Fame Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
832170757
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3124690687
Rating
42
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$412,508
Expenses
$372,451
Assets
$194,446
Liabilities
$256,073

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHEILA R FORTSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • SHEILA R FORTSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JODIE KOSLOW MARTIN (BOARD CHAIR)
  • RICHARD BLOOMFIELD (DIRECTOR)

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

Fame center is a 501c3 non-profit for childrean and adults. Fame center provides equitable access to arts educaiton so that the next generation has creative tools to uncover their potential and imagine their futures.

What it reported doing in 2024

Fame center is a 501c3 non-profit organizeation deducated to the music and art educaiton for children adn adults. Throughout the calendar year, fame center offers fine arts education through music lessons, digital and visual arts, computer coding classes, musical theater and drama classes, creative writing classes, and music therapy for mental health. Our vision is to enrich the lives of children and adults in every community of chicago, through music and arts education, and music therapy for the promotion of mental health.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 75% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. 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: 5
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 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: 90%; rating input score 90; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.52; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.32; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 11 of 14 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX Advertising column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.