Books for Development

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
320391839
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Rating
48
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Reported finances

Revenue
$185,873
Expenses
$101,373
Assets
$147,573

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • William Mark Cotham (Founder-President)

People named in this filing

  • William Mark Cotham (Founder-President)
  • Peggy Burck (Board Member)
  • Kevin Dubose (Secretary-Board Member)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide improved education and literacy to developing communities in need

What it reported doing in 2025

Approximately 95,000 books were collected sorted boxed and shipped to Botswana to: 1 help establish and stock school libraries throughout the country; 2 help establish Botswanas first national childrens library in Gaborone. Several of the libraries receiving books were located in Gaborone Botswanas capital. In June 2025 a dozen volunteers visited Botswana distributing books holding seminars about the use of different books and helping to train 45 school representatives in school library administration in Gaborone and Maun Botswana. This training was supplemented by classes on How to Draw the Animals of Botswana using a booklet authored for this purpose. These classes complement our pro-literacy message by showing children how reading can teach useful skills. Books for Development President Mark Cotham met with he President of Botswana the Hon. Duma to discuss the importance of literacy and the role that donated books can play.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 25
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 19.1%; rating input score 19
  • Program expense ratio: 35%; rating input score 35

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 45.5%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.46; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 19.1% of revenue deployed · 35% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $36K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.