The Economic Club of Chicago

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300748997
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3127261628
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,603,695
Expenses
$5,901,966
Assets
$9,078,863
Liabilities
$2,395,145

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

Leadership & pay

53 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID SNYDER (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
  • Andrew M Leasure (Vice President & Chief Financial Officer)
  • KATIE ESPOSITO (VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF PROGRAMS OFFICER)
  • LISA EMERICK (VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF MARKETING & ENGAGEMENT OFFICER)
  • EMILY WHELCHEL (VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBERSHIP)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID SNYDER (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $546,133 total reported compensation
  • Andrew M Leasure (Vice President & Chief Financial Officer): $272,316 total reported compensation
  • LISA EMERICK (VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF MARKETING & ENGAGEMENT OFFICER): $266,284 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Economic Club of Chicago connects global leaders across generations and from all backgrounds to foster independent dialogue on the most important issues facing the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

The economic club of chicago held 124 educational programs during the 2024-2025 program year. Total attendance at these programs was 15,218 members and guests, and videos of these programs are posted on the club's youtube channel for viewing by the general public. These educational programs included conversations with acclaimed authors, entrepreneurs, government officials, and ceos of public and private companies. Select speakers from the 2024-2025 fiscal year included kevin warren, president donald trump, mellody hobson, doug mcmillon, rahm emanuel, jerome powell, and alex karp.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 96% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 99
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.8%; rating input score 98; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: 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: -5.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.54; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.6%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.9% of revenue deployed · 92.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 45 of 46 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $546K · 53 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.