Rochelle Zell Jewish High School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364167962
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Deerfield, IL, United States
Phone
(847) 470-6700
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Single Organization Support
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,250,632
Expenses
$8,806,759
Assets
$17,196,859
Liabilities
$1,461,285

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ADAM WINICK (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT AND DEVELOPMENT CHAIR)
  • BETH BERNAT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KAREN PEACEMAN (SECOND PAST PRESIDENT)
  • REUBEN WARSHAWSKY (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANTHONY FRANK (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $273,674 total reported compensation
  • STEPHANIE J PRITZKER (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AN): $133,332 total reported compensation
  • JASON LOEB (ACADEMIC DEAN): $131,665 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Rochelle Zell Jewish High School creates a culture of academic excellence that inspires and prepares our students to think critically, achieve their full potential, and live Judaism as responsible and involved citizens in the modern world. Welcome to the 25th anniversary year of Rochelle Zell Jewish High School!** Our school first opened its doors in 2001 as Chicagoland Jewish High School, featuring a pioneer group of 26 students in rented space at Northwest Suburban Jewish Congregation in Morton Grove. In 2007, we moved to our permanent Deerfield home where our students come to us each day from over 26 communities in the Chicago area and beyond. In November, 2015 our school received a transformative gift from the Zell Family Foundation. In honor of this extraordinary support, our school was renamed Rochelle Zell Jewish High School. As we have grown, so too has the reputation that...

What it reported doing in 2024

To operate a conservative jewish high school and to promote and provide jewish culture and education, combining judaic studies that follow the conservative movement of judaism with a general studies program. Approximatley 140 students attend.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 74% for direct work, and 26% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -6.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.95; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.6%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th 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: 88.9% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $274K · 25 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $195K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.