Lifeline Productions INC EIN 36-3206582

Lifeline Productions INC

EIN  36-3206582 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Chicago, IL
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Adapts and stages books and literary works to explore diverse stories.
Leadership
Ilesa Duncan · Artistic Dir. · $30K
Money in and out
$494K revenue, $634K expenses
Bottom line
67% program efficiency

Adapts and stages books and literary works to explore diverse stories. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $494K in revenue, $634K in expenses, and $76K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$494K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$634K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$76K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$140K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.67 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.07
Program efficiency
67%
of spending reaches programs▼ -2% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
1.3mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -48% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-28%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +38% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$494K
FY2025▼ -12%
Expenses
$634K
FY2025▼ -23%
Total assets
$310K
FY2025▼ -33%
Total liabilities
$234K
FY2025▼ -6%
Total revenue
$494K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$634K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$76K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$140K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$310K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B67%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 311
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 411
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $424K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Lifeline theatre interprets, explores, and reimagines books and other literary works to create stories that move us beyond the margins of our own lives. Our theatrical programs foster a lifelong engagement with literature and the arts.

$327Kprogram expense
02

Lifeline Theatres educational programs foster a lifelong engagement with literature and the arts. We provide residencies to Chicago public school students, onsite workshops and camps.

$96Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CLifeline Productions INC
EINHdr · item D36-3206582
Principal addressHdr · item CChicago, IL
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.lifelinetheatre.com
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MIL
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A650)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 1984

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a11
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b11
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 · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Artistic Dir.
$30,147Pt VII · Sec A
Managing Dir.
$30,010Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Ilesa Duncan’s $30K as Artistic Dir. is at the 25th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2213 $100K–1M arts & culture 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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Ilesa Duncan$30,147$59,750
Ilesa Duncan$49,500$48,000$48,000$48,000
Vashti Emigh$49,500$14,577
Allison Cain$34,909$46,680$46,680
Elizabeth Rupp$35,323
Heather Currie$30,010

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$276K · 56%
Program service revenue$179K · 36%
Other revenue$38K · 8%
Contributions & grants56%$276K
Program service revenue36%$179K
Other revenue8%$38K
Investment income$1K
— government grantsLn 1e$20K
Total revenueLn 12$494K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.67 Management & general $0.27 Fundraising $0.07
Program services67%$424K
Management & general27%$169K
Fundraising7%$41K
Total functional expensesLn 25$634K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$71K
Total assetsLn 16$310K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$234K
Total net assetsLn 32$76K
Months of cash on handcomputed1.3

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $71K · Operating expenses/yr $634K
1.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $424K · Total expenses $634K
67%
Management & General
Management & general $169K · Total expenses $634K
27%
Fundraising
Fundraising $41K · Total expenses $634K
7%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $66K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $282K
$0.24 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $276K · Total revenue $494K
56%
Government reliance
Government grants $20K · Total revenue $494K
4%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $179K · Total revenue $494K
36%
Investment reliance
Investment income $1K · Total revenue $494K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $179K · Total expenses $634K
28%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $494K · Prior year $562K
-12%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $904K · FY2024 $494K
-11%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $76K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $494K · Expenses $634K
-28%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $310K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $76K · Total assets $310K
24%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $310K
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Ilesa Duncan · Reported title Artistic Dir. · Highest reported compensation $30K · Total expenses $634K
5%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $383K · Total expenses $634K
60%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 67%
Overhead ratio 27%
Fundraising cost ratio 15%
Revenue growth -12%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

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 · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$17K
Grants paid · 1 grant · $7K · 2019–2019

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$494K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$562K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$660K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$956K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$602K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$904K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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