Lexington Public Library

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
616000352
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lexington, KY, USA
Phone
8592315556
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,933,595
Expenses
$19,728,573
Assets
$68,809,774
Liabilities
$30,308,358

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HEATHER DIEFFENBACH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HEATHER DIEFFENBACH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $193,235 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT SERRATE (CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER): $162,872 total reported compensation
  • TONYA HEAD (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $143,495 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to enrich and connect our community through welcoming spaces, engaged staff, diverse resources, and lifelong learning opportunities. We create a stronger community by meeting our customers where and how they need us and connecting them with the right resources, in our buildings and beyond. We build a collection that supports our function as a trusted source for information. The collection reflects the diversity of the lexington community and meets its educational and recreational interests. Learning never ends at the library. Our programming, exhibits, and initiatives forge new ways for our community and customers to learn and develop new skills. We are a safe and free third space for our community a warm and welcoming place where people can learn, play, gather together, or simply be.

What it reported doing in 2024

We build a collection that supports our function as a trusted source for information. The collection reflects the diversity of the lexington community and meets its educational and recreational interests.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% 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. Some filed totals do not add up and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.4%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: 20.9%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.49; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.4% of revenue deployed · 93% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $18.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $193K · 10 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.