American Jewish University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951684064
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Phone
3104769777
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,645,479
Expenses
$28,224,189
Assets
$131,488,887
Liabilities
$10,052,907

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEFFREY HERBST (PRESIDENT - 05/05/25)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFFREY HERBST (PRESIDENT - 05/05/25): $549,443 total reported compensation
  • ADRIAN BREITFELD BEDER (VP FOR FINANCE & ADMIN/CFO): $403,074 total reported compensation
  • SUZANNE JONES BOOKBINDER (VP OF ADVANCEMENT): $267,741 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

American jewish university (aju) advances and elevates the jewish journey of individuals, organizations and our community through excellence in scholarship, teaching, engaged conversation, and outreach. Aju is a thriving center of jewish resources and talent that serves the jewish community of the twenty-first century. A portal for jewish belonging, aju equips students, faculty, campers, and learners of all ages with the tools to create the ideas, build the structures, and develop the programs to advance jewish wisdom and elevate jewish living.

What it reported doing in 2024

Academic and community programs: academic programs include: ba of early childhood education, master's in early childhood education, master's in business administration, mars - ziegler graduate program for the training of conservative rabbis. Other certificate programs include: jewish learning experience for high school students to earn college credit partnering with local communities to offer meaningful learning. Jewish education excellence project which is a mentor teacher certificate program. Early childhood extension program for working adults and lifelong learners to meet other passionate educators from around the country.see schedule ocommunity programs through the maas center include: introduction to judaism is a program reaching a global audience through online courses and fostering jewish connections and education for individuals from all walks of life. Our mikvah is a jewish ritual pool used to add a sacred dimension to life events, including celebrating times of joy, marking significant transitions, or healing. Bci is a transformative experience for participants ages 20-29 who come together for a multi-day retreat to connect and reconnect with themselves. Marriage for life is a program empowering couples at any stage to build foundations of an enduring relationship.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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 the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.8%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 66%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: -30.4%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.66; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.8% of revenue deployed · 66% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $18.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $549K · 40 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.5M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 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: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.