Maryland Hillel

Legal name: Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Hillel Center for Jewish Life at University of Md

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520749507
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
College Park, MD, USA
Phone
301.422.6200
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,922,521
Expenses
$3,248,955
Assets
$16,569,999
Liabilities
$8,851,136

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ISRAEL ARI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CHARKATZ ROSS (PRESIDENT)
  • FRAZIER EILEEN (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ISRAEL ARI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $263,550 total reported compensation
  • LAING SHAWN (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & OPERATIONS): $174,470 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Maryland Hillel’s mission is to enhance the lives of Jewish students on campus and enable them to enrich the Jewish people and the world around them. Maryland Hillel serves one of the largest and most dynamic Jewish campus communities in the country. Hillel sponsors a diverse and exciting array of activities throughout the school year, including social, cultural, religious and educational programs. Whether it’s a student BBQ with a reggae band, a free Shabbat dinner for 1000+ students, a Jewish a cappella group performing at the white house, or a dinner discussion on Jewish ethics, Hillel has it all! Staff and resources are available to all UMD students, faculty, staff and community members regardless of affiliation or commitment. Maryland Hillel’s Mission.

What it reported doing in 2024

Student activities: Maryland hillel provides over 5000 jewish students at the university of Maryland the opportunity to engage in a large variety of programs designed to enhance their jewish experience while on campus. These programs are designed by and with students to offer the utmost value. Programs such as leadership training, social justice events, social events, jewish religious services and programs, and more allow students to explore their judaism and jewish beliefs while adding to the campus community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.4%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 34%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.1; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.5%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 54.4% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $264K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $105K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.