American Jewish Historical Society
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
SEE SCHEDULE O - THE AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY (THE "SOCIETY") IS THE OLDEST ETHNIC, CULTURAL ARCHIVE IN THE UNITED STATES. THE SOCIETY PROVIDES ACCESS TO MORE THAN 30 MILLION DOCUMENTS AND 50,000 BOOKS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART AND ARTIFACTS THAT REFLECT THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES FROM 1654 TO THE PRESENT. AT OUR HOME ON WEST 16 TH STREET IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN, THE SOCIETY ILLUMINATES AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY THROUGH OUR MANY ARCHIVAL TREASURES, SCHOLARSHIP, EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS. AMONG THE TREASURES OF THIS HERITAGE ARE THE HANDWRITTEN ORIGINALS OF EMMA LAZARUS' THE NEW COLOSSUS, WHICH GRACES THE STATUE OF LIBERTY RECORDS OF THE NATION'S LEADING JEWISH COMMUNAL ORGANIZATIONS AND IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS IN THE FIELDS OF EDUCATION, PHILANTHROPY, SCIENCE, SPORTS, BUSINESS AND THE ARTS. THE SOCIETY IS THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH PAST.
- Income
- $2.8 million
- Spending
- $2.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 68%
- Reserves
- 33.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 83%
- Employees
- 19
- Volunteers
- 16
- Highest pay
- $237,029, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 89% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 33.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 20% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 0% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1568% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2516 of 16 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 (3)
- $833,752 spent. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE- SEE SCHEDULE O - THE SOCIETY WELCOMES ALL AUDIENCES, INCLUDING SCHOLARS, WHO WISH TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE FROM FIRST ARRIVAL IN THE AMERICAS TO THE PRESENT DAY. THE LIBRARY CONSISTS OF APPROXIMATELY 50,000 VOLUMES, INCLUDING BOTH BOOKS AND SERIALS (JOURNALS AND PERIODICALS). THE SOCIETY HOUSES OVER 3,000 ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS AND HAS DEVELOPED FINDING AIDS FOR ITS PERSONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL HOLDINGS; THESE FINDING AIDS ARE ALL PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE ON AJHS'S WEBSITE. ON-SITE AND VIRTUAL USAGE OF AJHS'S HOLDINGS REMAINS VERY ROBUST AND CONTINUES TO INCREASE, WITH PATRONS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WORLDWIDE ACCESSING THE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS. SINCE ESTABLISHING ITS OWN-HOUSE DIGITIZATION LAB IN 2022, THE SOCIETY HAS CONTINUED EXPANDING ITS DIGITAL HOLDINGS AND DIGITIZATION PROGRAM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH ITS MANDATE TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO HISTORIC MATERIALS. IN THE LAST QUARTER OF 2024, STATISTICS ON DIGITAL USE SHOWCASED THAT THE TOP THREE FINDING AIDS ACCESSED WERE: THE HEBREW IMMIGRANT AID SOCIETY (ACCESSED 2459 TIMES); THE RECORDS OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS (ACCESSED 2283 TIMES); AND THE HEBREW ORPHAN ASYLUM COLLECTION (ACCESSED 1898 TIMES). THESE ARE COLLECTIONS WHICH FEATURE A SIGNFIICANT AMOUNT OF DIGITIZED CONTENT, THUS DEMONSTRATING THE OVERALL VALUE OF THE SOCIETY'S ACTIVE DIGITIZATION EFFORTS AND UNDERSCORING THE ONGOING NEED FOR ADDITIONAL EXTENSIVE DIGITAL CONTENT AND CURRICULAR RESOURCES PREPARED BY THE SOCIETY.
- $578,136 spent. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS- SEE SCHEDULE O -IN 2024, THE SOCIETY HOSTED 22 IN-PERSON, ONLINE, AND HYBRID BOOK TALKS, FILM SCREENINGS, AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS REACHING AUDIENCES BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY THROUGH THIS PUBLIC HISTORY INITIATIVE. THE SOCIETY PARTNERED WITH INSTITUTIONS ACROSS NEW YORK CITY AND NATIONALLY TO INCREASE PROGRAM VIEWERSHIP AND EXPAND ITS NETWORK. ONLINE, THE SOCIETY CONTINUED ITS POPULAR "AT LUNCH" SERIES WITH JULIE SALAMON, WELCOMING GUESTS FROM THE FIELDS OF HISTORY, ENTERTAINMENT, JOURNALISM, AND MORE. THE SOCIETY OFFERED IN-PERSON CLASSES TO LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PS 41 FOR JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, TEACHING OVER 500 PRE-K TO 5TH GRADE STUDENTS.THE SOCIETY HAS CONTINUED ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GILDER LEHRMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN HISTORY TO TRAIN K-12 TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS ABOUT HOW TO BEST USE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS RELATED TO JEWISH AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. THE PROGRAM TRAINED 35 EDUCATORS AND REACHED ROUGHLY 3,000 STUDENTS NATIONWIDE. ADDITIONALLY, THE SOCIETY HOSTED ITS BIENNIAL SCHOLARS CONFERENCE ON-SITE IN NYC, A MULTI-DAY EVENT OFFERING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SCHOLARS TO PRESENT WORK AND GAIN FEEDBACK FROM COLLEAGUES IN THE FIELD. THE SOCIETY ALSO HOSTED THE GRANT CENTER AT TULANE UNIVERSITY'S BEINNER SYMPOSIUM, A DISCUSSION OF SCHOLARS AND JOURNALISTS ON MODERN ANTISEMITISM.
- $83,653 spent. DIGITAL MEDIA - SEE SCHEDULE O -IN 2024, THE SOCIETY SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDED ITS DIGITAL OFFERINGS, PUBLISHING WEEKLY BLOGS FEATURING COLLECTION MATERIALS AND SPECIAL GUEST AUTHORS, AND ADDING NEW VIDEO CONTENT TO ITS YOUTUBE CHANNEL. IN MAY 2024, AJHS LAUNCHED ITS LARGEST NEW DIGITAL INITIATIVE: A NARRATIVE PODCAST TITLED "THE WRECKAGE." THE SERIES CHRONICLES THE STORIES OF JEWISH AMERICANS FROM THE AJHS COLLECTIONS, COVERING THE AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR II AND THROUGH THE END OF THE COLD WAR. THE SERIES IS HOSTED BY ACCLAIMED ACTRESS AND SINGER REBECCA NAOMI JONES AND FEATURES HISTORIAN INTERVIEWS AND EXPERTS IN THE FIELD. THE EIGHT EPISODE SEASON CULMINATED WITH A LIVE TAPING OF A PANEL OF HISTORIANS DISCUSSING HOW THE HOLOCAUST AND POST-WAR REFUGEE CRISIS SHAPED JEWISH AMERICAN IDENTITY, MEMORY, AND CULTURE. THE SEASON, TITLED YEAR ZERO, WAS NOMINATED FOR A WEBBY AWARD.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
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.
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 October 13, 2026.
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.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since November 1933.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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 October 21, 2026.
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