Chicago Commons' mission is to empower individuals, families, and communities to overcome poverty, embrace opportunities, and thrive across generations. To fulfill that mission, we provide high quality early childhood education, family-centered adult education, and senior services to more than 3,500 individuals annually.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
89¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$886K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $343K a year · under 1% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
89%
of spending
Looks good: 89% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$886K
to officers and key staff · 3% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 3% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.0 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $6K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$5.4M
31% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 31% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
20
of 20 voting members
Looks good: 20 of 20 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$29.7M
Spent
$29.1M
To programs
89%
Net assets
$12.2M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$29.7M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$29.7M
FY2021$34.4M
FY2022$44.6M
FY2023$51.5M
FY2024$53.7M
FY2025$53.9M
Expenses
$29.1M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$29.1M
FY2021$34.1M
FY2022$44.0M
FY2023$51.3M
FY2024$52.7M
FY2025$54.6M
Net assets
$12.2M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$12.2M
FY2021$13.5M
FY2022$13.2M
FY2023$13.7M
FY2024$15.0M
FY2025$14.8M

From the FY2020 Form 990 (year ending June 2020) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 1985.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

89 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 89% · $25.8M Management & general 9% · $2.7M Fundraising 2% · $556K

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

26 people listed on the 990; $886K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2020 filing did not itemize Part VII
President & CEO
$195,822Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$150,584Pt VII · Sec A
SVP, Senior Services
$148,176Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$132,505Pt VII · Sec A
Chief HR Officer (until 1/16/20)
$132,264Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$127,139Pt VII · Sec A
Development
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Edgar E Ramirez’s $344K as President & CEO is at the 83rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3122 $10–100M human services 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Edgar E Ramirez$343,745$315,889$304,325$248,714$203,694$195,822
Erica Collins$211,625$202,887$165,866$141,745——
Dana Thomas$198,184$206,384$185,729$94,801——
Nyla Diab$197,293$204,514$159,054$133,360——
Beth Lakier——$192,819$178,069$159,710$150,584
Julio Paz$182,197$190,768$177,433$159,350$139,975$132,505
Karina Slaughter$189,320$165,720$152,292$129,268$112,067—
Angela Allen$160,496$164,224$150,518———

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.

See Chicago Commons Association executive salaries →

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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 people to overcome poverty and thrive across generations.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $25.8M · in their own filed words · FY2019
01

Early Childhood Development

Chicago Commons operates four high quality early education centers and works with seven community partner sites to provide child care and education to approximately 1,000 children in some of Chicago's most underserved neighborhoods. Commons was one of the first preschools in the U.S.

$12.9Mprogram expense
02

Senior Services

Chicago Commons Senior Services operates one adult day service center and provides in-home services for seniors and adults with disabilities. The program provided services to 1,100 seniors and adults with disabilities to help them continue living in their own home prolonging, and in some cases preventing, the need for institutional care.

$12.6Mprogram expense
03

Family Hub

Chicago Commons Family Hub Program seeks to address the multifaceted needs of families with young children and older adults with the supportive environment, resources, and holistic approach that will enable success.

