As followers of Christ and booksellers, we donate thousands of books to vulnerable children. We give some profits from our bookstore to serving women and children. We employ women coming out of prison, domestic violence, addiction and other trauma. We also have a re-entry to work training program.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
93¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$3K 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

FY2020 · 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 $23K a year · 19% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
93%
of spending
Looks good: 93% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$3K
to officers and key staff · 4% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 4% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.5 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $77
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$7K
59% of total assets
Fine: liabilities are 59% of assets; 50% to 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
6
of 6 voting members
Looks good: 6 of 6 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$101K
Spent
$84K
To programs
93%
Net assets
$5K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$101K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$101K
FY2021$99K
FY2022$91K
FY2023$72K
FY2024$160K
FY2025$221K
Expenses
$84K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$84K
FY2021$90K
FY2022$99K
FY2023$79K
FY2024$102K
FY2025$151K
Net assets
$5K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$5K
FY2021$14K
FY2022$6K
FY2023−$1K
FY2024$56K
FY2025$127K

From the FY2020 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 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 Oct 2012.

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

Where the money goes

93 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 93% · $78K Management & general 7% · $6K

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

6 people listed on the 990; $3K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President
$3,280Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Ruth Wendling’s $12K as Chair is at the 6th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2168 $100K–1M human services 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Ruth Wendling$12,154$10,133$4,920$19,413$18,670$3,280

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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Sells donated books to fund aid for vulnerable children and orphans, while employing women rebuilding their lives.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $78K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Selling books to provide food, housing, medicine, and other resources for orphans and vulnerable kids. (Grants given in 2020 equaled $6,883.)

$55Kprogram expense
02

Employing women coming out of prison, addiction, homelessness, domestic violence and other trauma. (In 2020 we employed four women in this program called Restart. Total salaries paid to these four women is $23,363.)

$23Kprogram expense
03

Donating kids books to educational programming and free libraries throughout Illinois. Donating adult books to women's prisons, domestic abuse shelters, halfway houses, and food pantries. (Total number of books donated in 2020 = 15,000 books.)

Pt IX · col B

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 · FY2023
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$77

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$101K
Ln 12
Other incomeLn 4–11$94K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$7K
Money outPt IX
$84K
Ln 25
Programscol B$78K
Managementcol C$6K
Owns and owesPt X
$5K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$11K
Total assetsLn 16$12K
LiabilitiesLn 26$7K
PeoplePt VI, VII
6
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a6
IndependentVI 1b6
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$7K
Government grantsLn 1e$0
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Other incomeLn 4–11$94K
Total revenueLn 12$101K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$2K
SavingsLn 2$8K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$11K
Total assetsLn 16$12K
LiabilitiesLn 26$7K
Net assetsLn 32$5K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 54
VolunteersI 615
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
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 FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4K$11K
Total assetsLn 16$6K$12K
LiabilitiesLn 26$18K$7K
Net assetsLn 32−$12K$5K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$7K$7K
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$3K$0$3K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$25K$25K$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$2K$2K$251
Advertising and promotionLn 12$400$400
Office expensesLn 13$1K$200$1K
OccupancyLn 16$42K$41K$1K
InsuranceLn 23$2K$2K$64
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1K$1K$75$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$84K$78K$6K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $221K$151K$70K$127K 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Oct 27, 2025 $160K$102K$57K$56K 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Sep 12, 2024 $72K$79K−$7K−$1K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Aug 24, 2023 $91K$99K−$8K$6K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Jun 24, 2022 $99K$90K$9K$14K 990 PDF
FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 14, 2021 $101K$84K$17K$5K 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 FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $101,078 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $4,976$7,115
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $82,444$93,963
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $87,420$101,078
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $2,424$6,883
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $35,611$30,555
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $49,636$46,578
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $87,671$84,016
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$251$17,062
Part VI · Governance 6 of 6 board members independent, 5 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body6
VI-1b Independent voting members6
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
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
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $101,078 across 10 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $90,598 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$0
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$7,115
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$7,115
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $3,365 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$3,365
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $93,963 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$101,078
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $84,016 across 12 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $6,883$6,883
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $0$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $0$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for membersPrograms $0$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $0 · Management $3,280$3,280
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $25,104 · Management $0$25,104
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $1,920 · Management $251$2,171
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $400$400
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $200 · Management $1,006$1,206
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $40,688 · Management $1,227$41,915
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,537 · Management $64$1,601
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,381 · Management $75 · Fundraising $0$1,456
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $78,113 · Management $5,903 · Fundraising $0$84,016
Part X · Balance sheet $12,394 assets, 10 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $3,074$2,223
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $779$8,349
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $1,736$1,822
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $5,589$12,394
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $12,049$5,722
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $1,430$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $4,100$1,600
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $17,579$7,322
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year −$11,990$5,072
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $5,589$12,394
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,072 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$101,078
XI-2 Total expenses$84,016
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$17,062
XI-4 Net assets at start of year−$11,990
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$0
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$5,072

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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