Skip to content
Nonprofiteer
← All organizations

THE ANITA KAUFMANN FOUNDATION

EIN 30-0233976 HACKENSACK, NJ

Browse the largest nonprofits in New Jersey

Revenue 2024
$373,470
Expenses 2024
$440,780

Program services were 89.7% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
G54
Classification
1200
Street
280 PROSPECT AVE APT 6G

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT EPILEPSY; INCREASE KNOWLEDGE, CHANGE ATTITUDES POSITIVELY, PROVIDE PUBLIC WITH ABILITY TO DELIVER SEIZURE FIRST AID, ACCEPT AND SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO HAVE EPILEPSY

  • PURPLE DAY (PD) PURPLE IS THE INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED COLOR OF EPILEPSY. PURPLE DAY (PD) IS THE LARGEST GRASSROOTS INITIATIVE IN THE WORLD WHERE PEOPLE SHOW THEIR SUPPORT OF EPILEPSY AWARENESS BY WEARING PURPLE AND HOSTING AWARENESS AND FUNDRAISING EVENTS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. AS THE GLOBAL SPONSOR OF PD, AKF MAINTAINS THE PD WEB SITE TO SHOWCASES ALL ACTIVITIES AND OFFER PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY AND THEIR FAMILIES A WAY TO PARTICIPATE. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE IN OVER 130 COUNTRIES OBSERVE PD PROGRAM INITIATIVES INCLUDING ''THE GREAT PURPLE CUPCAKE PROJECT,'' WHERE BAKERIES AND ADVOCATES BAKE AND SELL PURPLE CUPCAKES TO RAISE FUNDS AND EPILEPSY AWARENESS. AKF SUPPORTS ADVOCATES WITH COLLATERAL EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR THIS PROGRAM AND FOR EVENTS PD AMBASSADORS AND AKF ADVOCATES HOST EACH YEAR.WE HAVE EXPANDED THE PURPLE DAY CAMPAIGN WHICH WAS CELEBRATED ON MARCH 26TH, TO PURPLE DAY EVERY DAY, SO PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY CAN HOLD A PURPLE DAY EVENT ANY TIME THEY WANT. IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE PURPLE DAY EVERY DAY CAMPAIGN, WE HAVE BUILT A WEBSITE PURPLEDAYEVERYDAY.ORG. THIS CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN VERY WELL RECEIVED ALL OVER THE WORLD.

    Expenses $289,802 · Grants $10,600

  • SEIZURE RECOGNITION AND FIRST AID TRAINING PROGRAM ONE OUT OF TEN PEOPLE WILL HAVE A SEIZURE IN THEIR LIFETIME. MOST PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO HELP. OUR MISSION IS TO TEACH PEOPLE TO NOT FEAR PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY. THUS OUR GOAL IS TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC TO RECOGNIZE A SEIZURE AND TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE FIRST AID WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER SUCH A SITUATION. IN FURTHERANCE OF THIS GOAL AKF PROVIDES FREE SEIZURE RECOGNITION MATERIAL AND FIRST AID MATERIAL AND TRAINING TO RESTAURANT AND HOTEL STAFF, TO MALL PERSONNEL AND RETAILERS, TO SCHOOLS AND PERSONNEL IN SPORTS ARENAS. WE UTILIZE SKYPE TO TRAIN INDIVIDUALS IN THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD TO UNDERSTAND EPILEPSY AND TO TRAIN OTHERS (TRAIN THE TRAINER). WE DEVELOPED "WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO IF I HAD A SEIZURE," INITIATIVE. THIS FEATURES PERSONS WITH EPILEPSY SHOWCASED ON POSTERS AND BOOKMARKS THAT INCLUDE SEIZURE FIRST AID INSTRUCTIONS. THEY ARE DISTRIBUTED FREE OF CHARGE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.WE ALSO PROVIDE FREE EDUCATION TO 5TH GRADERS IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE US. THIS EDUCATION HEIGHTENS SENSITIVITY TO PEERS WITH EPILEPSY WHILE DIMINISHING STIGMA, WITH THE HOPE OF ELIMINATING BULLYING. WE TRAIN EDUCATORS AND VOLUNTEERS TO PROVIDE THIS COURSE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES VASTLY INCREASING THE SCOPE OF THE PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM IS SCRIPTED BUT FLEXIBLE AND CAN BE MODIFIED TO MEET INDIVIDUAL CLASSROOM NEEDS. WE PROVIDE PROGRAM TRAINING, THE SUPPORT NEEDED INCLUDING MATERIALS TO DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATION. TO DATE, THE PROGRAM HAS EDUCATED ALMOST 100,000 STUDENTS. THE PROGRAM IS NOW OFFERED OUTSIDE OF THE US.

