Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jun 2003.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
79 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
10 people listed on the 990.
Ben Lau’s $68K as Executive Director is at the 63rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 2216 $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 · 1 named individual · Part VII
| Name | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Lau | $67,995 | $69,729 | $54,250 |
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 Chinatown Museum Foundation executive salaries →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
Preserves and shares the culture and history of Chinese Americans in the Midwest.
Questions for Chinatown Museum Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Chinatown Museum Foundation answers here, for everyone.
Exhibitions, education, and research of chinese-americans in the midwest primarily in the museum located in chicago.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $479K | $567K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $2.6M | $2.6M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $1.6M | $1.5M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.7M | $4.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $25K | $22K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $4.7M | $4.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $302K | $257K | $45K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $8K | $440 | $7K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $26K | $22K | $4K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $6K | $6K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $6K | $500 | $5K | $254 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $248 | $248 | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $10K | $10K | ||
| Information technologyLn 14 | $264 | $264 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $64K | $57K | $6K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $13K | $11K | $2K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $68K | $55K | $12K | $352 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $28K | $16K | $11K | $850 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $530K | $420K | $109K | $1K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 4, 2025 | $402K | $530K | −$127K | $4.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 7, 2024 | $307K | $440K | −$132K | $4.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Feb 29, 2024 | $2.2M | $363K | $1.9M | $4.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2022 | $440K | $295K | $145K | $2.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Oct 11, 2021 | $228K | $291K | −$63K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2019Filed with the IRS Jan 11, 2021 | $303K | $352K | −$48K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $402,431 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $402,431 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $529,920 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $4,620,313 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,598,220 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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