American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 133576347
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2013
- Forms available
- Form 990 2013
- Location
- White Plains, NY, USA
- Phone
- 9144067515
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $324,108
- Expenses
- $325,201
- Assets
- $25,792
- Liabilities
- $23,435
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHRIS FINAN (PRESIDENT)
- BETSY BURTON (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DAN CULLEN (DIRECTOR): $141,825 total reported compensation
- CHRIS FINAN (PRESIDENT): $112,231 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To promote and protect free exchange of ideas, particularly those contained in books, by opposing restrictions on the freedom of speech; issuing statements of significant free expression controversies; participating in legal cases involving first amendment rights; collaborating with other groups with an interest in free speech; and providing education about the importance of free expression to booksellers, other members of the book industry, politicians, the press and the public.
What it reported doing in 2013
Free expression - promotes and protects free exchange of ideas, particularly those contained in books, by opposing restrictions on the freedom of speech, issuing statements on significant free expression controversies, participating in legal cases involving first amendment rights, collaborating with other groups with an interest in free speech, and providing education about the importance of free expression to booksellers, other members of the book industry, politicians, the press, and the public
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 57
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 59.6%; rating input score 60
- Program expense ratio: 59.4%; rating input score 59
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 96.2%; rating input score 96; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -0.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.91; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 39%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -11.4% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 59.6% of revenue deployed · 59.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $193K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $142K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 30 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2009 to 2013
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.