Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2001.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
67 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
17 people listed on the 990; $61K paid to officers and key staff.
Karen Wells’s $64K as Executive Director is at the 11th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $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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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
Programs and updates
Supports public library services and facilities in Durham County with additional funding.
Questions for Durham Library Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Durham Library Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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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 supports library events and services that feature national and local presenters in humanities, children's literacy, and funding for collections and technology. Library fest, an annual one-week, full community celebration of libraries, served 2,000 citizens in 2023.
Children's Literacy
Support for children's literacy includes collections development and programs. A highlight was 1000 books before kindergarten funded in partnership with the forest at duke, important for low-income families. Additionally, summer reading and children's activities in library fest receive substantial funding.
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 | $430K | $294K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $4.4M | $5.0M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.9M | $5.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $2K | $5K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $4.9M | $5.3M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $187K | $187K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $59K | $18K | $24K | $18K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $5K | $1K | $2K | $1K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $7K | $7K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $37K | $37K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $10K | $5K | $5K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1K | $369 | $1K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $8K | $2K | $3K | $3K |
| TravelLn 17 | $579 | $174 | $231 | $174 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $4K | $437 | $2K | $1K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $321K | $214K | $77K | $29K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.6M | $350K | $1.3M | $7.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.1M | $276K | $840K | $5.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $392K | $321K | $71K | $5.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $573K | $318K | $255K | $4.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $573K | $353K | $220K | $5.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $904K | $670K | $234K | $4.2M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $392,105 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 16 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $392,105 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $320,688 across 11 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $5,303,800 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,299,146 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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