Advance public knowledge and appreciation of Architecture. See schedule o.the Chicago Architecture foundation's (caf) mission is to inspire people to discover why design matters.Chicago Architecture Foundation is the leading organization devoted to celebrating and promoting Chicago as a center of architectural innovation. As chicago's forum for the exchange of ideas on urban design, Chicago Architecture Foundation inspires people to participate in the building of vibrant communities and to demand the highest standard in urban design. Caf awakens young people to achieve their potential through the discovery of Architecture, engineering and design.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
67¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$1.2M 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

FY2023 · 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $1.2M a year · 8% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
67%
of spending
Fine: 67% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.2M
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.8 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
22
named funders · $2.9M
Looks good: 22 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$18.1M
68% of total assets
Worth a look: liabilities are 68% of assets; over 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
38
of 38 voting members
Looks good: 38 of 38 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$16.3M
-23% vs prior year
Spent
$19.0M
To programs
67%
Net assets
$8.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$16.3M
FY2023▼ -23%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$5.6M
FY2021$14.7M
FY2022$21.1M
FY2023$16.3M
FY2024$14.7M
Expenses
$19.0M
FY2023▼ -12%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$10.1M
FY2021$15.3M
FY2022$21.8M
FY2023$19.0M
FY2024$12.3M
Net assets
$8.3M
FY2023▼ -25%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$12.3M
FY2021$11.7M
FY2022$11.1M
FY2023$8.3M
FY2024$10.7M

From the FY2023 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Oct 1966.

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

Where the money goes

67 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 67% · $12.7M Management & general 23% · $4.4M Fundraising 10% · $1.9M

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

49 people listed on the 990; $1.2M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
CEO & President
$353,453Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Curator
$145,555Pt VII · Sec A
VP of IT
$136,321Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Exhibitions
$112,338Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Marketing Officer
$106,818Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Corp Giving
$102,456Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Advancement Officier - Beg 5/2023
$99,444Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Admin Officer - Beg 6/2023
$89,091Pt VII · Sec A

Eleanor Gorski’s $388K as CEO & President is at the 62nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Lynn Osmond——$209,936$489,535—
Eleanor Gorski$387,784$353,453$27,083——
Lynn J Osmond————$383,323
Juanna Blackwell—$34,500$295,058$72,798—
Simone Edwards$231,662$65,909———
Michael Malak——$197,351$167,373$156,797
Nicole Korwach——$188,282$182,875—
Lori Ann Kleinerman————$169,007

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

Promotes architectural innovation and urban design through public exhibitions, educational programs, and interactive displays that inspire people to discover why design matters.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $11.8M · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

Tours are the hallmark of the chicago architecture center and offer insights into chicago's buildings, neighborhoods, and environments. In 2023 tour attendance was aproximatly 23,000 for walking tours and over 311,000 for boat tours.

$8.9Mprogram expense
02

The cac youth initiatives and cac teen programs provide programming and tours about architecture and the built environment, covering "stem" curriculum subjects of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, for k-12 students and teachers through field trips, workshops, competitions, camps, internships and classroom programs.

$1.6Mprogram expense
03

Cac offers exhibitions and public programs on the subject of architecture and the built environment. In 2023, over 37,000 people participated in our exhibitions. The center offers a skyscraper gallery, rotating exhibits and alarge-scale interactive model of the city of chicago.

