The Chicago Community Loan Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363762123
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3122520440
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$32,746,458
Expenses
$23,405,622
Assets
$216,002,353
Liabilities
$145,537,826

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT TUCKER (PRESIDENT)
  • CALVIN HOLMES (PRESIDENT UNTIL JANUARY 2025)

Highest reported compensation

  • CALVIN HOLMES (PRESIDENT UNTIL JANUARY 2025): $1,040,297 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT TUCKER (PRESIDENT): $405,969 total reported compensation
  • ANGELA DOWELL (CHIEF FINANCIAL & ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER): $313,976 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Organization provides low-cost, flexible financing to non-profit and for-profit community development organizations for the revitalization of low and moderate income neighborhoods throughout metropolitan chicago.

What it reported doing in 2025

Economic development - cclf is historically a niche lender: one that meets the financing and technical assistance needs that are unmet in the low to moderate income communities. The 2017 - 2020 strategic plan has directed a course of collaborative relationships, exploration of available programs new to cclf and the co-creation of programs to build and/or rehabilitate commercial real estate. This program is designed to research and finance such opportunities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Liabilities are high compared with assets and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $62.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 28.5%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.23; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.67; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $20.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1M · 31 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $720K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.