AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY

EIN 95-1684064 · Education (B420)

What they do

AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY (AJU) ADVANCES and ELEVATES THE JEWISH JOURNEY of INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS and OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN SCHOLARSHIP, TEACHING, ENGAGED CONVERSATION, and OUTREACH. AJU is A THRIVING CENTER of JEWISH RESOURCES and TALENT THAT SERVES THE JEWISH COMMUNITY of THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. A PORTAL for JEWISH BELONGING, AJU EQUIPS STUDENTS, FACULTY, CAMPERS, and LEARNERS of ALL AGES WITH THE TOOLS to CREATE THE IDEAS, BUILD THE STRUCTURES, and DEVELOP THE PROGRAMS to ADVANCE JEWISH WISDOM and ELEVATE JEWISH LIVING.

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $66.00 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 leaders40 people are listed in the latest report.

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

Money made simple

86.03%of revenue went to mission work66.0% of expenses · Program services

7.82%of revenue went to fundraising6.0% of expenses

$130.39spent for every $100 of revenueSpending was higher than revenue this year.

36.55%of revenue went to management and office costs28.0% of expenses

$4.66in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

34.4%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 $6,578,710 this year. Ask whether that was planned or caused by a one-time event.

Pay context: The highest compensation shown in this filing is $549,443 for JEFFREY HERBST (PRESIDENT - 05/05/25). 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$21,645,479

Mission workProgram services$18,621,00786.03% of revenue66.0% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$7,910,91236.55% of revenue28.0% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$1,692,2697.82% of revenue6.0% of expenses

Total expenses$28,224,189130.39% 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: 66.0% mission · 28.0% management · 6.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 130.39% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 64.0% mission · 30.0% management · 6.1% fundraisingTotal expenses: 47.93% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 60.5% mission · 32.6% management · 6.9% fundraisingTotal expenses: 102.53% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 57.6% mission · 35.1% management · 7.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 86.20% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 65.2% mission · 28.5% management · 6.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 143.39% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 66.7% mission · 28.0% management · 5.3% fundraisingTotal expenses: 127.27% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 71.0% mission · 25.4% management · 3.7% fundraisingTotal expenses: 116.29% of revenue

2017Expense mix: 71.2% mission · 24.4% management · 4.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 103.00% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$21,645,479

Expenses$28,224,189

Annual shortfall $6,578,710 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)$18,621,007 · 66.0% of expenses

Management and office costs$7,910,912 · 28.0% of expenses

Fundraising$1,692,269 · 6.0% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$21,645,479

Expenses$28,224,189

Assets$131,488,887

Income$44,245,441

Contributions$7,439,802

Mission work (program services)$18,621,007

Fundraising$1,692,269

Grants given$3,635,983

Average grant$72,720

Management and general$7,910,912

Stocks and bonds$57,788,217

Accounting fees$126,450

Investing fees$124,885

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

JEFFREY HERBSTPRESIDENT - 05/05/25 · 35 hrs/week $549,443Base $511,744 · Other $37,699

ADRIAN BREITFELD BEDERVP FOR FINANCE & ADMIN/CFO · 35 hrs/week $403,074Base $389,189 · Other $13,885

SUZANNE JONES BOOKBINDERVP OF ADVANCEMENT · 35 hrs/week $267,741Base $241,856 · Other $25,885

BRADLEY S ARTSON VP ANDABNER & ROSLYN GOLDSTINE DEANS CHAIR · 35 hrs/week $260,386Base $163,539 · Other $96,847

TARLAN RAHEL RABIZADEHVP FOR JEWISH ENGAGEMENT · 35 hrs/week $234,680Base $133,155 · Other $101,525

MICHELLE IRIS MAMANE-STARKMANVP COMMUNICATIONS · 35 hrs/week $226,073Base $204,026 · Other $22,047

AARON M GOLDBERGVP AND DIRECTOR OF CAMP ALONIM · 35 hrs/week $209,503Base $190,999 · Other $18,504

LYNN MARIA WITHERSPOONSENIOR DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT · 35 hrs/week $201,705Base $180,851 · Other $20,854

ROBBIE J TOTTENPROVOST & VP OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS · 35 hrs/week $199,253Base $181,126 · Other $18,127

CHERYL PERETZ VICE DEANZIEGLER SCHOOL OF RABBINIC STUDIES · 35 hrs/week $191,736Base $120,401 · Other $71,335

MATTHEW JEREMY DAVIDSONSENIOR DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT · 35 hrs/week $183,496Base $162,072 · Other $21,424

MARGARET YUNG SR DIRECTORFINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS · 35 hrs/week $178,740Base $159,376 · Other $19,364

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 (40)

JEFFREY HERBSTPRESIDENT - 05/05/25

ADRIAN BREITFELD BEDERVP FOR FINANCE & ADMIN/CFO

SUZANNE JONES BOOKBINDERVP OF ADVANCEMENT

BRADLEY S ARTSON VP ANDABNER & ROSLYN GOLDSTINE DEANS CHAIR

TARLAN RAHEL RABIZADEHVP FOR JEWISH ENGAGEMENT

MICHELLE IRIS MAMANE-STARKMANVP COMMUNICATIONS

AARON M GOLDBERGVP AND DIRECTOR OF CAMP ALONIM

LYNN MARIA WITHERSPOONSENIOR DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT

ROBBIE J TOTTENPROVOST & VP OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

CHERYL PERETZ VICE DEANZIEGLER SCHOOL OF RABBINIC STUDIES

MATTHEW JEREMY DAVIDSONSENIOR DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT

MARGARET YUNG SR DIRECTORFINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS

BRUCE POWELL DEAN MASORSCHOOL FOR JEWISH EDUCATION & LEADER

MARK EDWARD OPPENHEIMERFORMER VP OF OPEN LEARNING

RICK RICHMANDIRECTOR

MICHAEL SCHEINBERGDIRECTOR

MICHAEL ZIERINGDIRECTOR

MURRAY PEPPERDIRECTOR

NIKI REZZADEHDIRECTOR

NORM LEVINEDIRECTOR

LISA HOFHEIMERDIRECTOR

ROBBIN STEIFDIRECTOR

STACY PALBAUMDIRECTOR

VIRGINIA MAASDIRECTOR

YAIR VARDIDIRECTOR

MARK LAINERDIRECTOR

LAWRENCE PLATTVICE CHAIR

JUSTINE SCHREYER LEWINDIRECTOR

JEROME COBENDIRECTOR

JEFFREY TRENTONDIRECTOR

JEFFREY LEVINESECRETARY

HAROLD MASORCHAIR

FRANCIS S MAASDIRECTOR

ELON SPARDIRECTOR

DENA SCHECHTERDIRECTOR

DAVID WEINERTREASURER

CHARLOTTE SKURADIRECTOR

BENJAMIN BRESLAUERDIRECTOR

ANNIE AUSTINDIRECTOR

ABNER GOLDSTINEDIRECTOR

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1959
Location: 5000 VAN NUYS BLVD STE 400, SHERMAN OAKS, CA 91403-1880
County: Los Angeles
In care of: % ZOFIA YALOVSKY
Primary officer: AMY LATZER, COO/CFO

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Emailinfo@aju.edu Phone(310) 476-9777

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2024
Tax period began: July 1, 2024
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: BAKER TILLY ADVISORY GROUP LP
NTEE classification: Education (B420)
Grant-giving organization: Yes