Literacy Lab FY2020 filing

IRS exemption revoked

Mill Valley, CAUnknown exempt organizationEIN 47-2116172Revenue $477K in FY2020

On file with the IRSlitlab.org1 Weatherly Dr Apt 101 · Mill Valley, CA

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Litlab's mission is to create connected and interactive early learning environments by deploying books, digital content, and blended learning solutions for under-resourced children, their caregivers, and educators.

70¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$154K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
Revoked
IRS exemption revoked
Concern: the IRS revoked its tax exemption.
IRS Auto-Revocation List
Latest return
FY2021
latest Form 990
Concern: the latest return is for FY2021, 5 tax years back; more than 4 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 2
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $89K a year · 18% of revenue · last 2 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 1 of the last 2 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 2 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
$154K
to officers and key staff · 30% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 30% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Worth a look: 0.8 months of spending in cash; under 1.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $70K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$134K
161% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 161% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
6
of 7 voting members
Looks good: 6 of 7 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$477K
Spent
$506K
To programs
70%
Net assets
−$50K
By yearFY2020–FY2021
Revenue
$477K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$477K
FY2021$487K
Expenses
$506K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$506K
FY2021$281K
Net assets
−$50K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020−$50K
FY2021$106K

From the FY2020 Form 990 · see the original

990 PDF Claim
IRS revoked this organization's tax-exempt status on May 15, 2025
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2021) →

Is it real?

No. The IRS revoked its tax exemption. Latest filing on record: FY2021.

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% · $353K Management & general 21% · $106K Fundraising 9% · $47K

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

7 people listed on the 990; $154K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$153,750Pt VII · Sec A
Board President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

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

NameFY2021FY2020
Laura Reed$123,663$153,750

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 15aYes
  • Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed

Programs and updates

Provides books, digital content, and blended learning for under-resourced children and educators.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $312K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Special Initiatives

Literacy lab staff are constantly prototyping new ways to help children succeed in their educational journey. During 2018, gitlab developed a back-end utility app that enables monitoring of the littab multi-app environment usage, to help providers and parents gain insights into how best to guide learners as they use the littab program.

$141Kprogram expense
02

Interactive Reading & Learning Tools

The littab program combines a tablet, ebooks, and learning apps to transform how a child experiencing poverty develops learning pathways for school readiness and success. Literacy lab makes learning resources to children by providing high-quality ebooks and learning apps, accessible in multiple languages, the littab program also changes…

$119Kprogram expense
03

Access to Books

Literacy lab believes in an interactive blended approach to early learning. Many education centers lack the necessary tools to help bridge the 30-MILLION word gap that exists between low-income children and their higher-income counterparts.

$52Kprogram 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
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$70K

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$477K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$469K
Other incomeLn 4–11$7K
Investment incomeLn 3$1K
Money outPt IX
$506K
Ln 25
Programscol B$353K
Managementcol C$106K
Fundraisingcol D$47K
Owns and owesPt X
−$50K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$33K
Total assetsLn 16$83K
LiabilitiesLn 26$134K
PeoplePt VI, VII
7
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b6
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$469K
Government grantsLn 1e$19K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Investment incomeLn 3$1K
Other incomeLn 4–11$7K
Gains on assetsLn 7$1K
Total revenueLn 12$477K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$33K
SavingsLn 2$13
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$33K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$83K
LiabilitiesLn 26$134K
Net assetsLn 32−$50K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
VolunteersI 66
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 FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4K$33K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3K$0
Total assetsLn 16$92K$83K
LiabilitiesLn 26$113K$134K
Net assetsLn 32−$22K−$50K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$155K$130K$17K$8K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$130K$99K$12K$19K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$1K$1K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$30K$6K$24K
Payroll taxesLn 10$22K$16K$4K$2K
Accounting feesLn 11c$20K$20K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$38K$20K$3K$15K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$923$165$758
Office expensesLn 13$7K$4K$2K$1K
Information technologyLn 14$4K$847$3K$15
OccupancyLn 16$14K$14K
InterestLn 20$500$500
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$3K$3K
InsuranceLn 23$2K$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$78K$77K$0$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$506K$353K$106K$47K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2021 Latest $487K$281K$206K$106K 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $477K$506K−$29K−$50K 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 FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $477,163 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $436,822$469,078
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $22,092$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $4$1,316
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $28,692$6,769
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $487,610$477,163
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $432,853$338,120
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $288,181$167,804
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $721,034$505,924
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$233,424−$28,761
Part VI · Governance 6 of 7 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members6
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
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 $477,163 across 13 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $609 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$18,750
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$450,328
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$469,078
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $1$1
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossRelated to mission $6,160 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$6,160
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $1,315 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$1,315
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $8,084 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $1$477,163
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $505,924 across 15 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $130,494 · Management $16,950 · Fundraising $7,687$155,131
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $98,683 · Management $12,297 · Fundraising $18,754$129,734
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsManagement $1,350$1,350
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $6,464 · Management $23,504$29,968
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $15,729 · Management $4,020 · Fundraising $2,188$21,937
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $20,126$20,126
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $19,783 · Management $2,896 · Fundraising $15,108$37,787
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $165 · Fundraising $758$923
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $3,638 · Management $2,303 · Fundraising $1,236$7,177
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $847 · Management $2,736 · Fundraising $15$3,598
IX-16 OccupancyManagement $14,287$14,287
IX-20 InterestManagement $500$500
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $3,152$3,152
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $1,855$1,855
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $77,399 · Management $0 · Fundraising $1,000$78,399
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $353,202 · Management $105,976 · Fundraising $46,746$505,924
Part X · Balance sheet $83,079 assets, 13 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $3,595$32,772
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $13$13
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $58,765$48,765
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$1,529
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,152$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $91,650$83,079
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $50,876$12,266
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payable$71,300
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $113,376$133,566
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$21,726−$50,487
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $0$0
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year −$21,726−$50,487
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $91,650$83,079
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$50,487 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$477,163
XI-2 Total expenses$505,924
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$28,761
XI-4 Net assets at start of year−$21,726
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−$50,487

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

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