Community Libraries of Providence
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 364640304
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Providence, RI, USA
- Phone
- 401-467-2700 x1616
- Rating
- 89
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,490,384
- Expenses
- $6,822,034
- Assets
- $3,307,726
- Liabilities
- $465,988
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
22 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jordan Day (President)
- Bob Medeiros (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Cheryl Space (Executive Dir.): $115,681 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We provide welcoming spaces and meaningful resources at the heart of our diverse Providence neighborhoods so that all community members can learn, share, create, and connect. The purpose of the collection development policy is to provide guidelines for acquisition and withdrawal decisions; the allocation of resources; and long-range planning in accordance with the library’s mission statement in order to establish a collection of works that meet the educational, recreational and business needs of the community. Collection Maintenance A strong collection requires ongoing evaluation and maintenance. Materials will regularly be weeded from the collection based on the following criteria: outdated or superseded, infrequent use, physical condition, and relevance. Replacements and updated editions are purchased when warranted. Discarded materials may be sold, donated, or.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provided library services to over 600,000 patrons and visitors in nine neighborhood libraries in Providence, RI, including books, CDs, DVDs and other library materials with 393,300 items circulated. Our public computers and WiFi were used more than 400,000 times. We also provide educational and instructional programs including after school programs, homework help, GED classes in Spanish and English ESL classes, toddler and preschool story hours, reading clubs for children and adults in English and Spanish, computer classes in English and Spanish, resume classes and job search help. We partner with the city to provide reading opportunities to children during the summer. Over 30,500 participants attended our programs. During the pandemic we increased our WiFi availability to the community by installing Access Point units.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 91% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 93
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 97
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 96.9%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: $33.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd 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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5.1%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 96.9% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $116K · 22 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $472K reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.