Instituto Cervantes of Chicago Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364092149
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3123351996
Rating
47
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,454,726
Expenses
$2,516,082
Assets
$3,978,815
Liabilities
$3,575,697

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Maria Luisa Santos Garcia (President & Director (beg)

Highest reported compensation

  • Maria Luisa Santos Garcia (President & Director (beg): $166,832 total reported compensation
  • Manuel Valenzuela Villarrubia (Treasurer): $162,749 total reported compensation
  • Mara del Carmen Blnquez Lozano (Secretary): $148,277 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Founded by the Government of Spain to promote Spanish language teaching and knowledge of the cultures of Spanish speaking countries throughout the world with a mission to promote, study and use of Spanish as a second language. The Organization promotes performing arts, music, literature, and cinema from the spanish-speaking world through performances, lectures and symosiums, often in partnership with other cultural and educational organizations throughout Chicago.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Organization offers specialized and general Spanish language courses as well as examinations for the official diplomas in Spanish as a foreign language (D.E.L.E.) and the Spanish Business Certificate. Instituto Cervantes applies the latest methods for teaching Spanish and supports the work of researchers and Hispanics. The Organization provides the general public with an extensive library containing Spanish and Latin-American books, periodicals, film, and music as well as up to date technology. The Organization also offers cultural activities including art exhibits of local and world-renowned Spanish and Hispanic artists; coordinates the month-long Chicago Flamenco Festival; sponsors book presentations and symposiums by Spanish and Latin-American authors as well as U.S. Hispanic authors; collaborates with the various film festivals that take place in Chicago; coordinates concerts of music from Spain and Latin America; hosts on stage some of the most avant-garde works from Spain and Latin America; sponsors lectures, seminars, and conferences on various contemporary topics such as architecture, cinema, and poetry.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% 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

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and revenue has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 41
  • Accountability: 18
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.9%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.58; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.9; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.9% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $167K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.