$1.4Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 22 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$16.3M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$13.1M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.9M
Other incomeLn 4–11$174K
Money outPt IX
$19.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$12.7M
Managementcol C$4.4M
Fundraisingcol D$1.9M
Owns and owesPt X
$8.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.8M
Total assetsLn 16$26.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$18.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
49
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a38
IndependentVI 1b38
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.9M
Government grantsLn 1e$395K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$60K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$297K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$13.1M
Investment incomeLn 3$93K
Other incomeLn 4–11$174K
Total revenueLn 12$16.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$1.4M
SavingsLn 2$1.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$2.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$103K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$7.9M
Other assetsLn 15$13.5M
Total assetsLn 16$26.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$18.1M
Net assetsLn 32$8.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 571
VolunteersI 6574
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
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 FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4.5M$2.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$86K$103K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$8.7M$7.9M
Total assetsLn 16$30.0M$26.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$18.9M$18.1M
Net assetsLn 32$11.1M$8.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$23K$23K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$1.2M$158K$759K$257K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$3.9M$2.1M$802K$951K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$143K$143K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$451K$244K$95K$113K
Payroll taxesLn 10$340K$184K$72K$85K
Legal feesLn 11b$61K$61K
Accounting feesLn 11c$59K$59K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$1.2M$498K$507K$166K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$632K$632K
Office expensesLn 13$114K$59K$10K$46K
Information technologyLn 14$610K$33K$464K$113K
OccupancyLn 16$1.1M$721K$250K$164K
TravelLn 17$121K$93K$22K$6K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$38K$28K$6K$4K
InterestLn 20$135K$135K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$969K$115K$854K
InsuranceLn 23$150K$150K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$7.8M$7.8M
Total functional expensesLn 25$19.0M$12.7M$4.4M$1.9M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $14.7M$12.3M$2.5M$10.7M 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $16.3M$19.0M−$2.8M$8.3M 990 PDF
FY2022 $21.1M$21.8M−$646K$11.1M 990 PDF
FY2021 $14.7M$15.3M−$565K$11.7M 990 PDF
FY2020 $5.6M$10.1M−$4.5M$12.3M 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 M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $16,272,888 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $4,240,436$2,925,871
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $16,652,779$13,080,304
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $33,279$92,913
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $178,519$173,800
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $21,105,013$16,272,888
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $28,045$23,177
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $5,104,067$5,973,649
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $16,619,321$13,043,416
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $21,751,433$19,040,242
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$646,420−$2,767,354
Part VI · Governance 38 of 38 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body38
VI-1b Independent voting members38
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 $16,272,888 across 12 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $342,090 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$845,469
VIII-1c Fundraising events$296,524
VIII-1e Government grants$395,352
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$1,388,526
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$60,431
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$2,925,871
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $13,080,304$13,080,304
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $92,913$92,913
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $1,878$1,878
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$181,631−$181,631
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $11,463$11,463
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $13,420,866 · Unrelated business $1,528 · Excluded from tax −$75,377$16,272,888
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $19,040,242 across 19 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $23,177$23,177
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $158,147 · Management $758,711 · Fundraising $257,197$1,174,055
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $2,112,019 · Management $801,794 · Fundraising $950,877$3,864,690
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsManagement $143,214$143,214
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $243,757 · Management $95,017 · Fundraising $112,684$451,458
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $183,702 · Management $71,608 · Fundraising $84,922$340,232
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $61,227$61,227
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $59,451$59,451
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $498,244 · Management $506,701 · Fundraising $166,243$1,171,188
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $631,737$631,737
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $58,633 · Management $9,829 · Fundraising $46,015$114,477
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $32,551 · Management $463,843 · Fundraising $113,497$609,891
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $720,629 · Management $249,928 · Fundraising $163,739$1,134,296
IX-17 TravelPrograms $93,249 · Management $21,971 · Fundraising $5,784$121,004
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $28,122 · Management $5,896 · Fundraising $4,341$38,359
IX-20 InterestManagement $134,813$134,813
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $115,118 · Management $854,010$969,128
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $149,729$149,729
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $7,848,116$7,848,116
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $12,747,201 · Management $4,387,742 · Fundraising $1,905,299$19,040,242
Part X · Balance sheet $26,415,795 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $2,476,837$1,383,638
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $2,066,969$1,396,569
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $1,967,647$1,594,578
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $28,225$65,400
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $215,794$256,972
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $262,870$153,096
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $8,710,936$7,931,955
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $86,322$103,322
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $14,208,111$13,530,265
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $30,023,711$26,415,795
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $536,872$724,243
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $57,999$6,695
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $16,432,836$15,628,438
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $18,946,409$18,090,668
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $9,765,774$7,688,112
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,311,528$637,015
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $11,077,302$8,325,127
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $30,023,711$26,415,795
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $8,325,127 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$16,272,888
XI-2 Total expenses$19,040,242
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$2,767,354
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$11,077,302
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$15,179
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$8,325,127

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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