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GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE

EIN 81-1936438 CHICAGO, IL

Browse the largest nonprofits in Illinois

Revenue 2025
$271,863
Expenses 2025
$452,753

Program services were 53.8% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
B25
Classification
1200
Street
20 N WACKER DR STE 1200

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Other organizations at this address

3 other organizations in the IRS Business Master File list the same street address. matched by us

This address is a suite or unit (STE 1200). Organizations that share one are often clients of the same office-services firm, accountant or registered agent rather than related to each other.

We match the street line and ZIP code as the IRS gives them, ignoring case and outer spaces and nothing else, so "AVE" and "AVENUE" count as different streets and this list can miss some. A shared address can mean related organizations or a shared office, but it can also be a registered agent, a mail drop or a service provider holding mail for unrelated clients. It is not, by itself, evidence that two organizations are connected.

Mission and programs · 2025

Mission

THE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE INSPIRES, EDUCATES, AND EMPOWERS THE NEXT GENERATION OF BLACK CHANGEMAKERS BY BRIDGING ENTREPRENEURIAL KNOWLEDGE GAP AND DRIVING POSITIVE COMMUNITY CHANGE.

  • THE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE EMPOWERS YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE, AGES 12-24, TO DISRUPT THE STATUS QUO, MOBILIZE INNOVATIVE IDEAS, AND CHAMPION THEIR COMMUNITIES. FOR THE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE, ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS NOT JUST A CAREER. SINCE 2016, THEY'VE SUPPORTED MORE THAN 2,000 YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS EDUCATION, AND NURTURING THEIR COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL IMPACT. THEIR PROGRAMS OFFER A NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED CURRICULUM, DESIGNED BY BLACK LEADERS, THAT CULTIVATES THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET - AN APPROACH THAT EMBRACES INNOVATION, AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP, AND A PROACTIVE DRIVE TO SOLVE CHALLENGES ACROSS ALL CAREER PATHS.THE GRAY MATTER EXPERIENCE'S ENGAGING TUITION-FREE PROGRAMS, NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS, AND COMMUNITY OF ALLIES ENSURE THAT CURIOUS CREATORS AND BUDDING VISIONARIES ARE EQUIPPED WITH ESSENTIAL SKILLS, RELATIONSHIPS, AND RESOURCES TO BECOME AGENTS OF CHANGE AND THRIVE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY.

    Expenses $243,426 · Revenue $388

As filed on the 2025 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Officers and directors · 2025

As listed in Part VII of the 2025 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • Will Busch

    PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • Sara Wasserteil

    TREASURER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • Milissa McClaire Gary

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • Tristan Slemmons

    SECRETARY

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

  • Britney Robbins

    FOUNDER AND CEO

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    60

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2025
    Revenue
    $271,863
    Expenses
    $452,753
    Contributions
    $263,097
    Grants paid
    $0
  • 2024
    Revenue
    $768,288
    Expenses
    $784,781
    Contributions
    $698,215
    Grants paid
    $0
  • 2023
    Revenue
    $714,241
    Expenses
    $875,523
    Contributions
    $665,777
    Grants paid
    $0
  • 2022
    Revenue
    $924,948
    Expenses
    $649,523
    Contributions
    $879,147
    Grants paid
    $0

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

  • 2021 · 990

    Revenue
    $583,557
    Expenses
    $310,424
    Assets (EOY)
    $535,798

  • 2020 · 990

    Revenue
    $312,847
    Expenses
    $173,159
    Assets (EOY)
    $289,646

  • 2019 · 990-EZ

    Revenue
    $153,947
    Expenses
    $69,451
    Assets (EOY)
    $116,141

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all.

Form 990-N e-Postcard, tax year 2018

Tax period
1 March 2018 to 28 February 2019
Principal officer
Britney Robbins
Mailing address
1011 W 19th StreetChicago IL 60608
Website
www.thegraymatterexperience.com

As filed, from the IRS e-Postcard file of 2 November 2026. The IRS publishes only each organization's most recent postcard, so earlier years are not shown. A 990-N carries no financial detail. The postcard also gives the principal officer's address, which is not shown here.

Grants made

No itemized grants to organizations. Schedule I is filed only by organizations that granted more than $5,000 to a recipient, so most filers have none.

Grants received

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 13 October 2026 and read 1 November 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2025, the newest we have parsed for this organization.