ChicagoFIRST Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202787459
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7737325285
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$618,250
Expenses
$578,403
Assets
$1,488,526
Liabilities
$234,306

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Steven Caluris (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Steven Caluris (Executive Director): $230,050 total reported compensation
  • Gary L Backus (Manager): $148,453 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

ChicagoFIRST is a non-profit association of private firms in the Chicagoland area that collaborate with one another and with government at all levels to promote the resilience of its members and the Chicago business community. ChicagoFIRST functions as both insurance in the event of a crisis and as an investment in collaborating with one another and with the public sector at all levels. No other organization combines local preparedness with a national network so as to enhance resilience regionally. This is the unique vision of ChicagoFIRST.

What it reported doing in 2025

Foster and facilitate coordination among the Chicago Business Organizations across various sectors with city, state, and federal agencies to discuss, develop, and execute planned responses and provide better communication in addressing regional disasters and infrastructure threats. This is accomplished through disaster simulation and discussion.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 6.4%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.57; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 65.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $230K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.