St Louis County Library Foundation

What it reported doing in 2024

A goal of the foundation is to enrich the library's educational mission by bringing communities together and providing equal opportunities to learn. E-pop up library, launched in june 2024, is a collection of popular ebooks and eaudiobooks accessible to anyone who scans a qr code in our community. There were 1,927 circulations in 2024. Through the born to read program, the foundation has partnered with seven st. Louis area hospitals to provide new parents with a bag containing a board book, early literacy information, a card to receive a second book, and two cardinals vouchers. Parents also receive an invitation to celebrate their child's first birthday at the library where they will receive a third book. Since the program began in 2015, the foundation has provided over 136,800 bags to new parents. The sweet reads bookmobile brings books, other library materials, and community resource supplies to neighborhoods where patrons have limited access to libraries. Patrons can take home donated or lightly used books. Community resource supplies include gun locks, covid tests, narcan kits, flow kits, and locking medicine bags. In 2024, over 27,800 library items and 900 community resource supplies were given out to patrons. Accessibility tools are another new addition to the collection to aid low vision and blind members of our community. These devices and kits include video magnifiers, text-to-speech readers, and led lamps. Through the excel adult high school program, st. Louis residents ages 25 and older have the chance to earn a high school diploma. Since 2017, over 160 students have completed the program.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
• Fundraising efficiency: $5.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • 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: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -101.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 24.8% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings