Illinois · Nonprofit
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY (Illinois) receives grants from 179 organizations whose IRS filings report $32,975,125 to it, the largest being ZELL FAMILY FOUNDATION ($4,590,000). 115 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $28M
- Funders on record
- 179
- Grants received
- $33M
- Net assets
- $77M
What Steppenwolf Theatre Company does
Mission
Steppenwolf theatre strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
In support of our core artistic tenets, we seek to 1) serve as an artistic home for our ensemble and a launching pad for bold, new work; 2) amplify the voices of chicago teens and cultivate future generations of artists and enthusiasts; and 3) provide a collaborative space for independent artists and companies to promote a stronger, sustainable, and vibrant arts community. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events in its three spaces: the 500-seat downstairs theater; the 400-seat ensemble theater; and the 80-seat 1700 theater. Artistic programming includes a main season of produced new work and reimagined plays; presentations of cabaret, comedy and multi-disciplinary artists; live performances and education programming for teen audiences; and lookout, a multi-genre performance series. (continued on schedule o) in fiscal year 2025, steppenwolf's post-pandemic recovery strategic plan continued for its second year. This followed an initial reduction in force and tuning of programmatic scope for the institution in the previous season that reduced overall expenses year over year. This effort also put an emphasis on evolved programing, increased audience engagement and…
$14,743,397 spent$6,224,480 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $14,743,397.
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 2018 to 2019, from $74M to $121M (+63%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 1% · 2018 0% · 2019 1% · 2020 0% · 2021 9% · 2022 52% · 2023 4% · 2024 1% · 2025 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
70% of STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (58% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 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
Elizabeth Brooke Flanagan
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 53 funders to 72 funders, grant income rose $834k → $4.9M.
21 of 179 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 19% 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 STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 179 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
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 14% of grant income, and it takes 8 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 8 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 30% · 2018 61% · 2019 39% · 2020 22% · 2021 30% · 2022 14% · 2023 25% — 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
44% of STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 64% give in more than one year at all.
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
83% of STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY's grant income comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 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.
Against its field
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 570 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 570 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $370k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$370k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY
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
69% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
80%
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 STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY: 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 STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY?
- STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY (Illinois) receives grants from 179 organizations whose IRS filings report $32,975,125 to it, the largest being ZELL FAMILY FOUNDATION ($4,590,000). 115 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY have?
- IRS filings report 179 organizations giving $32,975,125 in grants to STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY, 115 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY?
- ZELL FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $4,590,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY 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 Steppenwolf Theatre Company →
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 179 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