Change Illinois Action Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843602741
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3123730706
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,999
Expenses
$25,388
Assets
$262,649
Liabilities
$934

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RYAN TOLLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • RYAN TOLLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $135,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Change Illinois action fund is dedicated to advocating for solutions to the issues that undermine democracy and government efficiency in Illinois, including restricted ballot access, uncompetitive elections, decreased citizen participation, lack of government transparency, unethical lobbying, and politically-motivate redistricting.

What it reported doing in 2025

Change Illinois action fund is dedicated to advocating for solutions to the issues that undermine democracy and government efficiency in Illinois, including restricted ballot access, uncompetitive elctions, decreased citizen participation, lack of government transparency, unethical lobbying, and politically-motivate redistricting.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 61.3%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -746.5%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.35; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -11.5% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -31.3% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 61.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $16K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $135K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.