Bar Ilan University in Israel Inc

“The biu board contains 105 voting members, most of whom reside outside the united states. These board members may have family or business relationships. Additional information is available upon request. Form 990, part vi, line 9 bar-ilan university in israel, inc. Has a united states mailing address; however, the majority of biu's board members are not u.s. Citizens and reside outside the united states (either in israel or in other foreign countries). Nevertheless, any officer, director, trustee or key employee listed on the form 990 can be reached at bar-ilan university in israel, inc.'s united states mailing address.”

“The form 990 was prepared by an independent tax firm in the united states, with information provided by the biu finance department in ramat-gan, israel. The rules governing tax-exempt organizations in israel are different than those used in the united states; accordingly, the biu finance department used its best efforts to comply with the requirements instituted by the internal revenue service. The financial information pertaining to biu is derived from audited financial statements prepared by somekh chaikin, a member firm of kpmg international, in a format that is not customary for united states tax-exempt organizations. The form 990 was not provided to the full board of directors prior to its filing with the internal revenue service because the board is on recess after the school year has closed. The full 990 is shared with the board following its electronic filing with the internal revenue service.”

“All university officers, directors and key employees are required to abide by a conflict of interest policy that governs their daily activities and all financial transactions/relationships with the university. Biu's comptroller reviews potential conflict and will seek remediation, if necessary.”

“Bar-ilan university in israel, inc. Has one class of officers that is reported on part vii and schedule j of the form 990, and they are compensated according to strict israeli government guidelines. None of these officers are u.s. Residents and, therefore, are not subject to united states employment tax rules. Since compensation is established pursuant to government regulations, no officer has any input or discretionary authority with respect to the compensation granted to the individuals governing biu. Biu is a unique organization from a united states tax perspective in that its operations are wholly in israel and it is governed by israeli law. The u.s. Concept of rebuttable presumption of reasonableness is not an abiding concern because all compensation is established pursuant to government regulations.”

“The taxpayer makes its form 990 available to the public by retaining a copy at its place of business. The form 990 is likewise published on the internet at www.guidestar.org. The organization's financial statements, governing documents and conflict of interest policy are not ordinarily made available to the public, but, if requested, will be provided at management's discretion.”

“The board of trustees is the highest institution of the organization. Among its duties is to outline the financial policy of the university and its goals, approve its budgets, oversee its management, goal reaching and advancement. The board of trustees consists of 105 members that may vote on university matters. Those individuals reported as honorary trustees do not have voting powers. The university has a council consisting of 14 elected founders and three other founders who serve ex officio. The council's role is to oversee the spiritual management of the university. In addition, the university has a council of trustees comprised of members who are israeli residents and professionals. In the periods between the board of trustees meetings, it serves as the representative of the board of trustees to fulfill its duties and its responsibilities, except for those that cannot be transferred, according to law. Form 990, part viii, line 3 since biu's investment portfolio is held outside the united states, a detailed schedule of investment gains is unavailable. The university's audited financial statements report the following mix of investment gains and losses: i. Change in the value of investments (both realized and unrealized) ii. Interest/dividends iii. Foreign currency exchange gain iv. Investment management fees/banking expenses to the extent any of this investment gain represents a capital gain, it has been reported on line 3 instead of line 7. The remaining balance of $33,470,775 has been reported in part xi, line 5 as unrealized gains on investments.”

“Misc. Income: the audited financial statements of biu are not presented according to us gaap; accordingly, the classifications of revenue streams are not consistent with u.s. Presentation. Miscellaneous income reported on line 11 represents revenues from a diverse variety of activities undertaken by biu; additional detail is available upon request. All of these activities are either related to the university's exempt mission or otherwise excludible as activities that are provided for the convenience of the university's students, faculty and/or visitors.”

“Biu has 7,302 employees. Since these employees are not u.s. Residents, they do not receive a form w-2. Part v, line 2a and part i, line 5 require the organization to report its u.s. Employees (as reported on form w-3). None of the salaries paid to biu employees are reported on a u.s. W-2.”