$202Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$6K
Grants paid · 34 grants · $51.8M · 2019–2024
Gads Hill CenterFY2024$7,917,541
Onward Neighborhood HouseIL · FY2024$2,504,163
Eyes on the FutureFY2024$1,756,449
Learn Together Grow TogetherFY2024$1,327,456
Unitemized GrantFY2024$45,200
Unitemized GrantFY2024$14,185
Unitemized GrantFY2024$225
Gads Hill CenterFY2023$7,971,515
Onward Neighborhood HouseIL · FY2023$2,936,456
Learn Together Grow TogetherFY2023$1,356,871
Eyes on the FutureFY2023$1,351,277
Unitemized GrantFY2023$23,635
Unitemized GrantFY2023$16,298
Unitemized GrantFY2023$6,943
Unitemized GrantFY2023$1,640
Gads Hill CenterFY2022$8,251,419
Onward Neighborhood HouseIL · FY2022$2,626,573
Eyes on the FutureFY2022$2,079,989
See all 34 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$29.7M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$28.4M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$34K
Money outPt IX
$29.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$25.8M
Managementcol C$2.7M
Fundraisingcol D$556K
Owns and owesPt X
$12.2M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4.7M
Total assetsLn 16$17.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.4M
PeoplePt VI, VII
26
listed · VII A
PaidVII A6
Voting boardVI 1a20
IndependentVI 1b20
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.4M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$19K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$488K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$28.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$34K
Total revenueLn 12$29.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$775K
SavingsLn 2$4.0M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$4.7M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$99K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$4.1M
Other assetsLn 15$3.5M
Total assetsLn 16$17.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$5.4M
Net assetsLn 32$12.2M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5850
VolunteersI 621
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.7M$4.7M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$91K$99K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3.8M$4.1M
Total assetsLn 16$16.5M$17.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4.9M$5.4M
Net assetsLn 32$11.6M$12.2M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$17K$17K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$402K$364K$29K$9K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$16.3M$14.8M$1.2M$346K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$85K$63K$16K$6K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.2M$1.1M$64K$24K
Payroll taxesLn 10$1.2M$1.1M$80K$26K
Legal feesLn 11b$48K$48K
Accounting feesLn 11c$299K$299K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$4.6M$4.2M$331K$28K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$61K$53K$8K
Office expensesLn 13$122K$72K$22K$28K
Information technologyLn 14$272K$66K$201K$4K
OccupancyLn 16$1.9M$1.8M$130K$13K
TravelLn 17$94K$83K$10K$824
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$212K$117K$83K$12K
InterestLn 20$122K$34K$86K$2K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$331K$297K$31K$3K
InsuranceLn 23$168K$153K$14K$698
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1.1M$1.1M$65K$22K
All other expensesLn 24e$410K$378K$33K
Total functional expensesLn 25$29.1M$25.8M$2.7M$556K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $53.9M$54.6M−$676K$14.8M 990 PDF
FY2024 $53.7M$52.7M$1.0M$15.0M 990 PDF
FY2023 $51.5M$51.3M$219K$13.7M 990 PDF
FY2022 $44.6M$44.0M$551K$13.2M 990 PDF
FY2021 $34.4M$34.1M$279K$13.5M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $29.7M$29.1M$685K$12.2M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $29,739,272 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $846,503$1,380,326
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $26,429,549$28,448,166
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $33,851$33,536
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$73,203−$122,756
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $27,236,700$29,739,272
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $11,129$17,219
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $18,509,703$19,242,759
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $9,082,712$9,793,930
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $27,603,544$29,053,908
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$366,844$685,364
Part VI · Governance 20 of 20 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body20
VI-1b Independent voting members20
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $29,739,272 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$58,210
VIII-1c Fundraising events$487,527
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$834,589
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$19,081
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,380,326
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $28,448,166$28,448,166
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $33,536$33,536
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$122,756−$122,756
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $28,448,166 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax −$89,220$29,739,272
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $29,053,908 across 20 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $17,219$17,219
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $363,916 · Management $29,485 · Fundraising $8,507$401,908
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $14,785,725 · Management $1,197,973 · Fundraising $345,628$16,329,326
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $62,752 · Management $15,631 · Fundraising $6,316$84,699
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,097,240 · Management $63,572 · Fundraising $24,050$1,184,862
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $1,135,486 · Management $80,074 · Fundraising $26,404$1,241,964
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $48,327$48,327
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $299,081$299,081
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $4,229,900 · Management $331,443 · Fundraising $27,824$4,589,167
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $53,074 · Management $7,682$60,756
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $72,416 · Management $21,679 · Fundraising $27,887$121,982
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $66,328 · Management $201,486 · Fundraising $3,761$271,575
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $1,780,930 · Management $130,219 · Fundraising $12,656$1,923,805
IX-17 TravelPrograms $82,600 · Management $10,089 · Fundraising $824$93,513
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $117,053 · Management $83,064 · Fundraising $11,790$211,907
IX-20 InterestPrograms $34,441 · Management $86,204 · Fundraising $1,731$122,376
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $296,952 · Management $30,679 · Fundraising $3,015$330,646
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $153,001 · Management $14,462 · Fundraising $698$168,161
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,055,239 · Management $65,311 · Fundraising $21,932$1,142,482
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $377,505 · Fundraising $32,647$410,152
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $25,781,777 · Management $2,716,461 · Fundraising $555,670$29,053,908
Part X · Balance sheet $17,650,476 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $429,189$774,690
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $2,286,426$3,959,353
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $151,689$71,610
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $6,131,663$5,086,749
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $96,480$130,775
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,793,923$4,075,799
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $91,169$99,338
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $3,502,993$3,452,162
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $16,483,532$17,650,476
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,959,939$2,448,989
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $20,000$10,000
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $4,884,998$5,410,994
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $7,507,425$8,198,149
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $4,091,109$4,041,333
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $11,598,534$12,239,482
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $16,483,532$17,650,476
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $12,239,482 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$29,739,272
XI-2 Total expenses$29,053,908
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$685,364
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$11,598,534
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$6,415
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$50,831
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$12,239,482

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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