Allies for Community Business Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363966573
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3129242180
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Small Business Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,016,576
Expenses
$8,741,317
Assets
$41,625,686
Liabilities
$23,367,017

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRAD MCCONNELL (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRAD MCCONNELL (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $211,658 total reported compensation
  • MARY TRITSIS (DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY BUSI): $185,959 total reported compensation
  • ROWAN RICHARDS (DIRECTOR OF COACHING AND C): $175,678 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Allies for community business is a nonprofit that provides the capital, coaching, and connections entrepreneurs need to grow great businesses that create jobs and wealth in their communities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Allies for community business (a4cb) supports small businesses that strengthen their communities. They provide the capital, coaching, and connections entrepreneurs need to grow great businesses that create jobs and wealth their communities. As a nonprofit located on chicago's west side, a4cb prioritizes black, hispanic/latinx, women, and low-income entrepreneurs throughout the chicagoland area and beyond. They offer loans between $500 and $100,000 to early, emerging, and established businesses at fair prices. In addition, they provide free coaching to anyone who wants to start or grow a business, and they connect entrepreneurs to trusted partners that can help further.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -9%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.76; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.56; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.3% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $212K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $398K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 31 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 25 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.