Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208411320
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3122390310
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,357,988
Expenses
$5,089,115
Assets
$-2,528,656
Liabilities
$6,940,380

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

52 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RANDY NORNES (Vice President)
  • ELIZABETH A ZIEGLER (CEO)

People named in this filing

  • LARRY EPPLEY (BOARD CHAIR)
  • MICHAEL D LYMAN (BOARD TREASURER)
  • TED SOUDER (BOARD SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The center promotes and grows chicagos entrepreneurial community.

What it reported doing in 2024

The chicagoland entrepreneurial center the center seeks to make a perceptible and lasting economic impact on the chicago region by helping entrepreneurs and high growth businesses build viable sustainable and profitable enterprises through its flagship program 1871. The 1871 program started in april 2012 with the opening of its now 150,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility designated to support the following purposes: 1 provide affordable flexible space for early-stage startup companies and entrepreneurs members who are building digital business; 2 provide events mentorship classes and programs that are relevant to entrepreneurs building digital business; and 3 provide other services and support for digital businesses and the chicago startup community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 67% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 81.2%; rating input score 81; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -16.8%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: -0.5; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.2% of revenue deployed · 72.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 52 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 52 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 45 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX Occupancy column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.