Illinois · Nonprofit
INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY
INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY (Illinois) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $56,500 to it, the largest being JOHN D AND CATHERINE T MACARTHUR FOUNDATION ($50,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $359k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $57k
- Net assets
- $43k
What Institute for Work and the Economy does
Mission
The institute for work & the economy is an independent, non-partisan, public policy collaborative under the direction of a diverse board. The mission is to serve as a conduit for innovative workforce strategies and policies that foster economic security, equity, and opportunity for all workers
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The institute is designing and managing the development and build-out of a statewide (illinois) innovation ecosystem to support the discovery of non-food uses for soybeans. We manage the annual springboard challenge competition, handle all contractual matters with awardees on behalf of the isb, and supervise awardees' performance.
$237,723 spent$226,929 earned by the program90% of program spendingThe institute conducted an evaluation of the abe-linc digital navigator program pursuant to the terms of a contract with chicago state university and subject to the human subjects research parameters established by the university's institutional review board. Chicago state university received funding for this project under the broadband equity, access, and deployment program from the national telecommunications and information administration, u.s. Department of commerce. The institute was not a direct recipient of federal funds.
$27,781 spent$27,781 earned by the program10% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $265,504.
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 2022 to 2023, from $7k to $55k (+706%).
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.
29% of INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (62% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 7 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
Peter Creticos
President & executive director
Board chair
Ronnie L Bryant
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2019: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income fell $50k → $7k.
From the IRS filings of INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 2 of 3 funders by total. 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
INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 88% 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
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2019 100% — broadly stable.
“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
88% of INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY's grant income comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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
INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 7,175 community improvement nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,175 community improvement nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY
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
85% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
86%
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 INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY: 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 INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY?
- INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY (Illinois) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $56,500 to it, the largest being JOHN D AND CATHERINE T MACARTHUR FOUNDATION ($50,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $56,500 in grants to INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY?
- JOHN D AND CATHERINE T MACARTHUR FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $50,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like INSTITUTE FOR WORK AND THE ECONOMY 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 Institute for Work and the Economy →
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 3 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