Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 2010.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
16 people listed on the 990; $164K paid to officers and key staff.
Anthony Bolden’s $181K as Executive Director is at the 77th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3394 $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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Bolden | $180,697 | $168,706 | $81,245 | — | — | — |
| Toinette Gunn | — | — | $141,042 | $170,633 | $163,577 | $147,290 |
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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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Empowers Chicago students with debate skills for academic, career, and leadership success.
Questions for Chicago Debate Commission
Your first name shows with your question. Chicago Debate Commission answers here, for everyone.
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Chicago debates manages and provides debate programming in chicago public middle and high schools, trains and supports teachers and coaches, and coordinates and conducts tournaments.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $565K | $687K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $4K | $724 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $758K | $969K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $95K | $81K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $663K | $888K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $164K | $103K | $44K | $16K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $417K | $303K | $20K | $94K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $26K | $18K | $3K | $5K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $45K | $31K | $5K | $9K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $162K | $134K | $10K | $18K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $17K | $12K | $2K | $3K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $9K | $6K | $941 | $2K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $2K | $1K | $170 | $293 |
| TravelLn 17 | $2K | $2K | $245 | $423 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $363 | $254 | $40 | $69 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $4K | $3K | $412 | $712 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $5K | $4K | $562 | $970 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $17K | $17K | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $870K | $634K | $86K | $149K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.2M | $1.4M | −$147K | $264K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.1M | $1.3M | −$206K | $412K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.0M | $1.3M | −$305K | $618K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.0M | $1.0M | $44K | $932K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $1.1M | $870K | $225K | $888K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.2M | $1.0M | $105K | $663K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,094,886 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 15 of 15 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,094,886 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $869,522 across 13 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $968,592 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $887,928 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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