Illinois · Nonprofit
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS (Illinois) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,589,929 to it, the largest being AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC ($9,362,427). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $177M
- Funders on record
- 28
- Grants received
- $24M
- Net assets
- $591M
What American College of Surgeons does
Mission
The American College of Surgeons is dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and to safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
As of june 2025, acs discontinued publications of selected readings in general surgery (srgs), which were previously referenced in the prior year fy2024, form 990 part iii program service activities. The organization periodically evaluates its program offerings to ensure alignment with its mission and strategic priorities, and resources previously devoted to srgs have been redirected to other educational and programmatic initiatives.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
The mission of the acs quality programs, formerly referred to as the division of research and optimal care (dropc), is to enable surgeons to apply the best scientific evidence in their daily practice with respect, compassion, and dignity for all patients. Acs quality programs focus on conducting research and developing programs to enhance the quality of surgical patient care by analyzing data and identifying areas for improvement through initiatives such as the acs national surgical quality improvement program (acs nsqip). (continued in sch o).
$53,936,424 spentof which $2,500 as grants$84,881,131 earned by the program48% of program spendingEducational programs - the college's education division supports the efforts of practicing surgeons, surgery residents, medical students, and members of surgical teams to provide the best care to patients. Under the new strategic plan, the division focuses on providing timely, evidence-based training through accessible and modernized platforms to prepare surgeons for current and future roles. To help surgeons optimize their practices, attain new skills, and manage their careers, the acs offers dozens of educational opportunities that continually evolve to meet changing needs. These opportunities range from rigorous readiness assessments for residents to courses designed to enhance surgeons' skills as educators and leaders. (continued in sch o).
$21,884,484 spentof which $28,167 as grants$11,370,621 earned by the program20% of program spendingThe division of member services serves as the primary architect of the American College of Surgeons professional community, supporting more than 93,000 surgeons, medical students, and surgical care team members globally. The division is dedicated to fostering professional connections, delivering practical practice resources, and cultivating leadership pathways for surgeons at every career stage from residency through retirement. (continued in sch o)
$10,759,489 spentof which $2,115,648 as grants$686,734 earned by the program10% of program spendingThe purpose of the division of advocacy and health policy is to identify and address public policy issues affecting surgeons and their patients at both federal and state levels. The acs maintains productive relationships with policymakers to protect the role of surgeons as leaders of the care team.medicare physician payment reform: reforming the physician payment system is a top priority as surgeons face continued reductions. Following acs advocacy, a budget reconciliation package provided short-term relief, including language to increase medicare physician payments by 2.5% for 2026.global surgical packages: the acs submitted formal testimony to medpac and cms advocating against revaluing or eliminating 10- and 90-day global surgical packages without accurate data, emphasizing that arbitrary changes could result in unintended financial consequences for patients.workforce and patient access: the acs champions legislation to strengthen the surgical workforce, including the resident education deferred interest (redi) act, which allows residents to defer student loan payments without interest.emergency preparedness: a primary focus remains the reauthorization of the pandemic…
$25,587,863 spentof which $70,000 as grants$975,069 earned by the program23% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $112,168,259. The per-program figures do not add up to the total the return states; both are shown as filed.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $596M to $700M (+17%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
14% of AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (14% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Patricia L Turner
Executive director & CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 14 funders, grant income rose $2.1M → $3.1M.
2 of 28 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 7% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $97M from 5 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest American College of Surgeons Professiona). These are real filings, and they are not money AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS raised.
From the IRS filings of AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS leans on a few funders — its largest provides 40% of grant income and the top three 81%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
86% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 66% · 2018 47% · 2019 33% · 2020 42% · 2021 37% · 2022 42% · 2023 33% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
47% of AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 57% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS draws 93% of its grant income from funders outside Illinois, across 14 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.7M arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 679 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 679 education nonprofits over $100M, FY2025
Government funding AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $33.4M on record — $33.4M federal, $26k state.
- Department of Defense$19.8M
- Department of Health and Human Services$9.8M
- Department of Veterans Affairs$2.8M
- Agency for International Development$675k
- Department of Transportation$149k
- Department of the Interior$145k
- FL$20k
- OK$6k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
72%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 3 related entities
- American College of Surgeons Prof Assoc · exempt
- Acspa Surgeons PAC · exempt
- American College of Surgeons Foundation · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS?
- AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS (Illinois) receives grants from 28 organizations whose IRS filings report $23,589,929 to it, the largest being AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC ($9,362,427). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS have?
- IRS filings report 28 organizations giving $23,589,929 in grants to AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, 16 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS?
- AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC is the largest funder on record, with $9,362,427 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 28 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing