Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2015.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
78 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
11 people listed on the 990; $68K paid to officers and key staff.
Caroline Cumming’s $95K as Executive Director is at the 81st percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline Cumming | $95,000 | $97,461 | $73,308 | $68,708 | $62,591 | $68,281 |
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
- Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed
Programs and updates
Preserves books, shares them through libraries, and hosts cultural programs and writer workspaces.
Questions for Seattle Athenaeum
Your first name shows with your question. Seattle Athenaeum answers here, for everyone.
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Folio provides inclusive and accessible non-commercial space to read, write, and work. Located at the heart of Pike Place Market, Folio's reading rooms are home to a circulating book collection of over 11,000 donated books from Northwest collectors, and many literary and cultural periodicals.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $25K | $46K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $11K | $0 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $41K | $51K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $24K | $22K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $17K | $28K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $68K | $48K | $14K | $7K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $47K | $43K | $4K | $0 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $12K | $9K | $2K | $687 |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $6K | $0 | $6K | $0 |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $4K | $3K | $316 | $236 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $2K | $1K | $0 | $509 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $395 | $311 | $61 | $23 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $1K | $1K | $0 | $179 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $37K | $29K | $6K | $2K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1K | $1K | $0 | $0 |
| InterestLn 20 | $163 | $0 | $163 | $0 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $11K | $11K | $0 | $0 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $3K | $3K | $497 | $191 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $18K | $14K | $546 | $3K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $6K | $5K | $681 | $26 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $216K | $168K | $34K | $14K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $361K | $367K | −$6K | $238K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $450K | $312K | $138K | $244K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $366K | $253K | $112K | $106K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $249K | $264K | −$15K | −$6K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $203K | $228K | −$24K | $4K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $227K | $216K | $11K | $28K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $226,874 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, 3 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $226,874 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $215,734 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $50,694 assets, 11 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $28,194 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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