Adamah Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
432080719
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Reisterstown, MD, United States
Phone
212.644.2332
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Judaism
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,931,072
Expenses
$15,017,223
Assets
$27,333,647
Liabilities
$7,970,639

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAKIR MANELA (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXEC OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAKIR MANELA (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXEC OFFICER): $246,713 total reported compensation
  • SHAHAR SADEH (ADAMAH NY DIRECTOR): $200,452 total reported compensation
  • EVE WACHHAUS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $165,547 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We cultivate vibrant Jewish life in deep connection with the earth, catalyzing culture change and systemic change through immersive experiences, Jewish environmental education, leadership development, and climate action. Support Adamah. The Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM) and Adamah Campus Network are chapter-based programs that provide leadership training, Jewish learning, and community building for teens and college students. Our flagship residential fellowship programs, the Adamah Jewish Farming Fellowship and the Teva Jewish Environmental Educator Training Program, provide a transformative immersive experience for Jewish young adults, many of whom have gone on to found and/or lead Jewish and environmental organizations. Climate Action.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pearlstone retreat center offers retreats for the jewish holidays, a summer camp, and other retreats and programs for kids and families. We provide meals, lodging and meeting space to retreat guests, with the goal of creating a welcoming environment for all retreat participants, helping build community and provide education. Many programs feature educational programming focusing on sustainability, taking guests into the outdoors, visiting our organic farm, or exploring the forest trails on the property.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 57
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 35%; rating input score 35; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.7%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.82; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 81.5% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 22 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $247K · 30 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 35/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.