Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363156154
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Skokie, IL, USA
Phone
8479674800
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,412,208
Expenses
$13,056,870
Assets
$93,812,829
Liabilities
$5,952,649

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

73 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALLISON SATYR (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LIZ XILAS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL GRAY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RALPH REHBOCK (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SAM HARRIS (PRESIDENT EMERITUS)
  • BERNARD CHERKASOV (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • BERNARD CHERKASOV (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $503,797 total reported compensation
  • KENNETH COOPER (SR VP OF DEVELOPMENT): $364,711 total reported compensation
  • KELLEY HAYES SZANY (SR VP OF EDUCATION AND EXHIBITIONS): $292,921 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of Illinois holocaust museum & education center is expressed in its founding principle: remember the past, transform the future. Dedicated to preserving the legacy of the holocaust, the museum honors the memories of those who were lost and those who survived by teaching universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice, and indifference. The museum fulfills its mission through the exhibition, preservation, and interpretation of its collections; and through education programs and initiatives that foster the promotion of human rights and the elimination of genocide.

What it reported doing in 2025

The experience360 downtown chicago location features cutting-edge technology and immersive storytelling. Experience360 offers visitors an opportunity to engage with history in deeply personal and interactive ways. Exhibits include the itw special exhibition gallery featuring stories of survival, the karkomi family foundation gallery featuring a photogrpahic and narrative time on the holocaust & world war ii, the lillian and larry goodman foundation holography theater, and the northern trust virtual reality theater. The main museum in skokie has 6 core exhibition spaces, including a holographic theater and a suite of 5 vr films that allow visitors to "walk" with survivors in a 360 degree environment through former concentration camps and places of hiding.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% 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 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: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.5%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 75.2%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 20.4%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.18; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.5% of revenue deployed · 75.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 64 of 64 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $9.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $504K · 73 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.7M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.