Rebuild Foundation

Legal name: The Rebuild Foundation Nfp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271308845
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2017
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3128575561
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Visual Arts Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,904,197
Expenses
$1,993,788
Assets
$3,368,900
Liabilities
$186,498

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • THEASTER GATES (CHAIRMAN): $116,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To demonstrate the impact of innovative and ambitious cultural initiatives in the Greater Grand Crossing Neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago by advancing world-class discourse and artistic production through collaboration, amplification, and critique.

What it reported doing in 2017

Provided community program initiatives including programs in music, gardening, visual and creative arts, films and writing.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the required major-donor schedule is missing or incomplete.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50.6%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 73.5%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 31.3%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.69; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 27.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 33.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 50.6% of revenue deployed · 73.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $116K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2011 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.