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National Yiddish Book Center Inc

EIN 04-2708878 · Amherst, MA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

THE NATIONAL YIDDISH BOOK CENTER (THE "CENTER") WORKS TO RECOVER, CELEBRATE, AND REGENERATE YIDDISH AND MODERN JEWISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE TO ADVANCE A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF JEWISH HISTORY AND IDENTITY. THE CENTER ENGAGES DIVERSE, WORLDWIDE AUDIENCES, GENERATING ENTHUSIASM, KNOWLEDGE, AND COMMITMENT TO THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF YIDDISH AND JEWISH CULTURE. THESE GOALS ARE FURTHERED THROUGH A RANGE OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS, DIGITAL INITIATIVES, AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS. BOOKS ARE RECOVERED FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE AND LEAD GROUND-BREAKING DIGITAL COLLECTIONS PROJECTS INCLUDING THE UNIVERSAL YIDDISH LIBRARY TO MAKE ALL YIDDISH BOOKS ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A SINGLE ONLINE PORTAL. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS SERVE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, COLLEGE STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND ADULTS. TRANSLATORS ARE TRAINED AND PUBLICATION OF NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATIONS ARE DONE THROUGH WHITE GOAT PRESS, THE CENTER'S BOOK IMPRINT, AND PAKN TREGER, AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAGAZINE.

Income
$14.4 million
Spending
$9.3 million
Spent on programs
71%
Reserves
40.2 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 87%
Employees
63
Volunteers
30
Highest pay
$450,115, president through 6/17/2025

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 87% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 40.2 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 1% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 35% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 50% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    71% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 15 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    24 of 24 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (4)
  1. $1.9 million spent. CULTURAL RESCUE AND PRESERVATION - THE CENTER HAS PLACED THE FULL CONTENT OF MORE THAN 13,000 TITLES ONLINE THROUGH THE NON-PROFIT INTERNET ARCHIVE, MAKING YIDDISH LITERATURE THE SINGLE MOST ACCESSIBLE LITERATURE IN HISTORY. THE BOOKS HAVE BEEN DOWNLOADED FOR FREE MORE THAN 2 MILLION TIMES. THE CENTER HAS PARTNERED WITH THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL, YIVO, AND THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY TO CREATE THE UNIVERSAL YIDDISH LIBRARY. FOR THE FIRST TIME, MORE THAN 60,000 YIDDISH TITLES ARE SEARCHABLE IN AN ONLINE CATALOG. THE CENTER ALSO COLLECTS ORAL HISTORIES THROUGH ITS WEXLER ORAL HISTORY PROJECT. NOW A GROWING COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 1,500 INTERVIEWS, THESE ARE AVAILABLE ON THE CENTER'S WEBSITE AND ON YOUTUBE FOR SCHOLARS, TEACHERS, AND OTHERS. THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT ALSO CREATES SHORT FILMS BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS COLLECTED. THE CENTER CONTINUES TO RESCUE YIDDISH BOOKS AND DISTRIBUTES THESE BOOKS TO LIBRARIES, SCHOLARS, AND STUDENTS. THESE MATERIALS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE ONLINE.
  2. $1.7 million spent. VISITOR AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS - WELCOMES VISITORS AND OFFERS PERMANENT AND TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS AND INTERPRETIVE TOURS. THE CENTER OFFERS VIRTUAL PUBLIC PROGRAMS WHICH STREAM LIVE EVERY THURSDAY ON ZOOM AND FACEBOOK LIVE TO AUDIENCES OF 500-1000 PER PROGRAM. A NEW PERMANENT CORE EXHIBITION, YIDDISH: A GLOBAL CULTURE, OPENED IN 2023. THE CENTER ALSO HOSTS TRAVELING AND TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS. ON SITE PUBLIC PROGRAMS INCLUDE, LECTURES, FILMS, AND THE ANNUAL YIDSTOCK: THE FESTIVAL OF NEW YIDDISH MUSIC.
  3. $2.2 million spent. EDUCATION THE CENTER OFFERS SEVERAL MAJOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR UNDERGRADUATES AND RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES. THE 7-WEEK STEINER SUMMER PROGRAM INCLUDES 18 STUDENTS WHO STUDY YIDDISH LANGUAGE AND MODERN JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURE. THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR COLLEGE GRADUATES IS A 12-MONTH PROGRAM FOR RECENT GRADUATES WHO PARTICIPATE IN A VARIETY OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECTS INCLUDING BOOK DIGITIZATION, ORAL HISTORY, EXHIBIT DEVELOPMENT, ON-SITE AND ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT, AND THE CENTER'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAGAZINE, PAKN TREGER. THE GREAT JEWISH BOOKS PROGRAM IS OFFERED TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO SPEND ONE WEEK ENGAGED IN AN INTENSE EXPLORATION OF JEWISH LITERATURE. THE CENTER'S NEWEST PROGRAM FOR TEACHERS, "PAPER BRIDGES: TEACHING THE HOLOCAUST THROUGH YIDDISH LITERATURE," LAUNCHED IN SUMMER 2025 AND INCLUDED 12 TEACHERS FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. YIDDISH SCHOOL, A WEEKLONG RESIDENTIAL YIDDISH PROGRAM FOR ADULTS TAKES PLACE EVERY SPRING AND ONLINE YIDDISH CLASSES ARE OFFERED ANNUALLY. THE CENTER CREATED A NEW BEGINNING YIDDISH LANGUAGE TEXTBOOK WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN SUMMER 2020 AND HAS SOLD MORE THAN 4000 COPIES. BASED ON THIS TEXTBOOK, THE CENTER TRAINS, MENTORS, AND CERTIFIES YIDDISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS. THE CENTER'S YIDDISH CULTURE FOR JEWISH COMMUNITIES SUPPORTS YIDDISH CULTURAL PROGRAMMING FOR JEWISH COMMUNAL ORGANIZATIONS. THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES PROGRAM SERVES FORTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES ANNUALLY OFFERING TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANS, BOOKS FOR READING GROUPS, RESOURCES FOR PROGRAMMING, AND A TRAVELING EXHIBITION.
  4. $905,167 spent. TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATIONS - THE CENTER PUBLISHES AND DISTRIBUTES AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAGAZINE, PAKN TREGER, WHICH ENHANCES ITS EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH. THE MAGAZINE IS SENT TO MORE THAN 20,000 MEMBERS AND FRIENDS. WHITE GOAT PRESS IS THE CENTER'S PUBLISHING IMPRINT WITH A MISSION OF BRINGING NEW YIDDISH LITERATURE TO ENGLISH READERS AND HAS PUBLISHED 25 TITLES TO DATE. THE CENTER HAS A TRANSLATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR ASPIRING YIDDISH TRANSLATORS AND HAS TRAINED MORE THAN 100 TRANSLATORS TO DATE. THE CENTER ALSO REGULARLY PUBLISHES NEW CONTENT ON ITS WEBSITE AND DISTRIBUTES THIS CONTENT THROUGH EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA. THE CENTER'S E-PUBLICATION, "THE WEEKLY READER" CONNECTS AUDIENCES TO ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, PODCASTS AND MORE FROM THE CENTER'S DIGITAL COLLECTIONS.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending August 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since June 1980.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.