Promising Pages is The Charlotte Area Book Bank! Our mission is to collect new and donated books and share them with children living in the Charlotte Area Book Desert: those with few, if any, books at home. We work to create a culture of book sharing and ownership. We envision a world where all children have home libraries of self-selected books, can see themselves reflected in the books they read, and have made reading a joyful habit for a lifetime.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
70¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$54K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · 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
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $37K a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
70%
of spending
Fine: 70% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$54K
to officers and key staff · 20% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 20% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
10
named funders · $255K
Looks good: 10 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$38K
29% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 29% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
11
of 11 voting members
Looks good: 11 of 11 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$236K
+1% vs prior year
Spent
$266K
To programs
70%
Net assets
$91K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$236K
FY2021▲ +1%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$233K
FY2021$236K
FY2022$1.0M
FY2023$909K
FY2024$1.0M
FY2025$1.2M
Expenses
$266K
FY2021▲ +21%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$220K
FY2021$266K
FY2022$955K
FY2023$1.2M
FY2024$747K
FY2025$1.1M
Net assets
$91K
FY2021▼ -25%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$121K
FY2021$91K
FY2022$302K
FY2023$60K
FY2024$344K
FY2025$465K

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 2012.

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

Where the money goes

70 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 70% · $186K Management & general 19% · $50K Fundraising 11% · $30K

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

12 people listed on the 990; $54K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Dir.
$53,935Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Eric Law——$59,290$55,300$53,935$54,000
Kelly Cates$55,374$55,744————

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.

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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 15aNo

Programs and updates

Distributes books to children in underserved Charlotte areas, fostering a love of reading.

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1 program · $186K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Promising Pages collects new and donated books and shares them with children with few, if any, books at home. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, we collected 185,664 books, and shared 182,256 books through schools and other child-serving community partners.

$186Kprogram expense

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 · FY2024
See all 10 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$236K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$236K
Investment incomeLn 3$5
Money outPt IX
$266K
Ln 25
Programscol B$186K
Managementcol C$50K
Fundraisingcol D$30K
Owns and owesPt X
$91K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$128K
Total assetsLn 16$129K
LiabilitiesLn 26$38K
PeoplePt VI, VII
12
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a11
IndependentVI 1b11
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$236K
Government grantsLn 1e$34K
Investment incomeLn 3$5
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$236K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$128K
SavingsLn 2$0
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$128K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1K
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$129K
LiabilitiesLn 26$38K
Net assetsLn 32$91K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 57
VolunteersI 61,786
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$154K$128K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2K$1K
Total assetsLn 16$156K$129K
LiabilitiesLn 26$35K$38K
Net assetsLn 32$121K$91K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$54K$16K$13K$24K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$167K$143K$23K$1K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$0
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$0
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$8K$2K$6K$266
Advertising and promotionLn 12$746$746
Office expensesLn 13$3K$2K$564$397
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$0
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$700$503$116$81
InsuranceLn 23$1K$846$194$137
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$29K$20K$6K$3K
All other expensesLn 24e$2K$1K$198$140
Total functional expensesLn 25$266K$186K$50K$30K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.2M$1.1M$121K$465K 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.0M$747K$284K$344K 990 PDF
FY2023 $909K$1.2M−$243K$60K 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.0M$955K$77K$302K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $236K$266K−$31K$91K 990 PDF
FY2020 $233K$220K$13K$121K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $235,740 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $204,122$235,735
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $5$5
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $29,081$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $233,208$235,740
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $169,637$221,320
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $50,445$45,065
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $220,082$266,385
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $13,126−$30,645
Part VI · Governance 11 of 11 board members independent, 4 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body11
VI-1b Independent voting members11
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyNo
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $235,740 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$34,427
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$201,308
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$235,735
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $5$5
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-12 Total revenueExcluded from tax $5$235,740
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $266,385 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $16,181 · Management $13,484 · Fundraising $24,270$53,935
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $142,906 · Management $23,028 · Fundraising $1,451$167,385
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxes$0
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting fees$0
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $1,815 · Management $6,368 · Fundraising $266$8,449
IX-12 Advertising and promotionFundraising $746$746
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $2,457 · Management $564 · Fundraising $397$3,418
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 Travel$0
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $503 · Management $116 · Fundraising $81$700
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $846 · Management $194 · Fundraising $137$1,177
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $20,137 · Management $6,074 · Fundraising $2,646$28,857
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $1,380 · Management $198 · Fundraising $140$1,718
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $186,225 · Management $50,026 · Fundraising $30,134$266,385
Part X · Balance sheet $128,567 assets, 18 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $154,324$127,516
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,751$1,051
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $156,075$128,567
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $34,427$37,922
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $34,785$37,922
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $94,136$90,645
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $121,290$90,645
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $156,075$128,567
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $90,645 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$235,740
XI-2 Total expenses$266,385
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$30,645
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$121,290
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$90,645

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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