Chicago Foundation for Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363429023
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
LaGrange Park, IL, USA
Phone
3123050029
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$99,500
Expenses
$463,190
Assets
$115,642
Liabilities
$3,504

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sarah H Knight (Co-Executive Director)
  • Kristin M Hardy (Co-Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sarah H Knight (Co-Executive Director): $111,677 total reported compensation
  • Kristin M Hardy (Co-Executive Director): $29,405 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Chicago Foundation for Education (CFE) is an Illinois education non-profit organization established in 1985. CFE supports PreK through 12th grade Chicago Public School educators with leadership, growth, and grant opportunities that translate into enhanced learning experiences for students.

What it reported doing in 2022

Action Research Leadership Institute - develop the analytical capacity and leadership potential of Chicago's most outstanding educators. Participants conduct action research projects with students in their schools, with a keen focus on improving student experiences and enhancing success. Fellows are provided opportunities to share data and resulting policy recommendations with colleagues and other Chicago-area education leaders.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 75% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 12
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th 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; 80th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -365.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.5% per year; rating input score 0; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.7% per year; rating input score 0; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.9% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 78.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $362K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $112K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2011 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.