Hillel the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life

Jewish Leadership Starts Here

aka PENN STATE HILLEL   |   UNIVERSITY PARK, PA   |  www.pennstatehillel.org/

Mission

Penn State Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of the estimated 5,000 Jewish students at Penn State so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Penn State Hillel is committed to excellence, innovation, accountability, and results.

Ruling year info

1993

Executive Director

Aaron Kaufman

Main address

PASQUERILLA SPIRITUAL CENTER NO 116

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA 16802 USA

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EIN

38-3829311

NTEE code info

Jewish (X30)

Student Services and Organizations (B80)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

JewPAC

This is a microgrant program to encourage any Jewish student at Penn State to host their own Jewish experience, with the support of Penn State Hillel.

Population(s) Served
Jewish people
Students

We provide a cohort Jewish learning class that runs weekly throughout the semester. Students are able to come together and break bread while discussing the application of Jewish text (modern to ancient) and its impact on their lived experiences as college students in modern days. We host 80 students in this program annually.

Population(s) Served

Penn State Hillel is the placement site for several different academic department internships. As a nonprofit organization, Penn State Hillel can provide opportunity for both leadership learning and career skill-building. This partnership with Pennsylvania State University includes academic programs from Hospitality to Marketing.

Population(s) Served
Jewish people
Young adults
Jewish people
Young adults

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

Hillel International 1936

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of students who engaged with Penn State Hillel 6 or more times this academic year.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Jewish people, Young adults, Students

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of students who participated in at least one Hillel event or initiative this year.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Young adults, Jewish people, Students

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Penn State Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of the estimated 5,000 Jewish students at Penn State so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Penn State Hillel is committed to excellence, innovation, accountability, and results.

For a well-rounded experience, Jewish
students can find ritual, social, community
service, and educational programs –
or host their own with Hillel’s support.
Students are at the helm of every
Hillel project. Penn Staters are known to
look for paths to grow, and Hillel provides
myriad ways to develop as leaders, with
a Jewish lens. Every group or program
sponsored by Hillel has a cadre of
students leading the charge, from interns
to curators and hosts.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Penn State Hillel serves the Jewish students of Penn State, the stakeholders with a vested interest in those students, and the greater Penn State community to increase education and awareness of the Jewish community.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Community meetings/Town halls,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Our students noted a challenge in communication across a large organization like ours. We created both new channels for easier communication and a leadership roundtable for regular exchange of ideas and conversation.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    This has shown both our students and stakeholders that this organization is only successful as a partnership. Staff do not dictate what students do to engage, and collaborate across the board. Students are at the helm of all that we do.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,

Financials

Hillel the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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Hillel the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life

Board of directors
as of 02/23/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Jill Epstein

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 12/28/2021

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Decline to state
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 12/28/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.