City Bureau NFP
City Bureau NFP is a Chicago, Illinois public charity focused on civic journalism, media education, and access to reliable public information. Its work includes community reporting, journalism training, civic information programs, and support for local organizations working on digital access and literacy.
City Bureau NFP at a glance
In short: City Bureau NFP gave $173K across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $12K), mostly in Illinois. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $172,500
- +3350.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- +1300.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $12,321
- +146.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $15,000
- Total assets
- $7,696,862
- +34.3% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Illinois (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to City Bureau NFP
- How to Apply
-
The website’s application page listed an application deadline of June 15, 2026, for the infrastructure funding round. That deadline has passed.
- Review Cycle
- June 15, 2026 (past cycle).
- Deadline
- June 15, 2026 (past cycle).
- Contact
Mailing address: 3619 S State 400, Chicago, IL 60609
Phone: (312) 361-0881
Website: https://citybureau.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who City Bureau NFP funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Corazon Community Services ($15K). Together the top 10 received $143K.
Grant Size Distribution
15 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 15 grants of 15 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
City Bureau is based in Chicago. Its 2025 grants were all made to recipients in Illinois, and the listed grant purposes were for Cook County Digital Equity. The organization’s website describes IMPACT as supporting organizations in Cook County and identifies its 2026 cohort as organizations across Suburban Cook County.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2024 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $5K (2024) to $173K (2025). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $173K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Corazon Community Services Cicero, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| Forest Park Public Library Forest Park, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| Harper College Educational Fo Palatine, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| Latinx Digital Leaders Now Chicago, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| Markham Public Library Markham, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| Niles Maine District Library Niles, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| Quilt Corporation NFP INC Naperville, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| scaleLIT Chicago, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| The Hana Center Chicago, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $15,000 |
| Dorothy A Swope Foundation Matteson, IL | Cook County Digital Equity | $7,500 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $7,696,862 | $7,291,026 | $6,150,002 | $172,500 | 14 | $76,877 |
| 2024 | $5,729,280 | $4,724,643 | $4,972,899 | $5,000 | 1 | — |
| 2023 | $5,268,896 | $3,646,778 | $3,798,635 | — | — | — |
| 2022 | $4,606,460 | $4,163,542 | $3,128,140 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | $2,720,495 | $2,391,124 | $1,911,815 | — | — | — |
| 2020 | $2,244,523 | $2,607,136 | $1,383,822 | — | — | — |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
On its website, City Bureau describes itself as a civic media lab that designs people-powered journalism practices and supports their local adoption and adaptation. Its 2025 filing describes its mission as providing civic information to Chicago neighborhoods, facilitating journalism and media education, and developing and testing models of civic journalism.
The organization’s 2025 filing describes newsroom training, collaborative journalism, community engagement, and development of tools and infrastructure for community reporting and civic information. Its Digital Equity IMPACT program supports work related to internet access, technology, digital literacy, and community engagement. In the 2025 filing, the listed grants were for Cook County Digital Equity.
The 2025 grantees included Corazon Community Services, whose stated mission is to improve quality of life for children, youth, and families through culturally sensitive social services. The Hana Center, also a grantee, says its mission is to build the power of Korean, Asian American, and multiethnic immigrant communities in Chicagoland through social services, education, culture, and community organizing.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, City Bureau reported 14 grants totaling $172,500. Grants ranged from $7,500 to $15,000, with a median of $15,000. The largest listed grants were $15,000 each to Corazon Community Services, Forest Park Public Library, Harper College Educational Fo, Latinx Digital Leaders Now, Markham Public Library, Niles Maine District Library, Quilt Corporation NFP INC, scaleLIT, and The Hana Center. The listed purpose for these grants was Cook County Digital Equity. Dorothy A. Swope Foundation, Lucky Jefferson, and North Riverside Public Library each received $7,500 for the same stated purpose.
