Boulder Public Library Foundation INC

Tax-deductible

Boulder, CO501(c)(3)Since 1974EducationEIN 23-7408456Revenue $984K in FY2025

On file with the IRSboulderlibraryfoundation.org1001 Arapahoe Ave, 80302-6015 · Boulder, COTax-exempt since Oct 2025Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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The Boulder Library Foundation increases funding for services that help the people of Boulder develop and grow by raising money, increasing awareness, advocating for the Library, and encouraging community involvement.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
52¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 50 volunteers and 3 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
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
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $10K a year · 1% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
52%
of spending
Worth a look: 52% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$160K
to officers and key staff · 21% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 97% of similar orgs
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 21% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
4 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.8 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
7
named funders · $69K
Looks good: 7 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$38K
0.6% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 9 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 9 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$984K
+15% vs prior year
Spent
$768K
To programs
52%
Net assets
$6.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$984K
FY2025▲ +15%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$557K
FY2021$1.1M
FY2022$1.2M
FY2023$522K
FY2024$855K
FY2025$984K
Expenses
$768K
FY2025▼ -22%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$618K
FY2021$1.3M
FY2022$782K
FY2023$759K
FY2024$988K
FY2025$768K
Net assets
$6.1M
FY2025▲ +15%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$6.0M
FY2021$5.8M
FY2022$5.0M
FY2023$5.3M
FY2024$5.3M
FY2025$6.1M

From the FY2025 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 2025.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

52 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 52% · $403K Management & general 27% · $210K Fundraising 20% · $156K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

17 people listed on the 990; $160K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$160,282Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Former Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Former Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Library District Representative
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Christopher a Barge’s $160K as CEO is at the 97th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1612 $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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022
Christopher a Barge$160,282$144,313$136,082$132,685

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 Boulder Public Library Foundation INC executive salaries →

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Raises funds and awareness to support library services that help Boulder residents develop and grow.

Questions for Boulder Public Library Foundation INC

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $403K · in their own filed words · FY2025
01

In 2025, the boulder library foundation raised more than $500,000 and supported programming at the boulder public library with $350,000 in grants and direct funding. The foundation's grants supported outreach, literacy and arts programming.

$403Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 7 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $3.2M · 2020–2025
Boulder Public Library DistrictFY2025$325,228
Boulder Public Library DistrictFY2024$669,177
Boulder Public LibraryFY2023$376,534
Boulder Public LibraryFY2022$409,807
Boulder Public LibraryFY2021$972,155
Boulder Public LibraryFY2020$436,153

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$984K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$709K
Investment incomeLn 3$302K
Money outPt IX
$768K
Ln 25
Programscol B$403K
Managementcol C$210K
Fundraisingcol D$156K
Owns and owesPt X
$6.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$246K
Total assetsLn 16$6.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$38K
PeoplePt VI, VII
17
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a9
IndependentVI 1b8
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$709K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$5K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$211K
Investment incomeLn 3$302K
Gains on assetsLn 7$42K
Total revenueLn 12$984K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$115K
SavingsLn 2$130K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$246K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5.7M
Total assetsLn 16$6.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$38K
Net assetsLn 32$6.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
VolunteersI 650
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$215K$246K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5.1M$5.7M
Total assetsLn 16$5.4M$6.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$33K$38K
Net assetsLn 32$5.3M$6.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$325K$325K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$181K$36K$72K$72K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$120K$24K$48K$48K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$7K$1K$3K$3K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$7K$1K$3K$3K
Payroll taxesLn 10$20K$4K$8K$8K
Legal feesLn 11b$6K$6K
Accounting feesLn 11c$27K$27K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$3K$3K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$8K$8K
Office expensesLn 13$15K$15K
Information technologyLn 14$13K$5K$8K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$7K$1K$6K
InsuranceLn 23$4K$4K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$24K$10K$7K$7K
Total functional expensesLn 25$768K$403K$210K$156K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $984K$768K$215K$6.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $855K$988K−$133K$5.3M 990 PDF
FY2023 $522K$759K−$238K$5.3M 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.2M$782K$386K$5.0M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.1M$1.3M−$233K$5.8M 990 PDF
FY2020 $557K$618K−$61K$6.0M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $983,758 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $511,774$708,574
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $357,733$302,284
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$14,032−$27,100
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $855,475$983,758
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $669,177$325,228
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $241,665$335,209
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $77,315$107,902
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $988,157$768,339
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$132,682$215,419
Part VI · Governance 8 of 9 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body9
VI-1b Independent voting members8
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $983,758 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$210,641
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$497,933
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$4,950
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$708,574
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $259,944$259,944
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $6,823$6,823
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $42,340$42,340
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$33,923−$33,923
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $275,184$983,758
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $768,339 across 15 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $325,228$325,228
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $36,113 · Management $72,227 · Fundraising $72,227$180,567
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $24,077 · Management $48,153 · Fundraising $48,153$120,383
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $1,459 · Management $2,918 · Fundraising $2,918$7,295
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,310 · Management $2,620 · Fundraising $2,620$6,550
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $4,082 · Management $8,166 · Fundraising $8,166$20,414
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $6,480$6,480
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $26,977$26,977
IX-11g Other fees for servicesManagement $2,833$2,833
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $8,014$8,014
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $15,307$15,307
IX-14 Information technologyManagement $4,843 · Fundraising $8,342$13,185
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsManagement $1,317 · Fundraising $5,804$7,121
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $3,555$3,555
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $10,343 · Management $6,696 · Fundraising $7,391$24,430
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $402,612 · Management $210,106 · Fundraising $155,621$768,339
Part X · Balance sheet $6,148,974 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $114,989$115,497
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $100,455$130,024
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $23,138$188,723
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,055$1,064
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $5,123,885$5,713,666
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $5,363,522$6,148,974
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $23,105$10,392
X-18 Grants payable$17,810
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $9,673$9,335
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $32,778$37,537
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $4,330,257$4,825,322
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,000,487$1,286,115
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $5,330,744$6,111,437
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $5,363,522$6,148,974
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $6,111,437 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$983,758
XI-2 Total expenses$768,339
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$215,419
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$5,330,744
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$565,274
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$6,111,437

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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