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Non-profit

Birthright Israel Foundation

Location:

New York, NY
Tax ID:

13-4092050
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $72,026,353
Expenses: $110,696,563
Assets: $69,380,864
Type:

Israeli activist group
Formation:

2001
President and CEO:

Elias Saratovsky
President & CEO Salary (2023):

$226,297 16

References

  1. Birthright Israel Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2023, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
Budget (2023):

Total Revenue: $85,539,550
Total Expenses: $92,850,953
Total Assets: $64,280,666 17

References

  1. Birthright Israel Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2023, Part II, Line 20.

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Birthright Israel Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to provide funding for thousands of Jewish young adults to visit Israel each year as part of a program called “Birthright Israel.” The Birthright Foundation conducts fundraising efforts in the United States to support the educational trips. 1

Activities

Birthright Israel Foundation was founded in 2004 to conduct fundraising in the U.S. for Birthright Israel. Birthright Israel provides free educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults to encourage a stronger connection to their Jewish heritage. 1

Birthright Israel Foundation claims that Birthright Israel trips increase Israel awareness by making travel to Israel easy and accessible to Jewish young adults, teaching participants facts countering anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments on college campuses, connecting Jewish young adults to their religious homeland, and sparking interest in Jewish life. 2

Since Birthright Israel’s founding in 1999, more than 900,000 young people have participated in Birthright Israel trips. 3

Grantmaking

In 2023, Birthright Israel Foundation received over $84.7 million in contributions and grants. Birthright Israel Foundation granted over $74.3 million to activities conducted outside of the U.S., in the Middle East and North Africa, including Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, and Egypt. 4

Funding

Birthright Israel Foundation is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, the government of Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Jewish federations across the U.S. 5

Birthright Israel Foundation’s largest donations come from private grantmaking foundations like the Adelson Family Foundation ($9 million in 2023), 6 the Jim Joseph Foundation ($3.984 million in 2023), 7 and the Marcus Foundation ($2.035 million in 2023). 8 BIF has also received substantial donations from nonprofit organizations like the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston ($3.04 million in 2022), 9 the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh ($2.346 million in 2022), 10 and the Jewish Communal Fund ($2.139 million in 2022). 11

Leadership

Elias Saratovsky is the president and CEO of Birthright Israel Foundation. Saratovsky formerly worked as a national director of regional affairs at the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC. 12

David Shapiro is the CFO of Birthright Israel Foundation. Shapiro formerly worked as an executive director of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway and a controller at the Jewish Theological Seminary. 13

Israel Tapoohi retired as the president and CEO of Birthright Israel Foundation in December 2023. Tapoohi is a former executive chair of Israel’s telecommunications provider Bezeq and a former president and CEO of Israel Bonds. 14

The board of the Birthright Israel Foundation includes Philip de Toledo, chair; Lori Komisar, vice chair; Douglas M. Ross, vice chair; Lawrence J. Cohen, treasurer; Michael Rashes, executive committee member; Sara Aronson; David Barse; Steven J. Fishman; Martin J. Geller; Judy Goodman; John Hoover; Scott Jaffee; Roberta Menzin; Russ Robinson; Avery Rosin; Mindy Schneider; Dan Schwab; David Shapira; Linda Solomon; Barry Swidler; and Laura Zebersky. 15

Honorary members of the board of the Birthright Israel Foundation include Miriam Adelson; Laurie Blitzer; Charles R. Bronfman, cofounder of Birthright Israel; Laurie Blitzer; Shawn Evenhaim; Susie Gelman, chair emeritus and president of the Morningstar Foundation; Michael A. Leven; Joshua Nash, chair emeritus; Daniel S. Och, chair emeritus; Lynn Schusterman, billionaire philanthropist and founder the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation; Jane F. Sherman; Michael H. Steinhardt, cofounder of Birthright Israel; and Thomas D. Stern, chair emeritus. 15

Madlyn Abramson, Sheldon G. Adelson, and Edgar M. Bronfman are honorary members of the board who have passed away. 15

References

  1. “Mission.” Birthright Israel Foundation. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://birthrightisrael.foundation/mission/.
  2. “How Birthright Israel Has Been Preserving Jewish Heritage for Decades.” Birthright Israel Foundation, July 10, 2020. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://birthrightisrael.foundation/blog/how-birthright-israel-has-been-preserving-jewish-heritage-for-decades/.
  3. “Success.” Birthright Israel Foundation. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://birthrightisrael.foundation/success/.
  4.  Birthright Israel Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2023, Schedule F, Part I, Line 3.
  5.  “Our Supporters.” Birthright Israel Foundation. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://birthrightisrael.foundation/our-supporters/.
  6. Adelson Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023, Part XV, Line 3.
  7. Shimon Ben Joseph Foundation DBA Jim Joseph Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023, Part XV, Line 3.
  8.  Marcus Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023, Part XV, Line 3.
  9. Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule I, Part II.
  10. Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule I, Part II.
  11. Jewish Communal Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule I, Part II.
  12. “Elias Saratovsky.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/elias-saratovsky/.
  13. “S. David Shapiro.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-david-shapiro-97654814/.
  14. “Izzy Tapoohi to Retire as President & CEO of Birthright Israel Foundation.” Birthright Israel Foundation, February 6, 2023. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://birthrightisrael.foundation/blog/izzy-tapoohi-to-retire-as-president-ceo-of-birthright-israel-foundation/.
  15. “Who We Are.” Birthright Israel Foundation. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://birthrightisrael.foundation/who-we-are/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: June 1, 2001

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2022 Dec Form 990 $72,026,353 $110,696,563 $69,380,864 $15,169,805 N $72,530,426 $0 $243,924 $2,632,037 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $44,527,782 $33,798,127 $97,221,190 $2,158,847 N $44,403,830 $0 $133,895 $2,170,160
    2020 Dec Form 990 $62,541,873 $37,473,516 $86,786,716 $2,040,551 N $62,471,811 $0 $99,179 $2,239,917 PDF
    2019 Dec Form 990 $98,977,700 $93,996,365 $64,474,727 $2,055,715 N $98,603,747 $0 $359,260 $2,318,184 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $121,102,946 $96,221,875 $61,152,262 $3,959,302 Y $120,960,117 $0 $278,890 $2,162,066 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $96,908,299 $93,802,993 $35,094,701 $2,722,649 N $96,834,324 $0 $74,225 $1,830,176 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $96,827,173 $98,592,432 $31,529,353 $2,262,607 N $96,917,682 $0 $28,260 $2,108,603 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $83,932,290 $95,654,760 $32,621,882 $1,589,877 N $83,888,780 $0 $38,962 $1,809,281 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $123,559,105 $95,815,159 $64,305,847 $21,551,372 N $123,768,728 $0 $20,294 $1,327,545 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $74,257,356 $88,026,793 $16,412,609 $1,402,080 N $74,221,738 $0 $21,841 $1,687,531 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $101,960,863 $87,189,303 $30,000,420 $1,220,454 N $101,939,119 $0 $12,491 $1,221,653 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $46,942,126 $55,195,625 $14,684,454 $676,048 N $46,882,522 $0 $18,318 $1,153,249 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Birthright Israel Foundation

    711 THIRD AVENUE 10TH FL
    New York, NY 10017-4158