Chicago Loop Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 361819460
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3127829160
- Rating
- 64
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,426,087
- Expenses
- $1,435,004
- Assets
- $920,500
- Liabilities
- $533,079
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
58 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL EDWARDS (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL EDWARDS (PRESIDENT): $237,771 total reported compensation
- ABEL RODRIGUEZ (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $169,419 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of the chicago loop alliance is to create, manage and promote high-performing urban experiences, attracting people and investment to the loop.
What it reported doing in 2024
Promotion of commercial and economic prosperity of state street, chicago Illinois, sidewalk maintenance and beautification. Supported by property taxes levied on neighborhood commercial properties which are collected by the city of chicago.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 77
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- 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: -0.6%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 28.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 46 of 46 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $238K · 58 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.