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Jewish Historical Society of Upper Midwest Inc

EIN 36-3337514 · St Louis Park, MN

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceGood73 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

THE PURPOSE OF THE SOCIETY IS TO PROMOTE THE VITALITY AND CONTINUITY OF JEWISH CULTURE IN THE UPPER MIDWEST THROUGH PRESERVATION, INTERPRETATION AND EDUCATION.

Income
$252,990
Spending
$245,944
Spent on programs
71%
Reserves
31.4 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 92%
Employees
2
Volunteers
16
Highest pay
$79,003, executive director

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.

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 31.4 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 3% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 23% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    71% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 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

Good: 73 out of 100.

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    13 of 13 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no 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

    0 of 10

    Did not give 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

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 (3)
  1. $103,096 spent. INTERPRETATION - OUR INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS PROMOTE USE OF OUR MATERIALS BY RESEARCHERS, STUDENTS, JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER LOCAL AND NATIONAL CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. JHSUM HAS COMPLETED SEVERAL GRANT PROJECTS (THROUGH LEGACY FUNDS AT THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY (MHS)) INCLUDING; ST. PAUL JEWISH HISTORY PROJECT, JEWISH ORAL HISTORY PROJECT, JEWISH THEATER PROJECT, WE SPOKE JEWISH (BOOK PROJECT), SYNAGOGUES IN THE UPPER MIDWEST, JEWISH INSTITUTIONS (JACK BUTWIN DAY CAMP, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE, JEWISH EDUCATIONAL CENTER, EMANUAL COHEN CENTER, JFCS, JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICES, TALMUD TORAH, HILLEL, MT SINAI, AND MORE). THE NORTH DAKOTA JEWISH EXPERIENCE (SHVITZING IT OUT ON THE PRAIRIE), PEDDLERS TO PROCESSORS (SCRAP STORIES FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST, AND VOLUNTEER TRAINING FOR OUR JEWISH NORTH SIDE MINNEAPOLIS TOUR. THEIRSTORY: ONGOING REMOTE ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS BEING CONDUCTED BY STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS TO ADD TO HISTORICAL RECORD AT UMJA AND FOR USE IN ONGOING PROGRAMMING AND THE LIKE THROUGH JHSUM. USE OF PLATFORM TO RECORD REMOTE INTERVIEWS WITH INDIVIDUALS CONNECTED TO ABERDEEN, SD AND ONGOING HISTORY JOURNAL PROJECT. VOLUNTEERS: JHSUM CONTINUES TO DEVELOP AND UTILIZE VOLUNTEERS BY INDIVIDUAL TRAININGS BY JHSUM AND THEIRSTORY. RESULT IS SMALL VOLUNTEER CORPS INTERVIEWING A WIDE RANGE OF INDIVIDUALS AND OBTAINING REMOTE ORAL HISTORIES. VOLUNTEER GROUP FULLY TRAINED TO LEAD NORTHSIDE MPLS TOURS. PAST/CURRENT/ONGOING PROJECTS: JANUARY, 2025 - TWO NEW CURATED CASES AT SABES JCC STEINFELDT CASE AND KAPLAN CASE. MARCH,2025 - PRESENTED ON THE FILM: JEWS WHO SERVE AT RIDGEPOINTE FOLLOWED BY DISCUSSION. MARCH, 2025 - JHSUM CO-SPONSORED FILM, THERE AIN'T NO BACK ON A MERRY-GO-ROUND WITH MITCHELL-HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW, FOLLOWED BY PANEL DISCUSSION. APRIL, 2025 - SPRING NEWSLETTER 2025/2024 ANNUAL REPORT PRODUCED APRIL JUNE, 2025 - FIRST TWO ELDERS EVENTS HELD AT BETH EL FEATURING OLDER COMMUNITY MEMBERS TALKING ABOUT LIVES AND CAREERS. MAY, 2025 - JHSUM CO-SPONSORED AN EVENT AROUND JEWISH SORORITIES WITH UMJA AND MNHS. MAY, 2025 - E. DAVID FISCHMAN FILM COMPLETED; FUNDED BY ST. PAUL JEWISH FEDERATION. JUNE, 2025 - INTERVIEWS ABOUT SHAREY SHOMAYIM SYNAGOGUE FUNDED BY MN LEGACY GRANT. MAY-OCTOBER, 2025 - MULTIPLE TOURS OF NORTHSIDE OF MINNEAPOLIS THROUGH A JEWISH HISTORICAL LENS; BOTH JEWISH AND GENERAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS ATTENDED A VARIETY OF TOURS. AUGUST, 2025 - PUBLICATION OF ARTICLE