Cultivate Collective Inc

Overview

Mission

Cultivate Collective partners with residents, community leaders, and institutional collaborators to develop place-based solutions that address the root causes of intergenerational poverty, environmental degradation, and disparities in health and opportunity. Through initiatives such as green workforce development, healthy food access programs, integrated youth and family services, and environmental resilience planning, the organization supports thriving, self-determined communities. Anchored in the southwest side of Chicago, Cultivate Collective ensures that community vision and voice shape every initiative, advancing equity and sustainability through shared leadership and long-term investment.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cultivate Collective funded capital improvements and operated community-based programming designed to connect residents to the Cultivate Collective campus in the LeClaire Courts neighborhood of Garfield Ridge. Programming supported community engagement, wellness, education, and access to shared neighborhood resources through events, partnerships, and campus activation initiatives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
874705299
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7735821100
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.5%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -77.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -91.3% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 41.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $187K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $214K reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 annual filings from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.