Nebraska Center for the Book
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 470736749
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2021–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Lincoln, NE, USA
- Phone
- 4024712045
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,830
- Expenses
- $11,980
- Assets
- $19,137
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PATRICIA LEACH (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- PATRICIA LEACH (PRESIDENT)
- MEME SMITH (SECRETARY)
- STEVE FOSSELMAN (TREASURER)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
PROMOTE LIBRARIES READING LITERARY AND LITERATURE The Nebraska Center for the Book brings together the state's readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book. We are the people who know and love books, and who value the richness they bring to our lives. The Nebraska Center for the Book is a 501c3 organization. Our Nebraska Center supports programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. We have been an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book since 1990.
What it reported doing in 2025
Nebraska Celebration of Books (N-COB). In 2024 the Center started a new program in the fall called Nebraska Celebration of Books (N-COB). This combines two previous programs 1) a Book Awards celebration for Authors and the awards for best in a number of categories. Book Award fees of 40 dollars per entry help support the program. 2) the Nebraska Book Festival, held to celebrate Nebraska's literary heritage and contemporary authors and to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. By gathering together contemporary writing talent of our state and surrounding areas, the festival provides an opportunity for participants to cultivate an understanding of our history, culture and community. Honoraria are provided to festival presenters. Booth, ad and sponsorship revenues help support the program.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.7%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 58.6%; rating input score 59
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -53%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.6; rating input score 60; 60th 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 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 89.7% of revenue deployed · 58.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.