“Bar-ilan university is one of the first comprehensive research universities to be established in israel. With over 20,000 students, its milestone achievements in the sciences and humanities have made an indelible imprint on the landscape of the nation. The university has 10 faculties: jewish studies, medicine, engineering, law, life sciences, exact sciences, social sciences, education, humanities and interdisciplinary studies. These faculties are active partners in national science and technology initiatives. The university is comprised of students from all over israel; secular and religious; jews and non-jews; new immigrants; international students and researchers. Our students, researchers, and faculty members represent a mosaic of the state of israel, providing a unique atmosphere for open exchange of ideas and embracing all individuals and opinions. Diversity is key on the biu campus with tolerance and respect our basic philosophy. Serving as a bridge between israel's diverse sectors, bar-ilan university, with its multicultural campus environment, provides a singular forum for free thought and open discussion. The university is an accredited institution of higher education, according to the council of higher education law, 5718-1958, which deals with research and teaching. Furthermore, the board of trustees has undertaken to maintain the university as an institution of academic excellence in all spheres-exact sciences, humanities, etc. Which contributes to the jewish character and international standing of the state of israel. The university is aware of the underlying complexities of israeli society and its fundamental problems. Consequently, the university aspires to strengthen dialogue between the various public sectors and strengthen israel as a jewish, zionist and democratic state. During the 2024 academic year, 21,200 degree students attended the university studying for different academic degrees over varying periods of time (a student studying for two degrees concurrently was counted twice). Ten faculties (of which 3 are single-department faculties: laws, medicine and engineering), 47 departments, 4 specialties in the faculty of life sciences, 5 programs in the interdisciplinary studies unit and about 142 institutes, research centers and chairs operated within the university framework.”

“Teaching excellence is one of the pillars of bar-ilan university's strategy. The university invests considerable resources in the continuous improvement of teaching quality, and a special department has been established for this purpose: the division of learning and teaching. Every year, all lecturers participate in workshops and receive tools for teaching excellence, including tools for conveying information in an interesting and curiosity-arousing manner, increasing motivation, group facilitation, active teaching, and the use of illustrative tools. Smart classrooms and innovative active learning spaces have been set up throughout the campus, serving as a platform for advanced and experiential teaching. The university makes sure to stay up-to-date with all the innovations in the field of teaching, collaborates with dedicated centers in israel and around the world, and takes part in conferences and seminars to share knowledge about effective and high-quality teaching. As part of its goal to promote teaching excellence, the university places special emphasis on student satisfaction. Every semester, the university conducts a survey to examine the level of satisfaction with the courses being taught. Outstanding lecturers are recognized and appreciated. Lecturers who receive low scores receive personal counseling and pedagogical tools to help them improve and convey knowledge optimally. The university staff, both academic and administrative, is also available outside the lecture hall or research laboratories, and undertakes to provide every student with personal attention, through graduation and even beyond. Our investment in students is evident: bar-ilan consistently receives among the highest ratings in the teaching quality index of the national union of israeli students' satisfaction survey, compared to other research universities. Bar-ilan university in numbers: - approximately 21,200 students are studying for an academic degree at bar-ilan university - approximately 6,200 students take part in enrichment courses, certificate studies and other study programs at bar-ilan university - bar-ilan university has approximately 130,000 alumni - bar-ilan university has 834 senior faculty members - bar-ilan university has 10 faculties: life sciences, social sciences, education, jewish studies, humanities, exact sciences, law, engineering, medicine and the interdisciplinary studies unit - bar-ilan university has 47 departments and schools in a wide range of fields - bar-ilan university has 119 research institutes, 24 research centers and 61 chairs - bar-ilan university has 101 international research collaborations - bar-ilan university has 706 active grants - bar-ilan university has 26 libraries, with over one million titles and access to dozens of electronic databases”

