National Museum of American Jewish Military History

Legal name: Jewish War Veterans of the USA National Memorial Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520798339
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, United States
Phone
202-265-6280
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$380,419
Expenses
$492,732
Assets
$2,050,325
Liabilities
$971,995

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

Leadership & pay

61 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joanne Blum (Vice President)
  • Maxwell Colon (Vice President)
  • Nelson Mellitz (Vice President)
  • Joel Poznansky (Vice President)
  • Jo Reingold (National President, JWVA)
  • Shirley Zak (National President, JWVA)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ken Greenberg (Executive Director): $170,639 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Utilizing the Museum's collections for exhibitions, publications and programs. See Part 1 for a brief history of the origins of the Museum and its first few iterations – first the National Shrine to the Jewish War Dead and then the Jewish War Veterans National Memorial, Inc. In 1992, the National Memorial became known by name that we use today—the National Museum of American Jewish Military History. While it is certainly a mouthful, the new name better encompassed the mission of the Museum and its place as both a memorial to those who have served and a living monument to active servicemembers. The rebranding ushered in a new era for the Museum. There was an increased focus on exhibitions, both in-house and traveling. In the spring of 1993, the NMAJMH opened an exhibit.

What it reported doing in 2024

The National Museum of American Jewish Military History preserves and shares the history of Jewish Americans in military service through exhibitions and public programs featuring scholars, authors, and veterans. The museum engages visitors directly with stories of service, sacrifice, and patriotism, serving students, educators, veterans, and the broader public. These programs foster greater understanding of the American Jewish experience and promote awareness of Jewish contributions to American history while using historical education to combat antisemitism.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 39.5%; rating input score 40
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -29.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.16; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 60% of revenue deployed · 39.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 59 of 59 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $195K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $171K · 61 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $114K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.