Arts, Culture & Humanities (A31Z) IRS Verified DX Registered 990 on File

CHICAGO FILMMAKERS

EIN: 36-2885210 · CHICAGO, IL 60660-4202 · United States · FY 2025 Data

3 out of 5 59 / 100 Based on 2+ years of filings

Financial strength (30%) 98/100

Reliability (20%) 55/100

Effectiveness (25%) 81/100

Impact (25%) No data yet

Financial data: FY 2025 · Scored 9/13/2026

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CharityAI™ Score

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Mission Statement

Onion City is one of the premiere international festivals exclusively devoted to experimental film and video. Onion City was founded in the 1980s by the Experimental Film Coalition and run by them for many years. Chicago Filmmakers assumed responsibility for the festival in 2001, and expanded the size and opened it up to video work as well as film. It is generally 8-10 programs over four days and features roughly 60-70 works from around the world. Aside from the competition programs, there are occasional special presentations of new or old films of note or guest presentations. Screenings take place at Chicago Filmmakers and other venues around mid-June. The mission of Onion City is to provide local and regional audiences with an opportunity to view a wide variety of contemporary experimental works, focused on artistic excellence but also with an eye towards representing differing styles, forms, and nationalities.

Financial Overview — FY 2025

$711K

Total Revenue

$654K

Total Expenses

$1.9M

Net Assets

Employees

Revenue Sources

Expense Breakdown

Program Expense Ratio 79.1%

Fundraising Efficiency N/A

Operating Reserve 35.44x

Liability-to-Asset 21.7%

Revenue Diversification 55.1%

Executive Compensation $115K

Compared with Peers

FY 2025

Compared with 7,068 similar organizations (United States, Arts, Culture & Humanities, $100K–$1M in expenses), FY 2025.

This organization Middle half of peers (P25–P75) Peer median

Ratio	This org	Peer median	Position (P10 → P90)
Program expense ratio Program expenses / total expenses · higher is better	79.1%	81.9%	P10P90	Below median
Admin expense ratio Management and general / total expenses · lower is better	10.7%	13.7%	P10P90	Above median
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expenses / total expenses · lower is better	10.2%	0.0%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Operating reserve Months of expenses covered by net assets · higher is better	35.4 mo	9.4 mo	P10P90	Top quarter
Liabilities to assets Total liabilities / total assets · lower is better	21.7%	1.5%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Revenue concentration Share of revenue from the largest source · lower is better	55.1%	77.2%	P10P90	Top quarter
Revenue growth Year over year revenue growth	20.6%	6.7%	P10P90
Expense growth Year over year expense growth	-2.6%	5.9%	P10P90
Surplus margin Surplus as a share of revenue	8.1%	2.4%	P10P90

Financial History

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Net Assets	Program %	Staff
2025	$711K	$654K	$1.9M	79.1%	5
2024	$590K	$671K	$1.9M	75.7%	6
2023	$679K	$618K	$2.0M	73.8%	5
2022	$767K	$746K	$1.9M	82.0%	7
2021	$764K	$744K	N/A	—	5

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Organization Details

EIN: 36-2885210
State: IL
City: CHICAGO
ZIP: 60660-4202
Classification: A31Z
Category: Arts, Culture & Humanities
Rating: 3★
Coverage: A
Last Updated: Aug 2026
Foundation Code: 15
Form 990: On File

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CharityAI™ rates charities from 0 to 100 using public filings (IRS Form 990 and the equivalent registries outside the US) together with the information the charity itself provides on DonationX. Ratings are recalculated every quarter, without human bias, and shown as stars.

Four pillars

Financial strength30%

Program expense ratio, fundraising efficiency, operating reserves, liabilities and revenue diversification, compared with similar organizations.

Reliability20%

Standing with the registry, filing history, verification and how complete the profile is.

Effectiveness25%

How much goes to programs and how consistently the organization delivers them.

Impact25%

The outcomes the charity reports on DonationX: people served, cost per service and results.

Stars

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