Chicago Astronomical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
366160997
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2011–2016
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Rating
55
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Astronomy

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,584
Expenses
$2,375
Assets
$2,946

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • James R Cuca (Vice President)
  • Anthony Harris (President)

People named in this filing

  • Michael F Barrett (Treasurer)
  • Daniel P Joyce (Secretary)
  • James R Cuca (Vice President)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Chicago Astronomical Society is the oldest astronomical society in the western hemisphere, started in 1862. To this day, CAS continues to further its mission by maintaining an observatory, offering numerous venues for public outreach, conducting public observing sessions, and hosting monthly meetings and lectures. CAS also puts on an annual festival each year: Astrofest.

What it reported doing in 2016

Held monthly meetings featuring a lecture open to members and the public free of charge. In September, held the annual Astrofest, which is a telescope fair and observing session attracting amateur astronomers from all over the country.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
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. 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: 37
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.6%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 28.4%; rating input score 28

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -49.9%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.24; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -36.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.6% of revenue deployed · 28.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $675 in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2011 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 43/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.