Illinois · Nonprofit
Ridge Historical Society
Ridge Historical Society (Illinois) receives grants from 1 organization whose IRS filings report $281 to it, the largest being AMAZONSMILE FOUNDATION ($281). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 100% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $86k
- Funders on record
- 1
- Grants received
- $281
- Net assets
- $1.1M
What Ridge Historical Society does
Mission
Ridge Historical Society collects, preserves, interprets, and makes available to the public a collection of artifacts and documents of historic interest to the Chicago neighborhoods of Beverly, Morgan Park, Washington Heights, and Mt. Greenwood.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Public Education Programs: The Society's principal 2025 exhibit reprised the career of a local artist and illustrator, the late Jack Simmerling. "Jack Simmerling: Through His Eyes" was developed in partnership with Glessner House. It featured highlights from the Glessner House Jack Simmerling collection as well as items from the RHS archives, and newly-developed biographical narrative, history, and displays. The exhibit was free and open to the public. Related educational programs were presented by the exhibit curators. The Society also hosted speakers for eight presentations related to local history, preservation, and general community interest, as well as a workshop on researching the history of old Chicago houses and an exhibit of local student entries in a national history competition. Channels of communication of local history and RHS events include online and print newspapers,social media, and an RHS newsletter.
$10,872 spent$2,777 earned by the program16% of program spendingGraver-Driscoll House Preservation and Maintenance: The Society resides in a designated historic district, and owns Graver-Driscoll House which serves as its base of administrative operations and as a museum, archive, and meeting venue. The building is historically significant in its own right; it was designed by noted architect JohnTodd Hetherington and is over 100 years old.
$52,321 spent77% of program spendingCollections and Archives: The Society has collections of historic artifacts and papers. In 2025 it began an assessment, organization, and preservation project which will extend over some years and is expected to result in enhanced interpretive settings as well as wider archival access.
$4,100 spent6% of program spendingPreservation Advocacy: RHS is located in the Ridge Historic District, and the Society was involved in the application for historic district recognition some 50 years ago. Since then its Historic Buildings Committee has advocated for preservation and recognition of historic buildings. It takes applications for and arbitrates the award of bronze historic building plaques. It also seeks out buildings of historic distinction, issuing award certificates for a handful of winners annually. Public Events: Ridge Historical Society participated in several local events, including the community's Memorial Day Parade, Beverly Arts Alliance's Annual Art Walk, and Chicago Architectural Center's "Open House Chicago". RHS timed its exhibit opening in conjunction with the fall events.Historic Research: Research of local history involving people, places, events, buildings and artifacts is a significant activity of the Society. Research may be undertaken in the planning of exhibits or programs; to support the organization's participation in local initiatives and observances; or to document the organization's collection. The Society also routinely responds to questions and requests from local…
$762 spent$425 earned by the program1% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $68,055.
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 2021 to 2022, from $1.1M to $903k (−14%).
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. 0 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $67 → $55.
1 of 1 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 100% 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 Ridge Historical Society’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.
Where its funders are
100% of Ridge Historical Society'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. Too little is directly attributable to place on a map.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $281 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 Ridge Historical Society
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
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
34%
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 Ridge Historical Society: 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 Ridge Historical Society?
- Ridge Historical Society (Illinois) receives grants from 1 organization whose IRS filings report $281 to it, the largest being AMAZONSMILE FOUNDATION ($281). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 100% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Ridge Historical Society have?
- IRS filings report 1 organization giving $281 in grants to Ridge Historical Society, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Ridge Historical Society?
- AMAZONSMILE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $281 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Ridge Historical Society 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 Ridge Historical Society →
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 1 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