American Library Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362166947
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
1.800.545.2433
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$40,436,015
Expenses
$54,956,711
Assets
$96,967,622
Liabilities
$34,142,837

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CINDY HOHL (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • MARIA MCCAULEY PHD (PRESIDENT-ELECT (FROM 7/1/25))
  • SAM HELMICK (PRESIDENT)
  • EMILY DRABINSKI (PAST PRESIDENT (THRU 6/30/25))
  • MELISSA WALLING (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • TRACIE HALL (FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LORELLE HOPKINS (ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $253,540 total reported compensation
  • ALAN INOUYE (INTERIM ASSOC EXEC DIR (THRU 5/2/25)): $249,063 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA WALLING (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $238,812 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The American Library Association (ALA) is the trusted voice for all libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Mutual membership benefit programs, general/other: conferences enable members to keep abreast of the latest technological capabilities, new publications, and trends in the profession. Three major conferences, several national forums, and various institutes were held during the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -35.9%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.76; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 22 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $42.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $254K · 31 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.6M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.