Chicago Artists Coalition

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510136854
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3124918888
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Service Organizations and Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$531,514
Expenses
$400,137
Assets
$650,331
Liabilities
$397,352

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Brooks Ebetsch (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Brooks Ebetsch (Executive Director): $73,846 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

CAC's programs reflect our commitment to empowering local artists through professional career training, exhibition and networking opportunities, and building a supportive patron base. Our philosophy is that by helping more artists sustain their practice here in Chicago, more will want to live and work here.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cac's education strategy is designed to address the vital skill sets and resources that empower artists and arts professionals to nurture and sustain dynamic creative careers. The organization's approach to education building. Bolt offers a unique opportunity for working artists who can benefit from the program's is rooted in two primary programs: field/work and launch invitational residency. Field/work is a year-round program that includes public porgrams and a six month residency, featuring workshops and panel conversations, individula consultations and career stages with the educational skills and community needed for creative and professional success. Launch invitational residency is a nomination-based professional development program organized every june for artists emerging from chicago area undergraduate schools. Offered to a limited number of promising students identified by faculty, the four-day-long experience creates a rigorous environment within which artists learn career-building skills from both professionals and peers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 33
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 31.5%; rating input score 31
  • Program expense ratio: 41.8%; rating input score 42
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.7%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.63; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.5%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -13.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 31.5% of revenue deployed · 41.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $167K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $74K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 42/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.