Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Sep 2012.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
61 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
13 people listed on the 990; $130K paid to officers and key staff.
Suzanne Johnson’s $139K as Chief Financial Officer is at the 58th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall G Metzger II | $120,518 | $169,599 | $151,173 | $133,146 | $129,699 | $137,309 |
| Suzanne Johnson | $138,548 | $131,346 | — | — | — | — |
| Kate Russel | $102,875 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Daniel Gumnit | $91,538 | — | — | — | — | — |
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 15aYes
Programs and updates
Builds free book exchanges globally, fostering literacy, community, and intergenerational sharing.
Questions for Little Free Library Ltd
Your first name shows with your question. Little Free Library Ltd answers here, for everyone.
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Little free library book exchange networkour core mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free neighborhood book exchanges. Today there are more than 100,000 registered little free library book-sharing boxes circulating millions of free books, a phenomenon that continues to increase momentum.
Community and reading motivation programsthese programs expand the impact of physical book exchanges with purposeful activities that expand book access, encourage reading habits, and increase neighborliness.
Read in color is a new initiative bringing diverse books to little freelibrary book-sharing boxes around the world. The read in color programdistributes books that provide perspectives on racism and socialjustice, celebrate bipoc and LGBTQ voices, and incorporate experiencesfrom all identities for all readers.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.1M | $2.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $13K | $20K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.3M | $2.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $342K | $193K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $961K | $2.2M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $140K | $49K | $49K | $42K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $609K | $464K | $88K | $57K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $56K | $42K | $8K | $6K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $60K | $42K | $11K | $8K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $115K | $115K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $57K | $57K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $20K | $20K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $89K | $61K | $16K | $12K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $69K | $19K | $5K | $45K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $212K | $146K | $38K | $28K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $55K | $38K | $10K | $7K |
| TravelLn 17 | $12K | $8K | $2K | $2K |
| InterestLn 20 | $197 | $197 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $10K | $7K | $2K | $1K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $13K | $9K | $2K | $2K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $471K | $318K | $153K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $22K | $15K | $4K | $3K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.0M | $1.2M | $581K | $211K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $3.4M | $3.6M | −$244K | $3.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $3.4M | $3.2M | $232K | $3.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $3.1M | $2.9M | $186K | $2.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.9M | $2.4M | $526K | $2.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 Viewing | $3.2M | $2.0M | $1.2M | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $2.2M | $1.4M | $860K | $961K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $3,222,101 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 12 of 12 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $3,222,101 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,010,134 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $2,366,645 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,173,212 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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