Illustration by Catherine Cao.

The IRS 990 forms for all organizations recognized as tax exempt by the IRS are viewable on ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer. As an institution with the tax code designation 501(c)(3) — in this case, a higher education institution — the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) is defined as a nonprofit. The tax filings of other higher education institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Columbia College Chicago (CCC), California College of the Arts (CCA), and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) are also available.     

When viewing this data, a couple of grains of salt must be taken. First, it takes a while for each year’s taxes to become available — the most recent data one can access for the Art Institute is for the fiscal year ending in June 2016. Second, the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), for tax purposes, are one combined entity with no differentiation. This means the amount spent on security, for example, includes the security expenses of both SAIC and the AIC (it totals at $5,908,177).

With those caveats in mind, here are a few interesting statistics from the fiscal year ending in June 2016.

REVENUE

Investments: $85,774,276

Contributions & Grants: $173,092,415

Program Service: $392,250,900

Other: $19,534,838

Total: $670,652,415

PROGRAM SERVICE BREAKDOWN

Tuition/Fees: $169,316,138

Museum Admission: $17,389,840

Art Sales: $5,005,245

Member Program: $1,086,741

Other: $6,422,559

EXPENSES

Grants etc.: $83,039,478

Salaries etc.: $256,793,114

Other*: $270,757,276

Total: $610,589,868

*NOTABLE OTHER EXPENSES

Advertising: $2,629,732

Office: $11,053,945

Occupancy: $23,390,169

Travel: $3,893,046

Accession/Book/Other Art: $16,400,128

Exhibitions: $2,187,744

REVENUE-LESS EXPENSES: $60,062,547

THREE HIGHEST-PAYING POSITIONS (HIGHER EDUCATION)

SAIC:

Walter Massey (President): $598,733

Elissa Tenny (Provost): $444,022

Lisa Wainwright (Faculty Dean): $239,919

RISD:

Rosanne Somerson (Interim President) $509,524

Pradeep Sharma (Provost) $275,919

Jean Eddy (COO): $375,585

CCA:

Steven Beal (President): $557,620

Laura Hazlette (Treasurer): $302,714

Melanie Corn (Provost): $262,896

CCC:

Stanley Wearden (President): $277,222

Michelle Gates (VP Business Affairs/CFO): $248,753

Patricia Bergeson (VP Legal Affairs): $220,158