Little City Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362434562
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Palatine, IL, US
Phone
847-358-5510
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Residential Care & Adult Day Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,095,529
Expenses
$49,883,656
Assets
$40,179,757
Liabilities
$7,619,274

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GREGORY BURNS (PRESIDENT)
  • AMAR KAPADIA (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • B TIMOTHY DESMOND (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JENNIFER GAVELEK (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • HEATHER RITTER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DALE RUBLAITUS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIE NEWMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 7/23-2/24): $200,540 total reported compensation
  • THERESA MAKINDE-GEORGE (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $188,951 total reported compensation
  • RICHARD BOBBY III (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $178,380 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Little City empowers children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to surpass stereotypes and reach their full potential through comprehensive, individualized programs and services.

What it reported doing in 2023

Therapeutic day school - provides progressive educational services for individuals with intellectual disabilities, as well as students with severe and profound needs on the autism spectrum. The program provides integrated life skills, academic, clinical and transitional services to help children reach their full potential. Classes are self-contained, small in size with a teacher and instructional support staff for elementary, middle and high school. Students are grouped in age appropriate classes with no more than a four-year span in any one group. The program takes advantage of available community resources in addition to making full use of the recreational, therapeutic and support service options stationed across the campus.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 0.4%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 84.3% of revenue deployed · 84.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $42.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $201K · 34 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.