Hillels of Georgia Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582051970
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sandy Springs, GA, USA
Phone
4049632548
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,852,291
Expenses
$3,227,629
Assets
$15,624,080
Liabilities
$582,644

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Rabbi Larry Sernovitz (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Rabbi Larry Sernovitz (CEO): $227,419 total reported compensation
  • Rachel Wasserman (Chief Development Officer): $184,830 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To engage and enrich the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world by empowering students to build vital Jewish communities on campus and inspire them to embrace a future of hope and possibility formed by Jewish values. By offering a wide array of social, educational, social action, artistic, cultural, Israeli and religious programs, the organization inspires students to embark on their own personal journey and to find connection to their Jewish heritage.

What it reported doing in 2024

Israel - Hillel cultivates among Jewish students a passion about Israel and a sense of personal attachment with the country and its people. Hillel provides all students opportunities to learn about Israel and its central role in defining the Jewish experience today and provides a safe space for students to express a wide spectrum of views regarding their relationships with Israel. By fostering a positive relationship with Israel and helping students navigate the contours of the political tensions surrounding Israel, Hillel can help students grow in their relationship with the Jewish community with greater maturity and deeper sense of attachment to the Jewish homeland. With that comes a greater confidence in their sense of self as Jews and in their ability to convey their commitment to Israel and Jewish life to others with passion. Programming in this area includes but is not limited to: outdoor cultural festivals, advocacy sessions, speakers, film screenings, and travel abroad.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% 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 available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 66.6%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.84; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 66.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $227K · 21 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.