Bangor Public Library
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 016000785
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bangor, ME, USA
- Phone
- 2079478336
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,659,048
- Expenses
- $3,776,780
- Assets
- $25,691,717
- Liabilities
- $386,250
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NICHI FARNHAM (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- BEN TREAT (SECRETARY &): $114,757 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 bangor public library strives to inspire, enlighten, and enrich its members by connecting them to books, information, and ideas needed for work, recreation, education, and inspiration by providing excellent library service to its members and community.
What it reported doing in 2024
Adult services: the bangor public library contributes to the prosperity and growth of the bangor region by providing library services to bangor residents and non-residents. We are one of the busiest libraries in the state: we have more than 15,700 adult cardholders, we have around 161,000 check-outs per year in our adult print & digital collections, and we answer more than 12,000 reference questions per year. An average of 693 people enter the library each day. Our adult programming includes traditional book groups and author talks, but we also teach computer classes and host community gatherings. We also exhibit art from local and regional artists in our four art galleries. From our specialized on-site collections in local history and special collections to our specialized online collections of digitized library holdings and purchased research databases, we also exhibit unique holdings that make our facility and our website destinations for researchers. As an area reference and resource center, the bangor public library serves library users throughout the entire state, providing library cards to any Maine resident. We maintain a collection of more than 350,000 printed adult items and an ever-changing collection of more than 22,000 ebooks and 10,000 audiobooks.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 68% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 94
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 83
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 91%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $30.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -3.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.8; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $115K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.