Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Nov 1992.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
93 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
23 people listed on the 990; $2.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Daniel Stokes’s $227K as Chief Administrative Officer is at the 46th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Becki Last | — | $188,938 | $234,923 | $214,922 | $183,262 |
| Kyle Zimmer | $214,863 | $214,210 | $232,100 | $232,688 | $213,358 |
| Daniel Stokes | $226,653 | $225,232 | $215,252 | $221,013 | $205,082 |
| Wendy Lin | $215,436 | $91,880 | — | — | — |
| Dana Bond | $214,707 | $179,743 | $178,600 | — | — |
| Christopher Stine | $212,125 | $214,285 | $213,600 | — | — |
| Chris Stine | — | — | — | $211,605 | $191,358 |
| Carey Palmquist | — | — | — | $211,288 | $179,991 |
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.
See First Book executive salaries →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
Provides books and educational resources to children in low-income communities through a network of educators.
Questions for First Book
Your first name shows with your question. First Book answers here, for everyone.
First book is dedicated to ensuring that all children, regardless of their background or zip code, can succeed, by removing barriers to equitable education. We reach 5 million kids each year in low-income communities across north america, providing books and resources through a powerful network of more than 575,000 educators, the largest…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $10.2M | $6.6M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $42K | $20K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $0 | $0 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $38.9M | $35.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $7.1M | $7.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $31.8M | $28.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $0 | |||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | |||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $93K | $93K | ||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.5M | $909K | $358K | $237K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $6.7M | $4.0M | $1.6M | $1.1M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $232K | $140K | $55K | $37K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $708K | $449K | $177K | $82K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $592K | $358K | $141K | $93K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $0 | |||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $12K | $738 | $105 | $11K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $133K | $8K | $1K | $123K |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $0 | |||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | |||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $0 | |||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $0 | |||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $341K | $257K | $45K | $40K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $285K | $172K | $68K | $45K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $1.5M | $1.1M | $209K | $228K |
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $545K | $296K | $109K | $141K |
| TravelLn 17 | $180K | $109K | $43K | $28K |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $81K | $49K | $19K | $13K |
| InterestLn 20 | $0 | |||
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $0 | |||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $64K | $39K | $15K | $10K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $72.7M | $72.7M | ||
| All other expensesLn 24e | $2.7M | $1.7M | $380K | $658K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $88.4M | $82.4M | $3.2M | $2.8M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Sep 8, 2025 | $92.3M | $93.8M | −$1.5M | $27.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 9, 2024 | $85.1M | $88.4M | −$3.3M | $28.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2023 | $104.7M | $120.4M | −$15.7M | $31.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2022 | $119.2M | $102.9M | $16.3M | $69.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Jul 12, 2021 | $126.9M | $134.0M | −$7.0M | $31.0M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $85,122,503 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 11 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $85,122,503 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $88,386,667 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $35,649,333 assets, 24 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $28,469,803 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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