Tallgrass Educational Films Co Joseph Winston

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814594725
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2021, Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7732552612
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Film, Video

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,593
Expenses
$8,702
Assets
$11,251
Liabilities
$10,000

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSEPH WINSTON (President)

People named in this filing

  • JOSEPH WINSTON (President)
  • LAURA COHEN (Treasurer)
  • THOMAS W LI (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The purpose of tallgrass educational films is to produce, develop and distribute documentary programming that will educate the public on significant cultural, social, political and historical issues. The corporation will seek to distribute through television, internet streaming, live radio presentations, theatrical screening, dvds, web sites and new media that may be invented.

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 100
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -32%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.29; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.4% per year; rating input score 0; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.