Friends of the Library of Portola Valley Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237006543
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Portola Valley, CA, USA
Phone
6502183189
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$70,679
Expenses
$10,208
Assets
$1,380,592
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ateret Haselkorn (Vice-President)
  • Kwok Lau (President)

People named in this filing

  • Sue Chaput (Trustee)
  • Lenora Ferro (Trustee)
  • Gloria Rosenthal (Trustee)

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

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

Overview

Mission

The organization promotes and augments the development and use of the resources and services of the Portola Valley Library for the benefit of local residents. The organization brings together people who view their local library as a valuable sources of community, interaction, and learning.

What it reported doing in 2025

Teen programs included Tech/Maker Initiatives, after-school meet-ups, presentations by visiting artists and scientists, and poetry celebrations. Due to the monies accrued but not spent during the COVID shutdown, FOPVL spent no money in this area.

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 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. 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: 22
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 89
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 8.5%; rating input score 8
  • Program expense ratio: 39.2%; rating input score 39
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 19th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 85.6%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 135.25; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -18.1% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 8.5% of revenue deployed · 39.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.