Somerville Public Library Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844438599
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Somerville, MA, USA
Phone
6176235000
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Libraries

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$22,908
Expenses
$11,250
Assets
$1,869,574
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MAREN CHIU (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • MAREN CHIU (PRESIDENT)
  • CHRIS LUDLOW (TREASURER)
  • ANDREA PAULSON (CLERK)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To direct and manage promotional and fundraising activities for the benefit of the somerville public libaray; to disburse funds for the renovation of the library buildings, for new library equipment & furnishings, and for new program initiatives; and to carry on any other charitable or educational activity.

What it reported doing in 2024

To disburse funds for the renovation of the library buildings, for new library equipment & furnishings, and for new program initiatives as well as supporting library staff.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 66% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.7%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • 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: 50.9%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 166.18; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -67% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.4% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.7% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $9K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.