Free Spirit Media Nfp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364456215
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3124440562
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,367,334
Expenses
$1,084,356
Assets
$1,107,709
Liabilities
$122,867

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Aurora Toshiko King (Executive Dir.): $115,125 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Free Spirit Medias mission is to partner with young storytellers to transform media and society. Free Spirit Media partners with young storytellers, ages 11-25 and primarily from the west and south sides of Chicago, to develop and amplifytheir unique and critical voices through storytelling and media arts. We do this through our holistic creative youth development programming which focuses on community-building, skill-sharing and career and education pathways that support young people to envision and build their futures as artists and within the media industry and beyond.

What it reported doing in 2024

Teen Media - Young artists, age 11 to 18, participate in a wide range of media arts programs, both in an arts center and school-based environment. Skilled teaching artists mentor young storytellers in the art of filmmaking, photography, sound and music production, screenwriting and other modalities connected to media arts. Young artists learn the components of visual storytelling and develop core proficiencies in scriptwriting, editing, photography, camerawork, audio engineering, and performance. Young creators hone their media literacy, including awareness of media influence, and their own roles as both media creators and media consumers. Teen programs run year-round, with sessions in the Fall, Spring and Summer.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.1%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.7%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -16.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13.1% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -13.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.1% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $844K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $115K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.