Literacy Advocates USA Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
923704115
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Weston, FL, USA
Phone
9546495244
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Reported finances

Revenue
$138,429
Expenses
$165,849
Assets
$64,983
Liabilities
$74,702

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LIZETTE LANTIGUA (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LIZETTE LANTIGUA (PRESIDENT): $51,992 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To serve students, families and schools by instilling the joy of providing fun, inspiring books and entertainment.

What it reported doing in 2025

Good news book fair continues to combat the decline in reading, as reported in the 2025 national assessment of educational progress (naep), often referred to as "the nation's report card." according to the report, few students are achieving strong reading proficiency, and schools have not yet fully recovered from pandemic-era learning losses. Throughout 2025, our organization increased awareness by attending six annual conferences and speaking at various events. These efforts highlighted the importance of reading for workforce readiness, youth mental health, cultural enrichment, love of country and the overall economic well-being of our nation. The more awareness we create, the more support we can generate for innovative book fairs that provide a truly engaging and educational experience. These events feature author book signings, wholesome media, and quality resources from a variety of leading publishers. At a time when technology is increasingly replacing traditional school library resources, we continue to educate parents and educators about the negative effects of excessive screen time. These effects can include reduced reading comprehension, behavioral and emotional challenges, as well as physical issues such as dry eyes, neck pain, and hand strain caused by prolonged use of electronic devices. Since 2015, good news book fair, the primary program in literacy advocates USA, has been leading the way in developing creative approaches to inspire a love of reading in thousands of students across the country, encourage family engagement in literacy, and support fundraising efforts for school libraries. As pioneers in promoting wholesome media, the organization continues to drive positive change in society while encouraging others in the industry to embrace and support this important mission.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 53.1%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -19.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.15; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -73.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -12.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 53.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $88K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.