Small Press Distribution INC FY2021 filing

Berkeley, CAUnknown exempt organizationEIN 94-3042614

SPD distributes printed literary books to the book trade on behalf of our nearly 400 member publishers.

76¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$98K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $95K a year · 8% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
76%
of spending
Looks good: 76% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$98K
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.0 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $27K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$815K
79% of total assets
Worth a look: liabilities are 79% of assets; over 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
8
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 8 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.3M
-10% vs prior year
Spent
$1.3M
To programs
76%
Net assets
$221K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.3M
FY2021▼ -10%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.4M
FY2021$1.3M
FY2022$1.1M
FY2023$1.2M
FY2024$621K
FY2025$30K
Expenses
$1.3M
FY2021▼ -2%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.4M
FY2021$1.3M
FY2022$1.3M
FY2023$1.3M
FY2024$886K
FY2025Not on file
Net assets
$221K
FY2021▼ -13%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$254K
FY2021$221K
FY2022$18K
FY2023−$52K
FY2024−$317K
FY2025−$453K

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · see the original

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Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Not on file
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2025 (typical filing lag)
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CSmall Press Distribution INC
EINHdr · item D94-3042614
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Latest filingForm 990FY2025 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CBerkeley, CA
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.spdbooks.org

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.76 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.11
Program services76%$1.0M
Management & general13%$172K
Fundraising11%$146K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.3M

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Surplus margin
-3%
revenue over expenses, this year
Program spending
76%
of expenses reach programs

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Total assets
$1.0M
FY2021▲ +30%
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2020$795K
FY2021$1.0M
FY2022$663K
FY2023$726K
FY2024$125K
FY2025Not on file
Total liabilities
$815K
FY2021▲ +50%
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2020$542K
FY2021$815K
FY2022$645K
FY2023$779K
FY2024$443K
FY2025Not on file
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$33K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.0M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B76%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 38
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 48

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$555K
Total assetsLn 16$1.0M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$815K
Total net assetsLn 32$221K
Months of cash on handcomputed5.0

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$955K · 74%
Contributions & grants$343K · 26%
Program service revenue74%$955K
Contributions & grants26%$343K
— government grantsLn 1e$202K
Total revenueLn 12$1.3M

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $555K · Operating expenses/yr $1.3M
5.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $1.0M · Total expenses $1.3M
76%
Management & General
Management & general $172K · Total expenses $1.3M
13%
Fundraising
Fundraising $146K · Total expenses $1.3M
11%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $142K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $168K
$0.85 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $343K · Total revenue $1.3M
26%
Government reliance
Government grants $202K · Total revenue $1.3M
16%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $955K · Total revenue $1.3M
74%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $1.3M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $955K · Total expenses $1.3M
72%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.3M · Prior year $1.4M
-10%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $221K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.3M · Expenses $1.3M
-3%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.0M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $221K · Total assets $1.0M
21%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.0M
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Alan Bernheimer · Reported title President · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $1.3M
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $807K · Total expenses $1.3M
61%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 76%——
Overhead ratio 13%——
Fundraising cost ratio 43%——
Revenue growth -10%——
Investment management fee ratio 0%——
Legal fee ratio 6%——
Accounting fee ratio 0.5%——
Fundraising fee ratio 0%——

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.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Former Exec Dir
$98,061Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 5 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Kent Watson$121,662$75,009———
Cindy Myers—$72,150$101,680——
Brent Cunningham———$98,061$93,047
Jeffrey Lependorf————$92,574
Andrew Pai—$66,523———

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 Small Press Distribution INC executive salaries →

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Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 8Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 8Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

What it does.

Distributes printed literary books to the book trade for member publishers.

Provided by the organization

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $1.0M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Warehouse and Fulfillment Services for Independent Literary Presses: this includes "picking, packing and shipping" some 300,000 books a year from our warehouse while receiving more than 1,000 new titles to inventory each year, plus maintaining customer service, billing, and other bookkeeping services for those sales.

$557Kprogram expense
02

Marketing and Publisher Relations for Independent Literary Presses: includes issuing reports and tracking fulfillment rates for ~350 independent literary publishers, maintaining a website that receives 20,000+ unique visitors a month, producing marketing material, such as our SPD Recommends bi-weekly email of new titles sent to…

$384Kprogram expense
03

Community Outreach Programming

this includes non-fundraising events and programs, including outreach events and ongoing programs such as the Poetry Trading Post, which gives out free books in exchange for poems written on the spot at various locations and tradeshows, as well as an array of book clubs, classroom visits, educational programs, and literary readings…

$73Kprogram expense

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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 · FY2023
New Israel FundFY2023$10K
Total grants receivedfrom 4 funders$27K
See all 4 funders →

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2025 Latest $30K—-95% 990 PDF
FY2024 $621K$886K-50% 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.2M$1.3M+12% 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.1M$1.3M-15% 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $1.3M$1.3M-10% 990 PDF
FY2020 $1.4M$1.4M 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

Full filing: Form 990 for FY2021

Every line we hold from the return, cited to its Part and line.
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,331,082 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $99,944 · Management $22,479 · Fundraising $16,773$139,196
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $434,815 · Management $63,474 · Fundraising $83,291$581,580
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $25,318 · Management $4,485 · Fundraising $5,446$35,249
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $37,793 · Management $6,129 · Fundraising $7,150$51,072
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $54,849 · Management $8,895 · Fundraising $10,377$74,121
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $6,170$6,170
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $1,220 · Management $198 · Fundraising $232$1,650
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $16,414 · Management $2,662 · Fundraising $3,104$22,180
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $27,400 · Management $3,841 · Fundraising $4,672$35,913
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $42,780 · Management $6,937 · Fundraising $8,093$57,810
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $129,667 · Management $2,664 · Fundraising $3,108$135,439
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,064 · Management $335 · Fundraising $390$2,789
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $9,608 · Management $1,426 · Fundraising $360$11,394
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $131,270 · Management $42,058 · Fundraising $3,191$176,519
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,013,142 · Management $171,753 · Fundraising $146,187$1,331,082

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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