irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024
What they reported doing
- #1 primary $5.02MTHE ORGANIZATION PROVIDED GRANTS TO FUND THERAPY, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS BENEFITING JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL. GRANTS ALSO INCLUDED COUNSELING, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR ZAKA MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES, ENSURING SUPPORT FOR THOSE SERVING ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE COMMUNITY.
named programs · 3 · from sources
What they call their work
Chesed Shel Emes Unit
Trained volunteers who recover, identify, and prepare bodies of the deceased according to Jewish law after accidents, disasters, or terror attacks, ensuring dignity and proper burial.
International Unit
Coordinates complex international operations to repatriate bodies of Israeli citizens who die abroad for burial in Israel, working with diplomatic and local authorities.
Resilience Teams
Provides emotional and logistical support to families and communities affected by mass casualty incidents and tragedies.
activities · 6 groups
What they do
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Jewish and Hindu Funeral Rites Support 2 activities
- International repatriation of the deceasedDeploys international units to recover and repatriate deceased individuals to Israel from abroad, including coordination of logistics, legal approvals, and transportation via private flights or ground ambulances, particularly when families face obstacles overseas.
- Recovery and identification of human remainsPerforms meticulous recovery, collection, and identification of human remains and bodily fragments at incident scenes—including traffic accidents, terror attacks, and natural disasters—ensuring dignity in accordance with Jewish religious law, and transports remains to temporary or final resting locations.
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Fire Safety Education & Prevention 1 activity
- Community preparedness and training initiativesConducts public awareness events, emergency response training, and workshops to enhance community preparedness and resilience, and maintains official cooperation agreements with national security and emergency agencies.
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Digital Donation Processing Platforms 1 activity
- Donation processing and donor servicesProcesses one-time and recurring donations through secure third-party payment systems, provides tax documentation to donors, and maintains systems to support ongoing donor engagement.
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Disaster Relief and Recovery Services 1 activity
- Psychosocial and emotional support servicesProvides immediate crisis intervention, ongoing mental health care, counseling, and resilience training to grieving families, survivors, and ZAKA volunteers affected by traumatic events, including terror attacks and disasters, both on-site and through long-term community programs.
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Website Accessibility Implementation 1 activity
- Website accessibility and usability improvementsImplements and maintains digital accessibility features on its website, including compatibility across devices, screen readers, keyboard navigation, font scaling, and an accessibility plugin, to support access for people with disabilities.
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Uncategorized 1 activity
- Emergency search and rescue operationsConducts 24/7 search and rescue missions in Israel and globally, including at disaster sites, accident scenes, and during mass casualty incidents, using ground teams and drone technology with aerial scanning and thermal imaging to locate victims and missing persons.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$8.23M
Contributions & grants$8.08M98%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$148K2%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$11.17M
Program expenses64%
Admin / overhead8%
Fundraising28%
Salaries & benefits$85K
Grants paid out$6.88M
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$5.24M
Cash$932K
Investments$3.70M
Liabilities$341K
Net assets$4.90M
Liquid reserves5.0 mo
3 years on record · 2022–2024 · YoY revenue -32.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
board members · 3
- BARUCH HAGER — VICE PRESIDENT
- DAVID ROSENBERG — SECRETARY
- EZEKIEL FARKAS — PRESIDENT
relationships · 25
Who they work with
- Beit Shemesh Municipality Partner — ZAKA works as an integral part of the city’s emergency response system in Beit Shemesh.
- Chabad Partner — Local Chabad emissary in New Zealand, Rabbi Avraham Rosenberg, assisted ZAKA in coordinating with local authorities.
- Drip Partner — Provider of email marketing and communication services
- Google Partner — Provider of analytics and advertising services
- Home Front Command Partner — Close coordination between ZAKA and the Home Front Command in emergency operations.
- Home Front Command Partner — Collaborated with emergency teams including the Home Front Command in search and recovery operations at a missile impact site.
- IDF Home Front Command Partner — Collaborated with ZAKA teams during search, recovery, and evacuation operations at the incident site.
- Israel Government — Recognized as the dominant rescue and recovery NGO operating in Israel.
- Israel Police Government — Authorizes ZAKA Chesed Shel Emes volunteers to operate at incident scenes.
- Israel Police Partner — Collaborated with ZAKA in a joint search and recovery operation.
- Israel Police Partner — Operated jointly with ZAKA volunteers at the scene of the mass casualty incident.
- Israel Police Partner — Operational cooperation between ZAKA and Israel Police during recovery efforts.
- Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Government — Coordinated with ZAKA to secure the release and transfer of the body from New Zealand to Israel.
- Klaviyo Partner — Provider of email marketing and communication services
- Lehava Unit Partner — Participated alongside ZAKA in a large-scale search and recovery mission.
- Marine Police Partner — Collaborated with ZAKA in a joint maritime search and recovery operation.
- Meta Partner — Provider of analytics and advertising services via Facebook Pixel
- Microsoft Clarity Partner — Provider of website analytics and user behavior tracking
- Military Rabbinate Partner — Worked alongside ZAKA in handling remains with religious and ethical sensitivity.
- National Institute of Forensic Medicine Partner — Received victims’ remains from ZAKA for forensic examination.
- PayPal Partner — Payment processor for donations
- Stripe Partner — Payment processor for donations
- W3C Partner — Implements accessibility recommendations from the W3C organization's WCAG2.0 document.
- local authorities in Bulgaria Partner — Collaborated with ZAKA's international unit to manage the accident scene and support victims.
- professional security and emergency agencies Partner — Signs official cooperation agreements with ZAKA for emergency response collaboration.
strategies · 3
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Chesed Shel Emet as Operational Principlemethodology: chesed_shel_emetBy ensuring Jews who die abroad are returned to Israel for burial in accordance with halachic principles, we fulfill chesed shel emet (true kindness), because this act of altruism—done for someone who cannot repay it—serves both religious duty and communal integrity, reinforcing cultural continuity and spiritual dignity.
- Dignity-Centered Search and Recoverymethodology: dignity-centered recoveryBy conducting search and recovery operations with a dual focus on locating missing persons and preserving the dignity of human remains, we produce more humane and effective outcomes because treating the deceased with respect is foundational to both religious obligation and psychological healing for families and responders.
- Integrated Emotional Recoverymethodology: integrated_emotional_recoveryBy integrating emotional recovery into rescue operations, we support long-term psychological healing for victims, families, and responders because treating psychological and physical aspects of crisis as inseparable leads to more resilient individuals and communities.