Yivo Institute for Jewish Research Inc

Overview

Mission

Yivo's mission is to study the thousand-year history of jewish life in eastern europe and russia in all its aspects: language, history, religion, folkways and material culture. Yivo's archive and library preserves a significant collection of materials on this subject. Yivo offers cultural events and programs throughout the year, including lectures, concerts, films, exhibitions and symposia. Yivo also offers adult education and yiddish language programs, scholarly publications, research opportunities and fellowships.

What it reported doing in 2024

Online museum - the yivo bruce and francesca cernia slovin online museum project provides access worldwide to yivo's archival and library collections, which are meaningful and important archival treasures instrumental in preserving the history and culture of the jewish people. The museum contains extensive original documents and pages ofb ooks that have beendigitized as part of the edward blank yivo vilna collections project to create english language galleries that reflect the spectrum of jewish life in eastern europe and russia from music, literature, and theater to mercantile guilds, municipal organizations, and rabbinic courts; from traditional ways of life and the education of children to zionism and revolution. The online museum serves as a comprehensive historical and educational platform for both jews and non-jews, and also serves as a key resource for europeans who seek to understand their own countries' multicultural histories. This project began in the year ended december 31, 2018 with the support of a major donor and the online museum was launched august 2020.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131641082
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2122946130
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Judaism
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.9%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 71.5%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 48.6%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.59; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.9% of revenue deployed · 71.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $5.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $281K · 19 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $742K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JONATHAN BRENT (EXEC. DIRECTOR): $281,473 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA COHEN (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $240,439 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT WAGMAN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $203,980 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.