Alliance Française De Chicago
Legal name: The Alliance Francaisefrench House of Chicago
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 362229560
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, US
- Phone
- (312) 337-1070
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,365,951
- Expenses
- $2,418,118
- Assets
- $6,524,680
- Liabilities
- $416,482
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RICHARD W SHEPRO (PRESIDENT)
- W PAUL KRAUSS (VICE-PRESIDENT)
- CAROLINE PARANIKAS (VICE-PRESIDENT)
- BETSEY N PINKERT (VICE-PRESIDENT)
- FRANCINE SALTOUN (VICE-PRESIDENT)
- ANN E THOMPSON (PRESIDENT, WOMAN'S BOARD GALA)
People named in this filing
- DAVID B HORN (CHAIR)
- RICHARD W SHEPRO (PRESIDENT)
- W PAUL KRAUSS (VICE-PRESIDENT)
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
The Alliance Française de Chicago is a non-profit 501(c)(3) institution dedicated to promoting French language and Francophone culture through classes, cultural programs, and community outreach.
What it reported doing in 2024
Programs during the year ended august 31, 2025 included cultural events, such as talks and roundtables by authors, film directors, musicians, art historians, and academics, as well as films and conversation groups. Af-chicago had a mix of onsite and online programs, with one series of online lectures on the world monuments in paris. Af-chicago's annual month-long celebration of french-speaking countries, with representation of all french-speaking delegations in chicago, took place in march 2025. In summer 2025, af-chicago had a series of outdoor concerts in its courtyard, as well as af-chicago's annual bastille day celebration. Af-chicago held its biennial gala as an offsite fundraising event in may 2025, and af-chicago's spring series of three lectures on the arts of france took place onsite.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 52
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69.8%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 67.3%; rating input score 67
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: Limited
- 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: -2.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.7; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 69.8% of revenue deployed · 67.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 32 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.