    Expenses $62,135

  • THE HEADS UP FOR VETS PROGRAM (HUV) HUV IS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THE ANITA KAUFMANN FOUNDATION (AKF) AND THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EPILEPSY CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE (ECOE).HUV SUPPORTS US VETERANS FROM ALL PREVIOUS AND CURRENT WARS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED EXPOSURE TO IED (IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES) BLASTS AND OTHER EXPLOSIONS, LEAVING A PERCENTAGE WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) AND A RISK OF DEVELOPING POST-TRAUMATIC EPILEPSY AND SEIZURES. SOME SEIZURES ARE CONFUSED WITH SYMPTOMS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) AND OTHER ILLNESSES. THESE SEIZURES, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT DO NOT PRESENT AS COMMONLY RECOGNIZED CONVULSIONS, MAY GO UNRECOGNIZED AS SEIZURES. THIS OFTEN LEADS TO AN INCORRECT DIAGNOSIS AND A LACK OF PROPER TREATMENT. IN ORDER TO IMPROVE SUPPORT FOR THESE VETERANS, THE VA ESTABLISHED 16 EPILEPSY CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. OUR PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO HELP ENSURE THAT CURRENT AND ACCURATE EPILEPSY INFORMATION IS DISSEMINATED TO VETERANS DISCHARGED FROM SERVICE. HUV PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING SUPPORT TO VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES: "FREE INFORMATION ABOUT EPILEPSY"FREE ASSISTANCE WITHIN THE VA TO RESOLVE BENEFIT DISPUTES REGARDING EPILEPSY AND SEIZURES"FREE SEIZURE RECOGNITION AND FIRST AID TRAININGS FOR INDIVIDUALS, EMPLOYERS, COMMUNITY GROUPS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS"FREE CONSULTATIONS AND LINKAGES TO RESOURCES FOR SOCIAL SUPPORT, EMPLOYMENT, TRANSPORTATION, ETC."OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH AKF VETERAN ADVOCATES EXPERIENCING SIMILAR SITUATIONS"OPPORTUNITIES TO BECOME INVOLVED IN THE EPILEPSY COMMUNITY AS AN ADVOCATE, EDUCATOR OR VOLUNTEERHUV DISTRIBUTES THE FOLLOWING UNIQUE INFORMATIONAL SHEETS AND SEIZURE FIRST AID POSTERS AT NO COST TO US VETERANS, VETERAN ORGANIZATIONS AND THE GENERAL COMMUNITY AT LARGE UPON REQUEST:"SEIZURE RECOGNITION AND FIRST AID POSTER "SEIZURE RECOGNITION AND FIRST AID FLYER"TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND EPILEPSY FLYER"PSYCHOGENIC NON-EPILEPTIC SEIZURE (PNES) FLYERAKF HAS PROVIDED MORE THAN 45,000 HUV AND EPILEPSY INFORMATION PIECES TO INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, PUBLICATIONS, BLOGS, AND RADIO AND TV PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. MANY HAVE LINKED HUV TO THEIR WEBSITES, OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES AND HAVE INCLUDED OUR INFORMATION IN THEIR PUBLICATIONS AND DISTRIBUTED THEM DURING THEIR CONFERENCES. HUV CONTINUES TO SUPPORT COUNTLESS VETERANS, THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AND CAREGIVERS WHO HAVE REACHED OUT TO US OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MEASURE THE VETERAN CONNECTIONS WE HAVE MADE AS SOCIAL MEDIA DISTRIBUTES OUR PROGRAM INFORMATION DAILY. AND, MANY VETERANS, AS IN THE GENERAL POPULATION, UTILIZE OUR INFORMATION BUT WANT TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, BECAUSE OF THE STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH EPILEPSY. THE HUV PROGRAM DIRECTOR IS A MEMBER OF THE ECOE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING GUIDANCE, DIRECTION, AND OVERSIGHT OF ALL CLINICAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE ECOE.

    Expenses $43,615

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • Debra Josephs

    EXECUTIVE DIR.

    Total calculated
    $110,000
    From this org
    $110,000
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    60
  • Ben Kaplan

    CFO

    Total calculated
    $19,608
    From this org
    $19,608
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    25
  • Michael Cohen

    BOARD MEMBER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1
  • Bobbi Herman

    BOARD MEMBER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    1

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2024
    Revenue
    $373,470
    Expenses
    $440,780
    Contributions
    $386,771
    Grants paid
    $10,600
  • 2023
    Revenue
    $286,673
    Expenses
    $449,234
    Contributions
    $289,423
    Grants paid
    $1,577
  • 2022
    Revenue
    $311,477
    Expenses
    $343,041
    Contributions
    $307,428
    Grants paid
    $23,295

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

  • 2021 · 990

    Revenue
    $221,616
    Expenses
    $348,433
    Assets (EOY)
    $527,238
  • 2020 · 990

    Revenue
    $334,067
    Expenses
    $394,681
    Assets (EOY)
    $647,325
  • 2019 · 990

    Revenue
    $257,473
    Expenses
    $350,544
    Assets (EOY)
    $697,938
  • 2018 · 990

    Revenue
    $170,489
    Expenses
    $369,105
    Assets (EOY)
    $703,443
  • 2017 · 990

    Revenue
    $207,758
    Expenses
    $330,282
    Assets (EOY)
    $927,936
  • 2016 · 990

    Revenue
    $170,538
    Expenses
    $333,642
    Assets (EOY)
    $997,573
  • 2015 · 990

    Revenue
    $217,029
    Expenses
    $318,283
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,093,046
  • 2014 · 990

    Revenue
    $200,277
    Expenses
    $267,658
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,244,393
  • 2013 · 990

    Revenue
    $212,650
    Expenses
    $327,528
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,330,904
  • 2012 · 990

    Revenue
    not reported
    Expenses
    $316,228
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,497,578

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all. Showing the 10 most recent; the API carries the rest.

Grants made

Where these grants went next →

Grants received

No itemized grant names this organization as a recipient. Only grants over $5,000 are itemized, and only by filers of the full Form 990.

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 9 November 2026 and read 9 November 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2024, the newest we have parsed for this organization.