AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 363412054
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- (312) 922-2322
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Health
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $41,006,403
- Expenses
- $42,755,753
- Assets
- $21,728,054
- Liabilities
- $12,566,254
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
42 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOHN PELLER (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JOHN PELLER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $296,629 total reported compensation
- LAURIE WETTSTEAD (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $217,445 total reported compensation
- SIMONE G KOEHLINGER (CHIEF PROGRAMS OFFICER): $193,839 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To lead the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Illinois and beyond.
What it reported doing in 2024
AIDS foundation of chicago (afc) provides systems-level leadership to the chicago area's HIV/AIDS sector by providing funding to and coordinating the activities of chicago's regional case management system; providing funding for permanent, supportive housing including rental, utility, and/or furniture assistance; providing funding to community organizations providing high quality HIV/AIDS programming; and engaging in local and statewide advocacy to promote HIV/AIDS funding and services.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 85% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 90
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 94.4%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $34.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.2%; rating input score 99; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.51; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 94.4% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $38.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $297K · 42 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 57 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 47 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.