The Books for Kids Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133539811
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Astoria, NY, USA
Phone
2127602665
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$803,877
Expenses
$919,130
Assets
$87,006
Liabilities
$11,000

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBIN ADELSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • SURAJ SANI (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBIN ADELSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $119,402 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the foundation is to promote literacy among all children with a special emphasis on low-income and at-risk preschool-aged children. The foundation creates libraries, donates books, and implements literacy programs to develop the critical early foundation and skills which young children need to be successful in life.

What it reported doing in 2022

The foundation creates libraries, donates books, and implements literacy programs to develop the critical early foundation and skills which young children need to be successful in life.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th 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: Limited
  • 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14.3%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97% of revenue deployed · 84.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $780K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $119K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.