Illinois · Nonprofit
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago (Illinois) receives grants from 143 organizations whose IRS filings report $33,822,597 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($20,901,297). 76 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 70% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $80M
- Funders on record
- 143
- Grants received
- $34M
- Net assets
- $108M
What The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago does
Mission
One of the region's largest and most established impact-driven organizations, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their purpose, potential, and each other. Central to the Y's mission is the belief that everyone, regardless of ability, race, gender, income, faith, sexual orientation, or ability to pay, deserves equal access to the resources needed to sustainably thrive.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Child Development: The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is committed to youth development. We believe every child and teen deserves the chance to reach his or her full potential. As one of the largest nonprofit organizations in Chicago, the Y offers a vast network of programs and services, including licensed child care, early childhood and afterschool programs, day camps, youth sports, youth groups, and other activities that give more than 25,000 youth of all ages across the region a safe and nurturing place to learn, grow, and thrive. Our innovative youth programming includes an anti-bias literacy approach for early learning, a Youth Safety and Violence Prevention initiative, with STEAM-based day camps, youth mentoring, and a Teen Leaders Club.
$29,834,996 spentof which $455,320 as grants$9,283,643 earned by the program37% of program spendingHealth Enhancement: The YMCA is dedicated to providing fitness and healthy living programs that empower children, adults, and families to learn, grow, and thrive. Free community events, such as an annual Healthy Kids Day, offer educational and fun activities that promote wellness and the development of healthy lifestyle choices that benefit the entire family. For more on our health equity efforts, please refer to the "Community Development" section.
$27,779,870 spentof which $359,651 as grants$22,523,377 earned by the program35% of program spendingCamping: The YMCA's day and overnight camps are American Camp Association-accredited, which means the Y maintains the highest standards regarding program quality. The Y offers 17 day camps and 5 resident camps, including specialty medical camps for children with physical and mental disabilities. Each camp focuses on the three key drivers of impact that inspire positive youth development journeys: achievement, relationships, and belonging. Through Y summer programs, the social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development of all youth are nurtured and celebrated.
$9,690,478 spentof which $153,621 as grants$10,501,329 earned by the program12% of program spendingCommunity Development: The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is a impact-driven nonprofit organization that responds to the changing needs and challenges of the individuals and families we serve, which includes opportunity gaps in education, exposure to violence, parent and family engagement, food insecurities, and chronic health problems. We remain a lifeline for communities by providing free, fresh produce through monthly food distribution events for families living in food deserts; teaching nutrition, healthy cooking and sustainability classes for individuals and families; pioneering innovative youth safety and violence prevention programming; offering free access to digital resources through our community hubs and bilingual helpdesk support line; providing high quality early education and care; and serving as a vital community asset across the Chicagoland area and throughout the Midwest.
$11,456,639 spent$78,116 earned by the program14% of program spendingResidences: A provider of supportive housing since 1931, the Y operates two Single-Room Only housing facilities in Chicago's Lake View and Irving Park neighborhoods. The facilities serve 437 people who identify as male with housing and case management to support the transition to stable permanent housing and employment.
$1,683,111 spentof which $8,738 as grants$1,630,975 earned by the program2% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $80,445,094.
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 2021 to 2022, from $253M to $214M (−15%).
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 11% · 2018 13% · 2019 15% · 2020 26% · 2021 24% · 2022 41% · 2023 27% · 2024 24%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
35% of The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (21% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 8 of the last 8 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
Dorri McWhorter
President and Chief Executive Officer
Board chair
Steven P Sorenson
Chairperson, Board of Managers; Board of Trustees
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 27 funders to 52 funders, grant income rose $492k → $2.4M.
21 of 143 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 70% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $8.3M from 14 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago raised.
From the IRS filings of The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 143 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 YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago leans on a few funders — its largest provides 62% of grant income and the top three 76%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
79% 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 The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 39% · 2018 29% · 2019 18% · 2020 38% · 2021 94% · 2022 22% · 2023 31% — 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
48% of The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 53% 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
70% of The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago'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. Of the $10M that is directly attributable, 85% of it comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $24M 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
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago's revenue fell 15% between 2017 and 2024.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,289 human services nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
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
77% 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
Part of a family of 7 related entities
- Lois & Walter Schuessler Child Development · exempt
- YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago Foundation · exempt
- YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago for Greater Roseland · exempt
- YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago Foundation for Harvey II · exempt
- YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago Foundation for Harvey III · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: 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 YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago?
- The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago (Illinois) receives grants from 143 organizations whose IRS filings report $33,822,597 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($20,901,297). 76 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 70% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago have?
- IRS filings report 143 organizations giving $33,822,597 in grants to The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, 76 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $20,901,297 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago 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 YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 143 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