Chicago Cultural Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 061801981
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2007
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3128466814
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts Council/Agency
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $755,625
- Expenses
- $466,456
- Assets
- $375,108
- Liabilities
- $79,052
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- John Russick (President)
- Rebecca Amato (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Mnica Flix (Executive Dir.): $94,389 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Chicago Cultural Alliance supports 50 cultural heritage organizations through programs and services that preserve heritage, celebrate diversity, and foster collaboration.
What it reported doing in 2025
CCA strengthens the visibility and impact of Chicagos cultural heritage organizations through partnerships, public programming, professional development, shared resources, and promotion. In 2025, CCA hosted the Activating Heritage Conference for 160 attendees. The October Journey Chicago series featured 17 event days of cross-cultural programs for approximately 2,000 attendees, showcasing member organizations, cultural traditions, and performances. CCA also held monthly Virtual Town Halls and leadership meetings for networking, professional development, and resource sharing. Its twice-monthly newsletters promoted cultural events and opportunities to approximately 7,000 subscribers and more than 400 member staff, funders, and board members. These programs strengthen member organizations while expanding public access to Chicagos diverse cultural heritage.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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
SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 55
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 56
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 45.6%; rating input score 46
- Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 38.3%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.8; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 20.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 45.6% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $344K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $94K · 18 people listed
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 46/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.