The Kehillah School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522203956
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone
6502139600
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,263,920
Expenses
$13,761,478
Assets
$24,501,017
Liabilities
$18,942,616

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBORAH PELLANT (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $494,848 total reported compensation
  • ROY DANOVITCH (ASST HEAD OF SCHOOL): $240,083 total reported compensation
  • DAVID WEINER (DIR OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT): $173,435 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Kehillah is a contemporary independent, college preparatory high school for students in grades 9-12 distinguished by an exceptional academic program and a supportive environment that pairs rich jewish tradition with the best of the silicon valley mindset. At kehillah, students embark on a journey of self-discovery guided by a community of passionate educators. They graduate with the knowledge, values, and community that enable them to create extraordinary futures.

What it reported doing in 2024

The education of approximately 190 students grade 9-12, (high school) together with the promotion of jewish values, history and culture.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 82.3%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.78; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.77; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.6%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.7% of revenue deployed · 82.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $495K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $420K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.