Illinois · Nonprofit
THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK (Illinois) receives grants from 51 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,124,248 to it, the largest being THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION ($887,000). 32 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.0M
- Funders on record
- 51
- Grants received
- $5.1M
- Net assets
- $6.6M
What The Communications Network does
Mission
The organization provides learning, leadership, and community in support of elevating and advancing strategic communications in the social sector. Our mission is to support foundations and nonprofits to improve lives through the power of smart communications.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Annual conference: the organization hosted a conference in kansas city of over 900 attendees. The conference featured a full slate of keynote speakers,breakout sessions, peer-led networking and learning opportunities, and programming aimed at faciliating connection between attendees.
$732,217 spent48% of program spendingCommunications: the network offers programs to connect members based on shared issue or focus areas. Circles are networks to help build professional networks, share resources, and help each other succeed. Comnetwork local progam helps groups in communities aross the country create connection with your community to provide support and opportunities. In addition, webinars and newsletters are used to communicate with members to assist in providing additional resources. Other projects the network is devloping to further it's goals assisting others.
$52,382 spent3% of program spendingThe network offers support to members throughout the year in other programs and is continually trying to improve learing opportunities for all members and faciliating communications and connections.
$732,469 spent48% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,517,068.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 $4.4M to $6.0M (+37%).
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.
17% of THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 6 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
Sean Gibbons
CEO
Board chair
Anusha Alikhan
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 10 funders to 27 funders, grant income rose $232k → $791k.
3 of 51 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 0% 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 THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 51 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
THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 17% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 30% · 2018 39% · 2019 20% · 2020 36% · 2021 42% · 2022 21% · 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
51% of THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK draws 98% of its grant income from funders outside Illinois, across 21 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $20k 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.
Against its field
THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 9,615 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,615 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
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
57% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
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 THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK: 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 THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK?
- THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK (Illinois) receives grants from 51 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,124,248 to it, the largest being THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION ($887,000). 32 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK have?
- IRS filings report 51 organizations giving $5,124,248 in grants to THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK, 32 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK?
- THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $887,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK 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 Communications Network →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2020–2025), and the filings of 51 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