ABOUT JEWISH DELIS IN ST. PAUL IN RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER, 2025 - PUBLICATION OF JHSUM JOURNAL, JEWS IN GERMANTOWN, BY VICKI PIESER, FUNDED BY MN LEGACY GRANT. OCTOBER, 2025 - FALL NEWSLETTER PRODUCED. OCTOBER, 2025 - ANNUAL MEETING FEATURED VICKI PIESER AND JEWS OF GERMANTOWN JOURNAL. NOVEMBER, 2025 - BOOK EVENT FEATURING LYNN BOLNICK AND HER BOOK ON HER FAMILY'S JEWISH IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCE AND YEARS AFTER IN MINNESOTA. NOVEMBER, 2025 - BBYO IN MN HISTORY FILM PREMIERED AT A JCC EVENT; FILM WAS FUNDED BY MN LEGACY GRANT. DECEMBER, 2025 - RELAUNCH OF STEINFELDT GALLERY SPACE AT CAPP CENTER-ST. PAUL JCC; PREMIERE OF THERMOKING FILM AND EXHIBIT IN NEWLY REFRESHED GALLERY. DECEMBER, 2025 - DOUBLE-FEATURE DELIS FILMS AND LATKE PARTY WITH SHOLOM EAST
  2. $67,415 spent. EDUCATION - OUR 42 YEARS OF EXISTENCE HAVE BEEN SPENT CREATING ONE OF THE FINEST ARCHIVES OF LOCAL JEWISH HISTORY IN THE COUNTRY. WE CONSISTENTLY RECEIVE ACCOLADES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY COMMENDING OUR EXHIBITS, PROGRAMS, RESEARCH MATERIAL AND WEB SITE. IN 2012 WE COMPLETED THE GIFT OF NEARLY 1000 LINEAR FEET OF PAPER ARCHIVES AND OVER 8,000 PHOTOGRAPHS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ANDERSEN LIBRARY NATHAN AND THERESA BERMAN UPPER MIDWEST JEWISH ARCHIVES ALLOWING OUR COLLECTIONS TO BE PERMANENTLY HOUSED AT THE UNIVERSITY, SECURING A PERMANENT HOME FOR OUR PAPER ARCHIVAL MATERIALS AND PHOTO'S. THIS ALLOWS JHSUM TO FOCUS ON INTERPRETATION, EDUCATION AND PROGRAMMING ALONG WITH MORE PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF OUR UNIQUE MATERIALS. WE CONTINUE WORKING TO DISPLAY OUR ARTIFACT COLLECTIONS AT THE MPLS JCC - KAPLAN FAMILY JEWISH HISTORY CENTER, TYCHMAN SHAPIRO GALLERY, ST. PAUL JCC, SHOLOM EAST DISPLAY CASE, AND SHOLOM WEST / KNOLLWOOD PLAZA EXHIBIT SPACES. WE ALSO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER CULTURAL ARTS ORGANIZATION TO LEVERAGE OUR ARCHIVES, ARTIFACTS, DISPLAY MATERIALS AND MANPOWER TO HELP CREATE SUCCESSFUL EVENTS.
  3. $4,190 spent. PRESERVATION - VISITORS TO JHSUM WEBSITE (JHSUM.ORG) CAN SEAMLESSLY SEARCH THE ENTIRE DATABASE INVENTORY OF OUR COLLECTION'S HOLDINGS. BY MAKING CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH A MORE POWERFUL, NUANCED SEARCH INTERFACE, CONTAINING CONSISTENT, CONTROLLED TERMS AND MORE SEARCHABLE FIELD'S USERS CAN FIND WHAT IS MOST HELPFUL IN OUR HOLDINGS. NEW ACCESSIONS DATA NOW APPEARS INSTANTLY AS IT IS ENTERED. THE LARGEST VOLUME OF REFERENCE REQUESTS WE RECEIVE IS FOR HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS THAT SHOWCASE JEWISH LIFE IN THE UPPER MIDWEST. JHSUM HAS ITS OWN PORTAL ON THE SITE WITH SEVEN VIRTUAL TOURS, EXPANDING OUR TOUR CAPACITY BEYOND ONE TWIN CITIES-FOCUSED "LIVE" TOUR EACH YEAR OUR RESOURCES ALLOW FOR. YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE HOME TO TOUR HISTORIC JEWISH DULUTH, ST. LOUIS PARK, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS' NORTH SIDE, WEST, CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA, AND THE IRON RANGE, AS WELL AS THE SYNAGOGUES OF THE UPPER MIDWEST. MISCELLANEOUS: ELLEN ZISKIN CONTINUES TO SHARPEN OUR DATABASES ELEO AND CONSTANT CONTACT. ALSO BRINGS GREAT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE TO HOW WE CAN SEGMENT LISTS SO SOME GET ONLY ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE AS THIS IS A POTENTIAL GOAL FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING. JHSUM CONTINUES TO FACILITATE DONATIONS TO THE (UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA JEWISH ARCHIVES (UMJA) AND ITEMS ARE COMING IN REGULARLY. JHSUM CONTINUES TO PLACE ADS IN APPROPRIATE COMMUNAL AD BOOKS AND THE LIKE. DISCUSSIONS WITH HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARIES ABOUT UPDATING JEWISH HISTORY EXHIBIT AT SUMNER LIBRARY, SHOLOM EAST CASE. KAPLAN CASE AT MINNESOTA JCC, ST. LOUIS PARK UPDATED TO REFLECT JHSUM'S ONLINE STORE AND PROMOTE TRAFFIC TO SITE.

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 September 1986.

    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.