Illinois · Nonprofit
CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE
CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE (Illinois) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $49,198 to it, the largest being DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($34,198). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 70% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $108k
- Funders on record
- 2
- Grants received
- $49k
- Net assets
- $65k
What Childrens Community Theatre does
Mission
Children's Community Theater empowers young people and families to discover their creative voice, build confidence, and experience the transformative power of theatre. Since our founding in 1955, we have been committed to encouraging a lifelong love of the dramatic arts by providing accessible, high-quality theatre experiences that celebrate the talents and contributions of children of all ages and skill levels. Through our productions, summer camps, and community engagement, we create inclusive spaces where young performers develop resilience, collaboration, and self-belief while building meaningful connections with peers and families. Serving over 200 people in DeKalb County annually, we believe that theatre is a tool for personal growth and community vitality, and we are dedicated to ensuring that every child in our community has the opportunity to step onto the stage, discover their potential, and realize their dreams.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ.
Programs
Our two-week summer camp, held in collaboration with the historic Egyptian Theatre, is an intensive, affordable program for youth ages 818. We keep costs low and offer scholarship opportunities so families from all backgrounds can participate. Structure Two age-track model: -Younger Track (ages 812): hands-on introduction to theater fundamentals acting, voice, movement, improvisation, and basic backstage skills with fun games, ensemble-building, and a polished showcase at the end of camp. -Older Track (high school students, 1418): an ambitious rehearsal schedule focused on mounting a full-length show start-to-finish in two weeks. Students handle acting, vocal work, choreography, tech rehearsals, and run crews under staff and peer-mentor guidance. Curriculum & Experience -Daily schedule combining skill classes, rehearsals, scene work, and technical training. -Professional-style rehearsal process for the older track: blocking, music rehearsals, choreography, tech runs, and dress rehearsals. -Introduction to set, costume, and prop basics; stagecraft and safety; microphone and lighting basics as appropriate. -Leadership and mentorship: older campers mentor younger ones and gain…
$21,117 spentof which $4,000 as grants33% of program spendingOur fall show took place at the historic Sandwich Opera House in Sandwich, IL, and this years production was Elf Jr., performed by a full youth cast ages 818. Over a multi-week rehearsal period students learned acting, singing, choreography, and backstage skills while volunteer directors, designers, and teen leaders guided costume, set, and tech work. The Opera House setting gave campers and cast members real-stage experience with professional sightlines, lighting, and audience energy. Families and community members filled the house for lively performances, and the run showcased strong ensemble work, enthusiastic solo moments, and confident stagecraft from our youngest to our oldest performers. The production reinforced teamwork, performance experience, and leadership development while bringing family-friendly holiday joy to DeKalb County audiences.
$16,433 spent25% of program spendingOur spring show (Lion King Jr.), at the historic Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, IL featured a large, vibrant cast of roughly 90 youth ages 818. Over several weeks of rehearsals, students developed acting, singing, movement, and backstage skills while volunteer directors, designers, and teen leaders coordinated costumes, sets, lighting, and sound to achieve professional production values. The Egyptians stage and house provided real-world performance experienceproper sightlines, rigging, and audience energythat challenged and inspired cast and crew alike. With ensemble numbers, featured solos, and layered choreography, the production emphasized teamwork, trust, and artistic growth across age levels. Families, schools, and the broader community attended in strong numbers, celebrating the performers commitment and the theaters role in nurturing young talent and creating memorable, family-friendly entertainment for DeKalb County.
$27,057 spent42% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $64,607.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
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 $67k to $0 (−100%).
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.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $10k → $24k.
1 of 2 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 70% 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 CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE’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
CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 70% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
100% 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 CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2020 100% · 2023 63% — 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.
Where its funders are
70% of CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $15k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside Illinois, across 1 state.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $34k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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.
Organizations like CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE
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.
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE: 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 CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE?
- CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE (Illinois) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $49,198 to it, the largest being DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($34,198). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 70% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE have?
- IRS filings report 2 organizations giving $49,198 in grants to CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE?
- DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $34,198 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CHILDRENS COMMUNITY THEATRE 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 Childrens Community Theatre →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2019–2025), and the filings of 2 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