Chicago Media Project FY2020 filing

Tax-deductible

Chicago, IL501(c)(3)Public & Societal BenefitEIN 46-5739978Revenue $714K in FY2020

On file with the IRSwearecmp.org301 W Grand Avenue 170, 60654-4640 · Chicago, ILTax-exempt since Sep 2014Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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To impact society through the powerful tools of Media and film. We are a resource for uniting individuals interested in Media and developing a core group of informed citizens.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
69¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$133K 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
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
3 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $34K a year · 4% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
69%
of spending
Fine: 69% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$133K
to officers and key staff · 17% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 17% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.1 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
13
named funders · $511K
Looks good: 13 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$587K
155% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 155% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
10
of 11 voting members
Looks good: 10 of 11 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$714K
Spent
$808K
To programs
69%
Net assets
−$209K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$714K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$714K
FY2021$927K
FY2022$704K
FY2023$1.6M
FY2024$865K
Expenses
$808K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$808K
FY2021$834K
FY2022$1.2M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$771K
Net assets
−$209K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020−$209K
FY2021−$94K
FY2022−$689K
FY2023−$437K
FY2024−$349K

From the FY2020 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 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 Sep 2014.

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

Where the money goes

69 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 69% · $560K Management & general 30% · $245K Fundraising 0% · $2K

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

13 people listed on the 990; $133K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$133,298Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Paula Froehle’s $139K as CEO is at the 89th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1043 $100K–1M public & societal benefit 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Paula Froehle$138,914$177,650$206,194$222,910$133,298
Samantha C Verhey—$109,325———
Samantha Verhey——$103,499$96,968—
Steven Cohen$2,500$30,000———

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 Media Project 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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed

Programs and updates

Empowers society through media and film, uniting informed citizens.

Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $560K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

We provide exclusive high-quality content from the impact media landscape and in-depth, behind-the-scenes access to films, filmmakers and programmers to our members in a social setting.

$248Kprogram expense
02

Community Events

CMP curates the best nonfiction media and brings it to chicago and beyond - through our partners in advocacy screenings, our doc 10 film festival and our doc 5 film festival.

$248Kprogram expense
03

Film Funding

CMP'S impact grant fund provides direct support to filmmakers in three major areas: early stage funding, filmmaker sustainability, and innovation in outreach.

$64Kprogram 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 · FY2024
See all 13 funders →
Grants paid · 30 grants · $510K · 2020–2024
The Strike Svff FilmFY2024$30,000
The Strike Svff FilmFY2024$30,000
Individual RecipientFY2024$10,000
Individual RecipientFY2024$10,000
Treeclimber Media LLCFY2023$30,000
Women Make Movies INCNY · FY2023$25,000
Catapult Film FundCA · FY2023$10,000
One Story UpFY2022$62,000
Talos FilmsFY2022$50,000
Unitemized GrantFY2022$23,414
Mezcla Media Collective LtdIL · FY2022$20,073
Chicago Public Media INCIL · FY2022$12,500
Bvm Productions LLCFY2022$9,657
I Love You Chingos LLCFY2022$8,059
Green River FilmsFY2022$7,501
New Wave Productions LLCFY2022$7,423
See all 30 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$714K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$624K
Other incomeLn 4–11$86K
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Money outPt IX
$808K
Ln 25
Programscol B$560K
Managementcol C$245K
Fundraisingcol D$2K
Owns and owesPt X
−$209K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$76K
Total assetsLn 16$378K
LiabilitiesLn 26$587K
PeoplePt VI, VII
13
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a11
IndependentVI 1b10
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$624K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$40K
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Other incomeLn 4–11$86K
Gains on assetsLn 7$2K
Total revenueLn 12$714K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$76K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$76K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$190K
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$378K
LiabilitiesLn 26$587K
Net assetsLn 32−$209K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 56
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
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$12K$76K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$190K
Total assetsLn 16$146K$378K
LiabilitiesLn 26$271K$587K
Net assetsLn 32−$125K−$209K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$100K$100K
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$23K$23K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$419K$285K$134K
Management feesLn 11a$131K$85K$46K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$2K$2K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$34K$34K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$7K$7K
Office expensesLn 13$12K$12K
Information technologyLn 14$8K$8K
OccupancyLn 16$20K$14K$6K
TravelLn 17$38K$19K$18K
InterestLn 20$11K$11K
InsuranceLn 23$4K$4K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$197$197
Total functional expensesLn 25$808K$560K$245K$2K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $865K$771K$94K−$349K 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.6M$1.3M$251K−$437K 990 PDF
FY2022 $704K$1.2M−$517K−$689K 990 PDF
FY2021 $927K$834K$94K−$94K 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $714K$808K−$94K−$209K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $713,629 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $845,724$624,424
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year −$11,302$2,877
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $3,750$86,328
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $838,172$713,629
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $389,705$123,157
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $418,155$418,604
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$1,916
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $522,923$263,944
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $1,330,783$807,621
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$492,611−$93,992
Part VI · Governance 10 of 11 board members independent, 2 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body11
VI-1b Independent voting members10
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $713,629 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1b Membership dues$182,500
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$441,924
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$39,824
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$624,424
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $1,028$1,028
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $1,849$1,849
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $86,328$86,328
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $89,205$713,629
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $807,621 across 14 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $100,438$100,438
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $22,719$22,719
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $284,651 · Management $133,953$418,604
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $85,080 · Management $46,000$131,080
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $1,916$1,916
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $34,388$34,388
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $6,608$6,608
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $11,608$11,608
IX-14 Information technologyManagement $7,743$7,743
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $13,799 · Management $6,493$20,292
IX-17 TravelPrograms $19,181 · Management $18,429$37,610
IX-20 InterestManagement $10,752$10,752
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $3,666$3,666
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Management $197$197
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $560,256 · Management $245,449 · Fundraising $1,916$807,621
Part X · Balance sheet $378,142 assets, 13 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $12,361$75,591
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$112,150
X-11 Publicly traded securities$178,326
X-13 Program-related investments$12,075
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $8,492$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $146,195$378,142
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $86,869$93,504
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $9,000$4,000
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $25,500$308
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $271,369$587,412
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$125,174−$209,270
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year −$125,174−$209,270
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $146,195$378,142
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$209,270 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$713,629
XI-2 Total expenses$807,621
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$93,992
XI-4 Net assets at start of year−$125,174
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$9,896
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year−$209,270

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

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