Hillel UW

Legal name: Hillel Foundation for Jewish Life at the University of Washington

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
916067231
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Seattle, WA, United States
Phone
(206) 527-1997
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,126,978
Expenses
$1,900,172
Assets
$10,738,336
Liabilities
$199,894

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Leslie Rosen (President)
  • Julie Ellenhorn (Vice President)
  • Elizabeth Siegel (Past President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Amee Huppin Sherer (Executive Dir.): $151,859 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Hillel UW inspires students and young adults to explore, embrace, and celebrate Jewish life and identity. Build Capacity and Operational Infrastructure: We are a financially sustainable organization with the proper infrastructure and culture to execute our mission. Age Policy for Attendance at Hillel UW Undergraduate Events While Hillel UW recognizes that there are non-traditional students who attend the University of Washington, for the sake of safety, appropriateness, and overall quality of events tailored for undergraduate students, attendees at undergraduate events or in learning cohorts hosted by Hillel UW should be within the age range of 17 to 22 years old. Exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis for specific events or circumstances in conversation with Hillel UW.

What it reported doing in 2023

Hillel UW creates meaningful Jewish experiences for 18-35 year olds through diverse communities and innovative programs. In addition to the undergraduate program, the JConnect Seattle Initiatives serves graduate students and post-college young adults. Hillel UW is a broad tent under which a wide range of special interest groups led by student, young adults and staff create meaningful Jewish experiences. Programs include Jewish holiday celebrations, classes, service learning projects, outdoor exploration and sports, trips to Israel, drama and the arts and much more. In addition, Hillel UW is one of the only few Hillels in the world providing affordable and confidential professional counseling services to students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% 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.
  • 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 73.1%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.7%; rating input score 97; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.7%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.65; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 69% of revenue deployed · 73.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 30 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $152K · 31 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.