Circle Foundation EIN 26-4526707

Circle Foundation

EIN  26-4526707 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Chicago, IL Founded 2009
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/17/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Inspires, motivates, and empowers people to develop and realize their highest aspirations.
Leadership
Lashaun Jackson · Chief Executive Officer · $303K
Money in and out
$7.8M revenue, $7.2M expenses
Bottom line
86% program efficiency

Inspires, motivates, and empowers people to develop and realize their highest aspirations. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $7.8M in revenue, $7.2M in expenses, and $2.1M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$7.8M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$7.2M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$2.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $616K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.86 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.00
Program efficiency
86%
of spending reaches programs▼ -1% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
0.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +100% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+8%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +207% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$7.8M
FY2024▲ +7%
Expenses
$7.2M
FY2024▲ +1%
Total assets
$7.7M
FY2024▼ -2%
Total liabilities
$5.6M
FY2024▼ -12%
Total revenue
$7.8M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$7.2M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$2.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$616K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$7.7M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B86%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 37
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 45
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $5.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The innovations high school is a campus of the youth connection charter school, focused on arts integrated project-based learning, which provides high school study in a small school setting, for students ages 16 through 21.

$5.0Mprogram expense
02

The circle foundation benton house food pantry provides free food to families and individuals that are in need. The vision is to dutifully impact hunger and food insecurity needs in the community until those needs are alleviated.

$540Kprogram expense
03

The youth scholars, skills, and service mentoring program provides educational, social, and work-related services in order to provide the necessary social and educational skills that at-risk youth need to earn a high school diploma and transition to employment, college, or vocational training programs.

$190Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CCircle Foundation
EINHdr · item D26-4526707
Principal addressHdr · item CChicago, IL
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.circlefound.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2009
State of legal domicileHdr · item MIL
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMay 2010

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a7
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b5
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Chief Executive Officer
$302,655Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$272,707Pt VII · Sec A
Controller
$187,558Pt VII · Sec A
School Principal
$156,250Pt VII · Sec A
Human Resources Manager
$127,141Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Lashaun Jackson’s $303K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 95th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3392 $1–10M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 7 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Lashaun Jackson$302,655$242,834$228,632$217,088$217,088$224,603
Omar Moore$272,707$236,532$222,051$205,183$205,183$200,465
Oscar Argueta$187,558$158,689$143,610$137,911$137,911$130,980
Alicia Arnold$156,250$136,824
Heidi Valdez$127,141$114,840
Alicia Boughton$117,606
Melissa Cotirla$114,622$114,622$110,813

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$7.6M · 98%
Program service revenue$54K · 1%
Investment income$102K · 1%
Contributions & grants98%$7.6M
Program service revenue1%$54K
Investment income1%$102K
Other revenue$30K
— government grantsLn 1e$679K
Total revenueLn 12$7.8M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.86 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.00
Program services86%$6.2M
Management & general14%$985K
Fundraising$35
Total functional expensesLn 25$7.2M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$101K
Total assetsLn 16$7.7M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$5.6M
Total net assetsLn 32$2.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed0.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $118K · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $7.2M · Less non-cash grants $540K · Cash operating expenses/yr $6.6M
0.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $6.2M · Total expenses $7.2M
86%
Management & General
Management & general $985K · Total expenses $7.2M
14%
Fundraising
Fundraising $35 · Total expenses $7.2M
0%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $3K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $2.9M
$0.00 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $7.6M · Total revenue $7.8M
98%
Government reliance
Government grants $679K · Total revenue $7.8M
9%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $54K · Total revenue $7.8M
1%
Investment reliance
Investment income $102K · Total revenue $7.8M
+1%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $54K · Total expenses $7.2M
1%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $7.8M · Prior year $7.3M
+7%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $4.6M · FY2024 $7.8M
+11%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $2.1M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $7.8M · Expenses $7.2M
+8%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $7.7M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $2.1M · Total assets $7.7M
27%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $17K · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $7.7M
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Lashaun Jackson · Reported title CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER · Highest reported compensation $303K · Total expenses $7.2M
4%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $3.5M · Total expenses $7.2M
49%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 86%
Overhead ratio 14%
Fundraising cost ratio 0%
Revenue growth 7%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2022
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$65K

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$7.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$6.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$7.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$5.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$4.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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