Honor Flight Chicago Corp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261978570
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rosemont, IL, USA
Phone
7732278387
Rating
92
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Transportation Assistance

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,521,427
Expenses
$1,538,578
Assets
$2,850,342
Liabilities
$146,572

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Paul Meineke (Vice President)
  • John Ptak (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Edna Ho (Dir of Operations): $101,031 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 recognize the bravery, determination and patriotism of America's Seniorveterans with an all-expense paid, one-of-a-kind journey to Washington DCfor a day of honor, thanks and inspiration. Since formation, throughSeptember 30, 2025, the Organization has flown 12,104 veterans.

What it reported doing in 2024

Complimentary to the Honor Flight, Operation Locate a Hero (OLAH) findssenior veterans in their communities to honor their service. Orginallyconceived to recruit veterans to fly on the Honor Flight, OLAH has evolvedduring the COVID-19 pandemic into community-based public displays ofgratitude in addition to recruiting veterans to fly.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.9%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $46.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 76; 76th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.1%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.85; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.6%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.9% of revenue deployed · 93% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.