The OU's Business Or Ours?

How much business does the OU do each year? Where does the money really go? See here for an answer to the question several readers have raised.

How about the OK? How much business does it do each year? Where does the money go? See here for an answer.

Here's a better answer for the Star-K.

Comments

[FNU LNU]

There are a couple of issues actually raised here, some of them by you:

1. Who does the OU work for? Its board, the RCA, the rabbinate in general, its employees, the American Orthodox communuty, global Orthodox Jewry, etc.

2. Are OU operations organized to best meet the needs of the Orthodox community or are organizations considerations sapping from this goal?

3. Should the kashrut division be run so as to provide funding to the other OU operations (or non-OU operations if legal) or should it only earn enough to insure the continued existence of that division?

4. Do the other elements of the OU that do get the kashrut money, such as the IPA and NCSY, serve the needs of the broader Orthodox community?

It is obvious that the internal needs of the OU does dictate how the money flows and it is not solely the needs of the frum community. For example, NCSY gets much money from kashrut. Yet NCSY's NJ region is primarily for frum kids. Why are the Shabbat afternoon activities of the frum NJ kids getting the OU money? Is that really the best use of the funds?

[FNU LNU]

See: http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=96099,00.html (and links thereto)

[FNU LNU]

What the OU and the other kashrut agencies could do but don't that would be a real service to the kosher community would be to publish a list of those products that almost certainly do not need to be kosher.

For example, water. We know it. We need it. Now the OU and others certify some of it. And why? But the main issue this would cover is canned and bottled vegetables.

So its clear why they don't tell us and equally clear that they should.

[facesfacts]

THE OU IS A church(SYNAGOGUE) DOESN'T FILE FORM 990?

I HEREBY DECLARE MYSELF POPE ,CHIEF RABBI,DALAI LAMA,

[dill]

Shmarya excellent job. So far you have managed to question the operating practices of Chabad, OU, KAJ, and RCA come on I'm sure if you try hard enough you can dig up something on Young Israel as well.