Project Onward
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 455187731
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7739402992
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Vocational Rehabilitation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $599,255
- Expenses
- $680,102
- Assets
- $139,296
- Liabilities
- $154,878
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
21 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Katherine Getz (President)
- Carlos Maxwell (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Katherine Getz (President)
- Roark Frankel (Treasurer)
- Danielle Kees (Secretary)
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
Our mission requires us to provide artists with disabilities the opportunity to create their work in a safe, supportive studio environment, with access to workspace, materials, and professional guidance without being encumbered by cost; connect artists with disabilities with the arts community and the general public, by holding professional exhibitions and selling their work. Additionally, public programs have been designed that promote audience participation; and inspire change by using art to promote empathy and reduce the stigma of mental illness and developmental disabilities. We seek to improve the self-image of artists by emphasizing the social and economic value of their work. This will cultivate new audiences in the art market by increasing awareness of and generating demand for artwork created by peoples with disabilities.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization operates a studio for artists to assist in their development as artists. The studio is also open to the public serving as a space to promote art as a tool for understanding and valuing the real and potential contributions of those with disabilities as well as hosting public programs. All artwork in the organization's gallery and studio are available for sale. These sales provide a source of income for the artists. Throughout the year, the organization will host and attend exhibitions promoting works created by the artists.
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
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: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 20
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
- Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -13.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.2; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.11; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $528K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 21 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 32/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.