Berkeley Public Library Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943280180
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5109816115
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$562,291
Expenses
$487,168
Assets
$1,723,365
Liabilities
$185,770

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Mary O'Neill (President)
  • Christa Aboitiz (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kathy Huff (Executive Dir.): $132,205 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 Berkeley Public Library Foundation (BPLF) amplifies the public investment to make a great public library extraordinary. To that end, we provide vital funds and ongoing advocacy to advance the Library's mission, vision, and strategic goals. We offer the resources needed for innovations, literacy projects, and building improvements that are not already covered by taxes or government funding.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program 1: Literacy for All Ages. BPLF is committed to expanding access to literacy services for all members of the community. Through initiatives like Berkeley Reads and Berkeley Builds Readers, BPLF helps advance essential literacy resources, one-on-one tutoring, and promotes literacy outreach to underserved areas by bringing books and group storytimes directly to them. This year, BPLF proudly sponsored the inaugural Story Time Band & Friends Concert, drawing over 350 children, families, and caregivers together for a joyful celebration of reading. Additionally, the 22nd Annual Authors Dinner had over 250 attendees coming together to honor the work of 21 local authors and celebrate the Bay Areas rich literary heritage. At the event, the Cody Award was presented to News for Native California and The Berkeley Roundhouse in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the literary community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 71% for direct work, and 29% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.4%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.54; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.1%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68% of revenue deployed · 75.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $367K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.