The Reading League Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810820021
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone
3153622620
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,206,127
Expenses
$7,749,468
Assets
$11,846,400
Liabilities
$6,230,221

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARIA MURRAY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA MURRAY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $231,542 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE GOODMAN (CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER): $201,698 total reported compensation
  • HEIDI BEVERINE-CURRY (CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER): $190,904 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To advance awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-aligned reading instruction.

What it reported doing in 2024

Reading buddies - the reading league reading buddies tm - the reading league's reading buddies tm is a foundational tv series for students in kindergarten through third grade. The 60 episode show instructs in three important underlying components of word reading: phonological awareness, letter names/sounds, and blending sounds to decode words accurately.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 81.2%; rating input score 81; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.6%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.53; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 32.6% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.1% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 8 filed program accomplishments · $6.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $232K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $751K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.