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Illinois · Nonprofit

Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago

Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago (Illinois) receives grants from 21 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,879,148 to it, the largest being ROBERT AND PENELOPE STEINER FAMILY FOUNDATION ($1,025,000). 11 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$2.1M
Funders on record
21
Grants received
$1.9M
Net assets
$2.8M
11/21 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 11%
01What it does

What Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago does

Mission

Cinema/Chicago, the non-profit 501(c)(3) presenting organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, enriches the community through year-round programming devoted to international and independent cinema. We strengthen communication and inspire empathy among people of diverse cultures through artistic, educational, and creative development programs that promote discovery and discussion and inspire new visions of our shared future.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Festivals and Screenings - Includes the Chicago International Film Festival (held in October) which is North Americas longest-running competitive international film festival and seeks out the best in international and independent cinema, discovering new talents and opening windows to a world of film previously or otherwise unavailable in Chicago. Also includes Summer Screenings Program held June through August, Community Cinema held October-December, and Members Screenings, Chicago Industry Exchange programs held year-round, and CineYouth Festival that showcases short films by filmmakers ages 22 and younger from around the world, providing emerging talent with a platform to share their work, connect with fellow filmmakers, and learn from industry professionals.

    $1,449,298 spent$1,095,857 earned by the program
    98% of program spending
  2. Education Outreach - A year-round suite of initiatives designed to empower community connections and support emerging filmmakers.

    $28,089 spent
    2% of program spending

The 2 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,477,387.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($2.0M) Expenses 100 ($2.2M) Net assets -160 ($-310710)2018 Revenue 73 ($1.4M) Expenses 66 ($1.4M) Net assets -151 ($-293184)2019 Revenue 74 ($1.5M) Expenses 63 ($1.4M) Net assets -98 ($-190023)2020 Revenue 48 ($938k) Expenses 40 ($870k) Net assets -63 ($-121757)2021 Revenue 73 ($1.4M) Expenses 52 ($1.1M) Net assets 100 ($194k)2022 Revenue 77 ($1.5M) Expenses 66 ($1.4M) Net assets 150 ($290k)2023 Revenue 83 ($1.6M) Expenses 74 ($1.6M) Net assets 161 ($312k)2024 Revenue 203 ($4.0M) Expenses 82 ($1.8M) Net assets 1305 ($2.5M)2025 Revenue 107 ($2.1M) Expenses 86 ($1.9M) Net assets 1423 ($2.8M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Revenue (107)Expenses (86)Net assets (1423)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $503k to $2.7M (+429%).

$212k
$149k
$193k
$138k
$285k
$505k
$503k
$2.7M
$3.0M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2017 3% · 2018 4% · 2019 4% · 2020 6% · 2021 16% · 2022 8% · 2023 15% · 2024 3% · 2025 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

46% of Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 5,395 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.

−$198k
’17
$4k
’18
$103k
’19
$68k
’20
$316k
’21
$97k
’22
$22k
’23
$2.2M
’24
$227k
’25
9.0
months of
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.

Board chair

Charles Droege

Chairman

As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Listed131615151517171717
Joined·+5+5+2+4+2+2+1+0
No longer listed·26240210
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 11 funders, grant income rose $119k → $156k.

7 of 21 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 15% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago’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

Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago leans on a few funders — its largest provides 55% of grant income and the top three 70%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

55%
largest funder
70%
top three
~3
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 27% · 2018 45% · 2019 59% · 2020 29% · 2021 75% · 2022 51% · 2023 35% — growing more concentrated.

“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

45% of Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 52% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

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

90% of Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago's grant income comes from Illinois funders.

IL
CT
CA
NM
DC

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Illinois out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $289k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits its size.

Operating margin11% · above the median
Months of reserve9.0mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)1% · bottom quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025

Organizations like Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago

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

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

79% of spending goes to programs.

Program 79%Management 17%Fundraising 4%

Governance

16
board members
100%
independent
–Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

61%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

IL

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago: 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.

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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 Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago?
Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago (Illinois) receives grants from 21 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,879,148 to it, the largest being ROBERT AND PENELOPE STEINER FAMILY FOUNDATION ($1,025,000). 11 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago have?
IRS filings report 21 organizations giving $1,879,148 in grants to Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago, 11 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago?
ROBERT AND PENELOPE STEINER FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,025,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago 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.

Play a game about who funds Chicago International Film Festival Inc Cinema-Chicago →

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 21 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing