Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161347453
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5854288321
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,142,622
Expenses
$1,922,044
Assets
$32,943,358
Liabilities
$354,601

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Justin Stevens (President)
  • Sally Millick (Vice President)
  • Donna Borgus (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Donna Borgus (Executive Director): $118,271 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 Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library is an incorporated, not-for-profit public charity whose mission is to raise funds and provide programming in support of the Rochester Public Library. The Foundation's primary goals are to raise private and public funds to help ensure the library's financial security, to enable the highest level of library service to the community in the 21st century, and to help build broad public support for the library's programs. In addition, the Foundation provides materials support to an expanded geographical area to eligible libraries in the Monroe County, OWWL, and Nioga Library Systems.

What it reported doing in 2024

On an ongoing basis, the Friends & Foundation of RPL complements regular government appropriations to Rochester Public Library through (1) gifts to an annual fund raising campaign, (2) special grants from corporations, individuals, charitable foundations and government funding sources, (3) earnings generated by a permanent endowment fund, (4) individual gifts made through wills and trusts, and (5) income from the sale of books and library related items through the Library Store. Funds from these sources are used to expand library programs, to support capital improvements at public libraries, to ensure the appropriate maintenance of library facilities, and to support needed professional resources, services and staff. (Continued on Schedule O)Through ongoing communication, the Friends & Foundation of RPL seeks to coordinate its efforts with other public libraries and library support groups throughout Monroe County, and whenever possible acts as a source of information and counsel for other Monroe County public libraries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93.9%; rating input score 94; 29th 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.3%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.14; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.8% of revenue deployed · 77.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $118K · 21 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 33 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 31 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.