Chicago Media Project
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 465739978
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7738484263
- Rating
- 69
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $864,819
- Expenses
- $771,720
- Assets
- $334,650
- Liabilities
- $684,436
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PAULA FROEHLE (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- PAULA FROEHLE (CEO): $147,126 total reported compensation
- STEVEN COHEN (BOARD CHAIR): $2,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To impact society through the powerful tools of media and film. We are a resource for uniting individuals interested in media and developing a core group of informed citizens.
What it reported doing in 2024
Community events - cmp curates the best nonfiction media and brings it to chicago and beyond-through our partners in advocacy screenings, our doc 10 film festival and our doc 5 film festival.10 year anniversary event.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 80% for direct work, and 20% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The organization raises money at a relatively low cost and 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: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 52.7%; rating input score 53
- Program expense ratio: 58.4%; rating input score 58
- Fundraising efficiency: $1,942.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 44.2%; rating input score 44; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: 10.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.05; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.4%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 52.7% of revenue deployed · 58.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $451K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 29 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 44/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.