City Bureau’s website describes the IMPACT Small Grants Program as providing funding and storytelling support. Its 2026 infrastructure funding page identified nonprofits and local governments, community hubs, libraries, schools, affordable housing providers, digital skills trainers, workforce development programs, newsrooms, and community organizations among the potential applicant types. That page listed six HORIZON grants of $30,000 for projects addressing community connectivity needs or gaps.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Jody Chong as Executive Director; Harrison Backlund as CSO; Eva Lacivita as Production Director; Kristin Fallica as Communication Director; Sonam Vashi as Network Director; and Alaa Almezanin as Director of Operations. It lists Joe Germuska as Chair/Treasurer, Cassie Haynes as Director, and Wendy Lee Haines as Secretary. Morgan Malone is listed as former Executive Director.
City Bureau NFP is led by Morgan Malone, Frmr Executive Director since 2025 (on filings since 2024); 7 of 11 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Morgan Malone
Frmr Executive Director
Executive Director → Frmr Executive Director, 2025
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$182K (2024) → $218K (2025)
Jody Chong
Executive Director
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$161K (2025)
Joe Germuska
Chair & Treasurer
Treasurer → Chair & Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Alaa Almezanin
Director of Ops
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$119K (2025)
Eva Lacivita
Production Director
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$133K (2025)
Kristin Fallica
Communication Director
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$127K (2025)
Sonam Vashi
Network Director
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$119K (2025)
Cassie Haynes
Director
Board Treasurer → Director, 2025
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kali Plomin
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Harrison Backlund
Cso
Operations Director → Co-Exec Director, 2021
Co-Exec Director → Cso, 2025
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$74K (2020) → $144K (2025)
Wendy Lee Haines
Secretary
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (13)
- Former: Akili Lee (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Bettina Chang (2020–2024) — Co-Executive Director
- Former: Hilesh Patel (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Sheila Solomon (2020–2024) — Chair
- Former: Tiana Epps-Johnson (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Harry Backlund (2022–2024) — Co-Executive Director
- Former: Chong Jody (2024) — Employee
- Former: Fallica Kristin (2024) — Employee
- Former: Matt Denn (2024) — Board Member
- Former: Salgado Cristina (2024) — Employee
- Former: Darryl M. Holliday (2020–2023) — Co-Executive Director
- Former: Nicco Mele (2020–2023) — Officer
- Former: Michelle Morales (2020) — Secretary
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $218K, to Morgan Malone (Frmr Exec Dir). 7 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about City Bureau NFP
How much does City Bureau NFP give each year?
City Bureau NFP gave $173K across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $5K across 1 grant.
What is City Bureau NFP's typical grant size?
City Bureau NFP's median grant in 2025 was $15,000, and its average grant was $12,321, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does City Bureau NFP give grants?
City Bureau NFP gives mostly in Illinois: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (3 grants).
Does City Bureau NFP give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 14 grants with a stated purpose on City Bureau NFP's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Cook County Digital Equity" (14 grants).
Who are City Bureau NFP's largest grantees?
City Bureau NFP's largest 2025 grantees include Corazon Community Services ($15,000), Forest Park Public Library ($15,000) and Harper College Educational Fo ($15,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 26% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is City Bureau NFP?
City Bureau NFP reported $7.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $7.3M.
What does City Bureau NFP fund?
On its website, City Bureau describes itself as a civic media lab that designs people-powered journalism practices and supports their local adoption and adaptation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from City Bureau NFP?
The website’s application page listed an application deadline of June 15, 2026, for the infrastructure funding round. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is City Bureau NFP's EIN?
City Bureau NFP's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-1054499. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 18, 2026)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 17, 2026)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS June 8, 2023)
Live grants for the work City Bureau NFP funds
Arts, Culture & Humanities Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in City Bureau NFP's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). City Bureau NFP funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/city-bureau-nfp-morg_db467a2de54343b79538adcc2f63ebd5
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_811054499_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{City Bureau NFP funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/city-bureau-nfp-morg_db467a2de54343b79538adcc2f63ebd5},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-23. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from City Bureau NFP's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
City Bureau NFP down — hundreds of funders to go?