Penn Hillel

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231365179
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Phone
215-898-7391
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,213,679
Expenses
$3,585,829
Assets
$7,287,384
Liabilities
$555,898

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JODI SCHWARTZ (BOARD CHAIR AND PRESIDENT)
  • GABRIEL GREENBERG (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • GABRIEL GREENBERG (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $310,915 total reported compensation
  • BARI-JOY EPSTEIN (DIRECTOR - INSTITUTIONAL A): $151,579 total reported compensation
  • RACHEL SAIFER GOLDMAN (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $109,760 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Penn Hillel cultivates vibrant, pluralistic Jewish life rooted in Jewish tradition, which nurtures students’ growth and strengthens the broader University community. We support undergraduate and graduate students as they explore Jewish identity and culture, spirituality, Torah, and peoplehood. We work to ensure a campus climate in which all students can learn, grow, and express who they are and what they believe freely, safely, and with dignity. Through ritual, community-building, leadership development, Jewish learning, immersive travel experiences, and celebratory engagement with Israel and the Jewish world, we empower students to pursue lives of meaning, intention, justice, and responsibility.

What it reported doing in 2024

Programs providing cultural, religious and social activities for the benefit of jewish undergraduate students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.6%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.03; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -12.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 79.1% of revenue deployed · 70.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $311K · 19 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $492K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.