Melvin J Berman Hebrew Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
530208371
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rockville, MD, USA
Phone
3019629400
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Judaism
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,852,148
Expenses
$22,573,187
Assets
$32,537,545
Liabilities
$4,224,916

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROGER ZAKHEIM (PRESIDENT)
  • ELLIE KAGAN (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHANA SIESSER (PRESIDENT, PTO PARTNERSHIP)
  • BENNY BERKOWITZ (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID SLOAN (2ND PAST PRESIDENT)
  • ORLEE R TURITZ (3RD PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RABBI DR HILLEL BRODER (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $488,892 total reported compensation
  • STUART K GASNER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $246,545 total reported compensation
  • SUZANNE ISRAEL (LOWER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL): $235,902 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Melvin j. Berman hebrew academy is an orthodox day school that provides a comprehensive jewish and secular education in an atmosphere of reverence, good citizenship, and love of the jewish people and israel.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational services: we provided jewish and secular education to 792 students, ages 2 to 18. We prepared our graduates to become well-educated and observant jews. The vast majority of seniors from our 2025 graduating class went on to continue their education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.7%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 21.8%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.44; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.7% of revenue deployed · 84.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 28 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $489K · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $375K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.