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Illinois · Nonprofit

REDTWIST THEATRE

REDTWIST THEATRE (Illinois) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $155,719 to it, the largest being GAYLORD AND DOROTHY DONNELLEY FOUNDATION ($50,875). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$342k
Funders on record
10
Grants received
$156k
Net assets
$13k
7/10 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 42%
01What it does

What Redtwist Theatre does

Mission

We strive to create searing hot drama from bold new works to obscure buried treasures that builds empathy dissects cruelty and reveals broader truths. We realize these goals by transforming our tiny black box and its explosive immediacy into a thematic asset tailoring every show to close the gap between actor and audience. Ultimately we add a little red twist to every production by exploring the violence inherent in our humanity and confronting our audiences with the contradictions of our modern world.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. With the help of the City of Chicago we were able to complete renovate the Redtwist store front. This allowed us to produce three main stage shows that had some of the highest attendance of previous years. We were able to provide a space for 3 one person shows that ran in tandem with the main stage performances. We were able to produce a new play reading festival which showcased 10 new stages reading of chicago playwrights. We continue to maintain pay what you can on Friday performances.

    $367,078 spent$342,425 earned by the program
    100% of program spending
  2. Not described on the e-filed return.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending
  3. Not described on the e-filed return.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending
  4. Other program services, not described on the e-filed return.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $367,078.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 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 = 20212021 Revenue 100 ($72k) Expenses 100 ($58k) Net assets 100 ($76k)2022 Revenue 124 ($90k) Expenses 207 ($120k) Net assets 61 ($47k)2023 Revenue 211 ($153k) Expenses 287 ($166k) Net assets 44 ($34k)2024 Revenue 473 ($342k) Expenses 635 ($367k) Net assets 17 ($13k)
2021202220232024
Revenue (473)Expenses (635)Net assets (17)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 2021 to 2022, from $77k to $47k (−39%).

$77k
$47k
$34k
$13k
2021202220232024
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.

2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2024 37%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

83% of REDTWIST THEATRE’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 19,547 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 4 reported years ran a deficit.

$15k
’21
−$30k
’22
−$13k
’23
−$25k
’24
0.4
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

Stuart Brody

Board President

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 4 funders, grant income rose $500 → $34k.

3 of 10 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 27% 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 REDTWIST 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

REDTWIST THEATRE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 33% of grant income and the top three 69%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

38% 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 REDTWIST THEATRE.

33%
largest funder
69%
top three
~5
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 100% · 2019 88% · 2020 56% · 2021 52% · 2022 34% · 2023 30% — 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

20% of REDTWIST THEATRE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 70% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y

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

78% of REDTWIST THEATRE's grant income comes from Illinois funders.

IL
MI
DC
FL

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

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

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $42k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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

REDTWIST THEATRE has grown faster than three-quarters of the 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−7% · below the median
Months of reserve0.4mo · bottom quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)68% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,936 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024

Organizations like REDTWIST 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

05Profile & governance

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

Governance

22
board members
95%
independent
–Conflict-of-interest policy–Whistleblower policy–Document retention–Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

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

IL

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for REDTWIST 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 REDTWIST THEATRE?
REDTWIST THEATRE (Illinois) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $155,719 to it, the largest being GAYLORD AND DOROTHY DONNELLEY FOUNDATION ($50,875). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does REDTWIST THEATRE have?
IRS filings report 10 organizations giving $155,719 in grants to REDTWIST THEATRE, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of REDTWIST THEATRE?
GAYLORD AND DOROTHY DONNELLEY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $50,875 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like REDTWIST 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 Redtwist Theatre →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2021–2024), and the filings of 10 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