The Art Institute of Chicago

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362167725
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3124433600
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Higher Education Institutions

Reported finances

Revenue
$464,393,130
Expenses
$381,917,394
Assets
$2,194,246,798
Liabilities
$240,155,369

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

85 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES RONDEAU (PRESIDENT, MUSEUM)
  • ELISSA TENNY (PRESIDENT, SAIC ENDED 07/2024)
  • JISEON LEE ISBARA (PRESIDENT, SCHOOL)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES RONDEAU (PRESIDENT, MUSEUM): $1,163,144 total reported compensation
  • ELISSA TENNY (PRESIDENT, SAIC ENDED 07/2024): $816,821 total reported compensation
  • ALEXANDRA HOLT (EVP FOR FINANCE AND ADMIN): $566,257 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.

What it reported doing in 2024

The art institute of chicago shares its singular collections with our city and the world. We collect, care for, and interpret works of art across time, cultures, geographies, and identities, centering the vision of artists and makers. We recognize that all art is made in a particular context, demanding continual, dynamic reconsideration in the present. We are a place of gathering; we foster the exchange of ideas and inspire an expansive, inclusive understanding of human creativity. The museum achieves this through building and stewarding its renowned permanent collection, producing educational programming around the collection, and presenting world class exhibitions highlighting both its collection and objects loaned from other institutions. In fy25, featured exhibitions included "Georgia o'keeffe: my new yorks,""myth and marble: ancient roman sculpture from the torlonia collection,"frida kahlo's month in paris: a friendship with mary reynolds."

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 65% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 83% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 89.1%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.5%; rating input score 90; 5th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: 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: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.8%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.75; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.1% of revenue deployed · 89.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 58 of 58 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $340.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 85 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $23.3M reported
  • Consistency: 48 of 50 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 14 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 24 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.