Durham Library Foundation
Supports public library services and facilities in Durham County with additional funding. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $1.6M in revenue, $350K in expenses, and $7.8M in net assets.Pt I
- Type
- Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Education
- Location
- Durham, NC
- Filings
- 6 on file (2020–2025)
More identity details & actions ⌄
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Summary of the Filing
Where the work happens
Adult Humanities
The foundation's history began with strong support from the national endowment for humanities and local contributions in 2007. Since then, hundreds of presentations have featured international, national, and local experts of subjects including the arts, music, local history, religion, literature, and culture.
Programs
The foundation enables the library staff to meet the needs of the diverse community through innovative programs and projects with a mixture of endowment funds with specific purposes and the unrestricted funds in its portfolio. Spanish language classes were supported by an endowment focused on outreach.
Children's Literacy
Support for children's and youth literacy includes various programs and collections development. For example, summer reading is an annual program that receives substantial funding in 2025, 13,482 children and teens attended the summer reading programs.
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Identity & Classification
Governance & Policies
Officers, Directors & Key Employees
Karen Wells’s $64K as Executive Director is at the 11th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3393 $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 · 1 named individual · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Wells | $63,617 | $60,753 | $60,579 | $61,902 | $52,500 | $43,750 |
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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Statement of Revenue
Statement of Functional Expenses
Balance Sheet
Financial Metrics
Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.
| Metric | This org | Peer median | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program ratio | 65% | — | — |
| Overhead ratio | 26% | — | — |
| Fundraising cost ratio | 2% | — | — |
| Revenue growth | 44% | — | — |
| Investment management fee ratio | 0.4% | — | — |
| Accounting fee ratio | 2% | — | — |
Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.
Grants
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Filings & Schedule Manifest
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Sources
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