The Children's Book Bank

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261600475
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2021
Forms available
Form 990 2021
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
9716341634
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$944,086
Expenses
$1,054,086
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES PHELPS (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DANIELLE SWOPE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES PHELPS (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $46,613 total reported compensation
  • DANIELLE SWOPE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $10,711 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To increase the chances for children to succeed as future readers, learners, and citizens by filling their homes with quality books

What it reported doing in 2021

Collect and distribute new and used books to low-income families

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 60% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 11
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th 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; 75th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -11.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 71.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $755K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $47K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2012 to 2021
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.