Chicago International Charter School
Legal name: Chicago Charter School Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 364141583
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3126515000
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $133,999,480
- Expenses
- $134,957,608
- Assets
- $115,097,241
- Liabilities
- $62,929,568
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ELIZABETH DELANEY PURVIS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- KRIS CHEUNG (FORMER CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- PELIN DENIZ (CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER): $188,153 total reported compensation
- ALLISON HANSEN (CHIEF OF SCHOOL): $180,645 total reported compensation
- MEAGHAN JENNINGS (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING OFFICER): $178,267 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We’re not here to define students’ futures; we’re here to give them the support and academically rigorous preparation to shape it themselves. We create schools where every member of our community is seen, affirmed, and equipped to succeed—**because every learner, family, and educator deserves a place to belong. Across our 13 schools, we provide a range of tuition-free school models to meet every student's needs, champion student agency, celebrate cultural identity, and empower educators to make a **lasting impact**.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provide educational opportunities for youth through the operation of 13 campus locations serving 6,847 students in grades kindergarten through twelve during fy june 30, 2025. Cics' vibrant hub of diverse chicago charter schools enables students to thrive every day, puts them on a path to success in college and life, and empowers entrepreneurial educators to pursue excellence through innovation.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 92% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 some related-organization disclosures are missing.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80.8%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $1,479.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: -0.7%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 80.8% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $107.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $188K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $15.4M reported
- Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.