, downloaded 20 October 2026, row for EIN 20-0780201 (care of Tzvi Polter; foundation code 15 (public charity); revenue $4,950,539, tax period December 2025). Primary source (IRS).
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, Exempt Organizations Business Master File extract for New York (eo_ny.csv), irs.gov, downloaded 20 October 2026, row for EIN 11-3141647 (Keren Peulos, care of Tzvi Polter, 816 Eastern Pkwy). Primary source (IRS).
- ↑ "Justice Department Seeks Forfeiture of Two Commercial Properties Purchased with Funds Misappropriated from PrivatBank in Ukraine", US Department of Justice, 6 August 2020. Primary source (allegations).
- ↑ Molly Boigon, "Two Florida Chabad donors implicated in Optima schemes", The Forward, 21 February 2020 (with later corrections). Critical.
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), original Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2006 (2005 form), received by the IRS in October 2007 and later superseded by the amended return, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), original Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2006 (2005 form), received by the IRS in October 2007 and later superseded by the amended return, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2009 (2008 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2010 (2009 form), e-filed 2011-07-15, IRS e-file object ID 201111969349100601, PDF via ProPublica, XML from the IRS e-file data mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2012 (2011 form), e-filed 2013-05-13, IRS e-file object ID 201341339349101269, PDF via ProPublica, XML from the IRS e-file data mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2015 (2014 form), e-filed 2016-03-03, IRS e-file object ID 201600639349100505, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, full filing, PDF via ProPublica. Primary source (filed by the foundation).