SPERTUS INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

SPERTUS INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP

EIN 36-2662739 · Education (B)

What they do

SPERTUS INSTITUTE for JEWISH LEARNING and LEADERSHIP OFFERS AN INNOVATIVE, NON DENOMINATIONAL ARRAY of SPECIALIZED and PUBLIC PROGRAMMING, GROUNDED IN JEWISH THOUGHT, INSPIRED BY JEWISH VALUES, and RESOLUTELY RELEVANT to PEOPLES LIVES TODAY. ("SPERTUS "THE INSTITUTE") is A JEWISH INSTITUTION GROUNDED IN JEWISH VALUES THAT INVITES PEOPLE of ALL AGES and BACKGROUNDS to EXPLORE THE MULTI-FACETED JEWISH EXPERIENCE. THROUGH ITS INNOVATIVE PUBLIC PROGRAMMING, EXHIBITIONS, COLLECTIONS, RESEARCH FACILITIES and DEGREE PROGRAMS, SPERTUS INSPIRES LEARNING, SERVES DIVERSE COMMUNITIES and FOSTERS UNDERSTANDING for JEWS and PEOPLE of ALL FAITHS, LOCALLY, REGIONALLY and AROUND THE WORLD

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $66.20 was reported for mission work. Use the spending picture below and ask what results that work produced.

Plain answer: A tax form cannot prove that a charity is doing good. It can show how the charity says it spent its money—and point out questions you should ask.

Basic facts we verified

IRS warning checkNo IRS revocation warning appears in this data.

Money report from 2024The charity has a recent tax report to read.

They explain their jobThe charity tells us what it is trying to do.

They name their leaders27 people are listed in the latest report.

You can reach themThey list contact information, so you can ask questions.

Money made simple

69.97%of revenue went to mission work66.2% of expenses · Program services

6.56%of revenue went to fundraising6.2% of expenses

$105.65spent for every $100 of revenueSpending was higher than revenue this year.

29.11%of revenue went to management and office costs27.6% of expenses

$8.28in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

46.2%of its money came from giftsOther money may come from services or investments.

Ask these three easy questions

Who did you help? Ask for a recent story or report that shows real results.
What will my money do? Ask exactly what your gift will pay for.
Is this really the charity? Give only through its official website or confirmed phone number.

Worth asking: Expenses exceeded revenue by $396,153 this year. Ask whether that was planned or caused by a one-time event.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $403,264 for DEAN BELL (PRESIDENT AND CEO). Compare pay with organizations of similar size and complexity.

Bottom line: Do not decide from a name, mission statement, or tax status alone. Look at where the money went, then ask what changed, who was helped, and what your gift will do. YouCanGiveBack does not endorse or grade organizations.

Money

Financial picture

Tax year 2024

A plain-language look at the latest Form 990 figures available. These numbers help you ask better questions; they do not, by themselves, rate whether a charity is good or bad.

$100revenue

How each $100 of revenue was used

The large number compares each expense with revenue. The smaller number shows its share of total expenses.

Total reported revenue$7,013,386

Mission workProgram services$4,907,42869.97% of revenue66.2% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$2,041,73029.11% of revenue27.6% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$460,3816.56% of revenue6.2% of expenses

Total expenses$7,409,539105.65% of revenue

Expenses were greater than revenue, so the colored ring fills the available $100 and the total above 100% is shown below.

Has the pattern changed?

Colored bars = expense mix: how each year’s expenses were divided. Total expenses vs. revenue shows whether the charity spent less or more than it received. The current filing is first.

YearExpense mixDetails

2024CurrentExpense mix: 66.2% mission · 27.6% management · 6.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 105.65% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 66.6% mission · 28.0% management · 5.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 137.34% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 71.5% mission · 23.9% management · 4.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 22.08% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 66.4% mission · 23.1% management · 10.5% fundraisingTotal expenses: 120.41% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 84.2% mission · 10.4% management · 5.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 81.81% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 88.5% mission · 7.5% management · 4.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 119.86% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 86.1% mission · 9.0% management · 4.9% fundraisingTotal expenses: 111.07% of revenue

2017Expense mix: 87.4% mission · 9.0% management · 3.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 110.53% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$7,013,386

Expenses$7,409,539

Annual shortfall $396,153 Expenses were higher than revenue for this filing year.

Reported spending amounts

Mission work means the Form 990 category called program services. These are reported accounting categories—not an independent measurement of results.

Mission work (program services)$4,907,428 · 66.2% of expenses

Management and office costs$2,041,730 · 27.6% of expenses

Fundraising$460,381 · 6.2% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$7,013,386

Expenses$7,409,539

Assets$61,357,609

Income$7,787,035

Contributions$3,239,539

Mission work (program services)$4,907,428

Fundraising$460,381

Management and general$2,041,730

Stocks and bonds$18,754,413

Investing fees$51,604

People

Leadership and board

Tax year 2024

Names, titles, time, and compensation below are reported by the organization on its Form 990.

People reported as paid

Person and titleCompensation

DEAN BELLPRESIDENT AND CEO · 40 hrs/week $403,264Base $365,042 · Other $38,222

KEREN FRAIMANCHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER · 40 hrs/week $233,320Base $227,775 · Other $5,545

PHILLIP THOMPSONDIRECTOR OF FACILITIES · 40 hrs/week $157,079Base $139,363 · Other $17,716

GERARDO SANTA CRUZFACILITIES · 40 hrs/week $109,137Base $106,994 · Other $2,143

Compensation alone does not tell whether pay is reasonable. Consider the charity’s size, work, location, and results.

See everyone listed on the board or leadership roster (27)

DEAN BELLPRESIDENT AND CEO

KEREN FRAIMANCHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER

PHILLIP THOMPSONDIRECTOR OF FACILITIES

GERARDO SANTA CRUZFACILITIES

IRENA FRIEDGANTRUSTEE

STEVEN WOLFFTRUSTEE

SHELLEY STERN GRACHTRUSTEE

PHILLIP GORDONTRUSTEE

PHILIP SPERTUSTRUSTEE

PETER BENSINGER JRTRUSTEE

ODETTE OLSONSECRETARY

MONICA PERLMANTRUSTEE

MICHAEL SPERTUSTRUSTEE

MICHAEL MARKMANTRUSTEE

MARK MEHLMANTRUSTEE

LAUREL VAN ALLENTRUSTEE

AMY TUCHLERTRUSTEE

HAROLD ISRAELCHAIRPERSON

DR SHARON SILVERMANTRUSTEE

DONNA E BARROWSTRUSTEE

DON KLEINMUNTZTRUSTEE

BRUCE WERNERTREASURER

BRUCE HECKTMANTRUSTEE

BRUCE CRANETRUSTEE

BLAIR KLEINTRUSTEE

BARBARA BERESKINTRUSTEE

AVRUM GRAYTRUSTEE

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1966
Location: 610 S MICHIGAN AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60605-1901
County: Cook
In care of: % SPER
Primary officer: DEAN BELL, CEO

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Phone(312) 322-1700

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2024
Tax period began: July 1, 2024
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: PLANTE & MORAN PLLC
NTEE classification: Education (B)
IRS tax category: Education