“Bar-ilan university currently employs some 700 researchers, who are among the best in their fields worldwide. They work in over 70 research institutes and centers, mentoring thousands of students. The university's researchers are at the forefront of academia and research in israel and around the world, and are engaged in the hottest research topics occupying the academic world at the dawn of the 21st century. In the university's laboratories, our researchers are working on developing brain cancer drugs using gold nanoparticles, on archaeological-botanical research that will improve agriculture in the future, on producing fuel that does not pollute the air, on developing pest-resistant plants, on developing artificial intelligence for a robotic guide dog, on using virtual reality technology to improve empathy between people, and so much more. A significant number of the research projects at bar-ilan university have become sustainable products that are already improving our quality of life. Among the university's research institutes are some of the most advanced centers in their fields. These include the leslie and susan gonda multidisciplinary brain research center, which combines expertise and tools from the fields of physics, biology, computer science, engineering, pharmacology, psychology, linguistics, and mathematics; the institute of nanotechnology and advanced materials, the largest nano center in israel; the begin-sadat center for strategic studies, which deals with issues related to the middle east, israel's national security, and its foreign policy; and the institute for the advancement of integration, which promotes social integration in the education system and whose research findings are applied in the field of education. In addition, the university operates several impact-driven multidisciplinary research centers, including the bar-ilan center for smart cities, which works to improve various aspects of urban life using advanced technologies such as communications, it, and the internet of things, and has been recognized by the european union as an incubator for digital innovation; and the dangoor center for personalized medicine, which focuses on areas that advance the field of personalized medicine such as immunotherapy, microbiome, crispr, rna research, and computational biology. Bar-ilan researchers partner in hundreds of research collaborations and initiatives with research bodies in israel and around the globe, with industry, and with public and government institutions, and have won scholarships, grants, appointments, and recognition from dozens of foundations and professional organizations worldwide.”

“Biu does conduct lobbying, but it does so outside the united states. Biu never undertakes any lobbying activities with respect to any united states legislation and, as such, the organization is taking the position that it does not lobby for u.s. Purposes (and can, thus, answer part iv, line 4 no and dispense with filing schedule c).”

“Biu does not believe that it has any conflicts of interest that need to be reported on schedule l of the form 990; however, in the interests of clarity, the organization wishes to disclose that several board members have relationships with entities upon which the individual may also sit as a board member. Biu maintains that these relationships are incidental and the amounts remit between the organizations do not rise to the reporting thresholds required by schedule l. To the extent that there are any contractual relationships with organizations that board members may be involved with, all such contracts are negotiated at arm's length and at market rates (and done in the ordinary course of business).”

“The functional expense classification on part ix of the form 990 is broadly representative of the allocation of program service expenses as reported in the israel financial statements. Unlike most u.s. Financial statements, the israeli financial statements do not allocate expenses between administrative (overhead) expenses and those expenses used in day-to-day programs. Biu has allocated the expenses consistent with the presentation in previous forms 990. Biu broadly identifies fundraising expenditures in its annual audited financial statements; however, the organization does not specifically track or identify those expenses in its audited financial statements. These amounts have been classified in the aggregate on line 24(e).”

“Amounts reported on line 21 represent payments made by the university to the american friends of bar-ilan university, inc. Pursuant to contractual agreement between the parties. The university pays $4.7 million for fund-raising services provided by the american friends of bar-ilan university, inc. Form 990, part xi, line 9 the form 990 is presented based on audited financial statements prepared in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted in israel, including those prescribed by the israeli auditors (mode of performance) regulations (1973). In addition, the financial statements are prepared based on the accounting and reporting guidelines by higher education institutions in israel as set by the planning and budgeting committee of the israel higher education council. These accounting standards vary greatly from united states generally accepted accounting principles; accordingly, the presentation of financial data in the 990 may not conform to a 990 reader's customary expectations.”

“Book-to-tax adjustments 26,210,080. Foreign currency adjustment 150,673. Payment to american friends of bar ilan university 4,700,000.”