Laurel District Library Commission FY2024 filing

Tax-deductible

Laurel, DE501(c)(3)EducationEIN 23-7397230

The Laurel District Library provides access to information and library materials for residents and visitors to Sussex County in the State of Delaware.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
100¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
Is it a real charity?
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Are gifts tax-deductible?
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Is it filing on time?
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 years looks good.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Is it financially stable?
4 of 5
years in the black
Worth a look: 1 of the last 5 filings shows a deficit.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
How much reaches the programs?
100%
of spending
Looks good: 100% of spending went to programs; 75% or more looks good.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Do they have reserves?
10 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 10.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more looks good.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Who is supporting them already?
1
named funder · $108K
Worth a look: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3 is worth a look.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Do they carry debt?
$0
liabilities
Looks good: debts are 0% of assets; 50% or less looks good.
Pt X · Ln 26
Who oversees it?
4
independent of 5 voting board members
Looks good: 4 of 5 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodWorth a lookConcernTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$579K
-10% vs prior year
Spent
$551K
To programs
100%
Net assets
$465K
By yearFY2021–FY2025
Revenue
$579K
FY2024▼ -10%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$587K
FY2022$570K
FY2023$643K
FY2024$579K
FY2025$616K
Expenses
$551K
FY2024▲ +3%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$558K
FY2022$642K
FY2023$534K
FY2024$551K
FY2025$616K
Net assets
$465K
FY2024▲ +6%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$399K
FY2022$0
FY2023$437K
FY2024$465K
FY2025$465K

From the FY2024 Form 990 (year ending June 2024) · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2024 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2025 (typical filing lag)
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CLaurel District Library Commission
EINHdr · item D23-7397230
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFOct 1974
Latest filingForm 990FY2025 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CLaurel, DE
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B70)
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.laurel.lib.de.us

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $1.00
Program services100%$551K
Total functional expensesLn 25$551K

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Program efficiency
100%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
10.1mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+5%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Total assets
$465K
FY2024▲ +6%
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2021$399K
FY2022$0
FY2023$437K
FY2024$465K
FY2025$465K
Total liabilities
$0
FY2024
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2021$0
FY2022$0
FY2023$0
FY2024$0
FY2025$0
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$28K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$465K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B100%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 35
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 44

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$465K
Total assetsLn 16$465K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$0
Total net assetsLn 32$465K
Months of cash on handcomputed10.1

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$533K · 92%
Program service revenue$21K · 4%
Investment income$24K · 4%
Contributions & grants92%$533K
Program service revenue4%$21K
Investment income4%$24K
— government grantsLn 1e$383K
Total revenueLn 12$579K

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $465K · Operating expenses/yr $551K
10.1 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $551K · Total expenses $551K
100%
Management & General
Management & general $0 · Total expenses $551K
0%
Fundraising
Fundraising $0 · Total expenses $551K
0%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $0 · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $189K
Solicited contributions below reporting floor
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $533K · Total revenue $579K
92%
Government reliance
Government grants $383K · Total revenue $579K
66%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $21K · Total revenue $579K
4%
Investment reliance
Investment income $24K · Total revenue $579K
+4%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $21K · Total expenses $551K
4%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $579K · Prior year $643K
-10%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $465K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $579K · Expenses $551K
+5%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $465K
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $465K · Total assets $465K
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $465K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Rev Dr Howard Backus · Reported title President · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $551K
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $359K · Total expenses $551K
65%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 100%——
Overhead ratio 0%——
Fundraising cost ratio 0%——
Revenue growth -10%——
Accounting fee ratio 1%——

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2023); the FY2024 filing did not itemize Part VII
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vacant
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary/Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Gail Bruce’s $53K as Secretary/Director is at the 45th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $100K–1M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2022FY2021
Gail Bruce$53,251$55,803

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See Laurel District Library Commission executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 5Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 4Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

What it does.

Offers library materials and information access to Sussex County residents and visitors.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Laurel District Library Commission claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $551K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

The Laurel Public Library provides access to information and library materials for residents and visitors to Sussex County in the State of Delaware.

$551Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$108K

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2025 Latest $616K$616K+6% 990 PDF
FY2024 Viewing $579K$551K-10% 990 PDF
FY2023 $643K$534K+13% 990 PDF
FY2022 $570K$642K-3% 990 PDF
FY2021 $587K$558K 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

Similar organizations you could support

Closest in mission — by what they do
See all organizations like Laurel District Library Commission →

Run this organization? Claim this page

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.
Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.