The Garden of the Phoenix Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 264579562
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2012
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3122457500
- Rating
- 49
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Garden Club, Horticultural Program
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $500
- Expenses
- $18,140
- Assets
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
People named in this filing
- SONIA COOKE (Director)
- DAYNE KONO (Director)
- JEFFREY SRIVER (Pres/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 Garden of the Phoenix Foundation was established in 2009 as a not-for-profit organization in order to partner with the Chicago Park District to ensure that the Garden of the Phoenix is maintained and enhanced as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to learn about Japan and experience Japanese culture while enjoying a place of great historical significance and natural beauty. Over the past 120 years, the Garden of the Phoenix has evolved to become one of the most important sites in America reflecting the past and future of U.S.-Japan relations.To celebrate the 120th anniversary of the covenant signed by Japan and the City of Chicago that this richly historic space would be maintained in perpetuity, the Chicago Park District planted over 120 cherry trees in Jackson Park, and a new website was launched to share the Garden's stories now and with future generations through the generous support of the Omron Foundation, Inc.
What it reported doing in 2025
The Garden of the Phoenix Foundation is a tax exempt organization which has partnered with the Chciago Park District to ensure that the Garden of the Phoenix is maintained and enhanced as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to learn about Japan and experience Japanese culture while enjoying a place of great historical significance and natural beauty. It does so by coordinating with the Chicago Park District various cultural, educational, and volunteer activities at The Garden of Phoenix, including archiving and research for the website and tree plantings.
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
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 32
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 8
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 50%; rating input score 50
- Program expense ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 1
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -3,528%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -9.9% per year; rating input score 0; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -20.5% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -17.1% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 50% of revenue deployed · 1.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $250 in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 5 of 6 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 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 — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 1/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part III transfer expenses within program total did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.