2026-06-03T19:08:02Z 2025-12-31 990EZ 2025-01-01 920777460 ILLINOIS CENTER FOR EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ILLI 3123500623 18W140 BUTTERFIELD RD SUITE 800 Oakbrook Terrace IL 60181 Haydee Caldero President 3123500623 2026-06-03 2025 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z X www.il-ceo.org X X 124852 124852 124852 66777 0 7740 6572 81089 43763 44229 87992 44229 87992 44229 87992 44229 87992 The Illinois Center for Employee Ownership is the state's leading resource for education, guidance and support on employee ownership. The Employee Ownership Business Training Program designed to create scalable Train the Trainer materials that help business owners understand and implement employee ownership best practices, including openbook management and financial literacy. Over a 9month period, ILCEO focused on developing People, Profits and Performance and building structured presentations, guidebooks, case studies, evaluation tools, and marketing templates that can be delivered by state center staff and ambassadors. The pilot also aimed to test outreach strategies with 3 businesses and establish a sustainable model that could be replicated across other State Centers. In Q4 we met with our first partner looking forward to bringing the content to their community. They allowed us to present an EO overview in January 2026 and we are now coordinating on a plan to deliver the first People, Power and Performance presentation. If this is successful the partner would role out the program to 19 other statewide locations based at the University of IL Extension School 15000 14500 ILCEO made substantial progress toward the goals outlined in the EOX Capacity Grant proposal by strengthening organizational infrastructure, expanding outreach, and increasing stakeholder engagement around employee ownership in Illinois. Key operational goals were successfully completed, including implementation of a CRM system, QuickBooks, donor processing tools, and a redesigned website integrated with outreach and automation systems. These improvements enhanced organizational planning, donor engagement, communications, and long-term sustainability. ILCEO also expanded its board by six members and began developing a formal onboarding process to strengthen leadership capacity. The organization participated in four major business conferences and 12 partner events, increasing awareness of employee ownership and reaching more than 750 participants through presentations and marketing efforts. Fundraising and development efforts included submission of 18 grant applications and direct outreach to major foundations, including the McCormick Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, and MacArthur Foundation. While grants were not awarded during the reporting period, ILCEO significantly expanded its fundraising infrastructure and relationships with philanthropic partners. The organization also launched structured donor outreach campaigns, growing its email list to more than 1,000 contacts and achieving email open rates above 40 percent. Government and policy engagement exceeded expectations. ILCEO met with the Governor's Office, Chicago City Council members, Cook County leadership, and more than 12 Illinois legislators to discuss employee ownership policy initiatives and public Offices of Employee Ownership. The organization also participated in Advocacy Day in Springfield and introduced employee ownership office legislation at the city level. ILCEO hosted its annual employee ownership celebration event with nearly 60 RSVPs from business owners, advisors, ecosystem partners, and community stakeholders. The event generated sponsorship and partnership opportunities while strengthening public visibility. Several goals were modified due to staffing and funding limitations. The Program Assistant position was reduced from full-time to part-time support, the public advocacy committee shifted to informal government engagement, and the planned employee ownership promotional video was not completed. Large-scale database development efforts were also scaled back to prioritize operational infrastructure and fundraising capacity. Despite these adjustments, ILCEO established a strong operational and fundraising foundation for future growth. Major accomplishments included CRM implementation, board expansion, public policy engagement, grant development, and expanded awareness of employee ownership throughout Illinois. 100000 40000 54500 Haydee Caldero Executive Director 25.00 35496 false false false false false false false false false IL Haydee Caldero 3140 W Addison Chicago IL 60618 3123500623 false false false false false false false false false false false false NONE 0 NONE 0 true X 0 0 0 0 124000 124000 718 718 0 0 0 0 124718 124718 0 0 0 124718 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 124718 124718 X 1.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 X Part 1 Line 16 Other expenses. Bank charges $464 Other Business Expenses $750 Travel $2401 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED II was traveling abroad in May.