Foundation for the Advancement of Christian Libraries
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- Only 42% of its spending went to programs.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
The mission of the Foundation for the Advancement of Christian Libraries is to strengthen libraries by equipping Christian librarians through professional development, scholarship, and spiritual encouragement for service primarily in higher education.
- Income
- $282,877
- Spending
- $311,628
- Spent on programs
- 42%
- Reserves
- 29.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 67%
- Employees
- 6
- Volunteers
- 125
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 74 out of 100. Higher than 48% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 29.7 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 10% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 5% on the year before.
Spending floor
0 of 1542% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 80 out of 100. Higher than 78% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 2510 of 10 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (6)
- $40,308 spent. CHRISTIAN PERIODICAL INDEX: Provides indexing to articles in over 220 current publications (including 100+ academic journals and 105 peer-reviewed titles). 45% of the titles indexed in CPI are not found in other major religion databases, and 100 titles are found ONLY in CPI. Total Subscriptions: 105
- $3,067 spent. THE CHRISTIAN LIBRARIAN: The journal that serves as a medium of exchange of ideas and education for libraries and librarians in higher education. The Christian Librarian is now a fully open-access journal that no longer requires a subscription.
- $66,408 spent. THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE: The 2025 annual conference was held at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. The purpose of the conference is to inform attendees about contemporary trends in librarianship, provide education through workshops, and foster Christian fellowship and spiritual encouragement. For 2025, only an in-person conference option was offered. There were 124 attendees at the conference.
- $10,654 spent. THE COMMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY ASSISTANCE (CILA): CILA produces The Librarian's Manual, used to help new libraries get started or international libraries to learn about best practices in libraries. CILA also participates in international assistance to libraries through the use of donated funds.
- $9,286 spent. ACL LEGACY ENDOWMENT GRANT: The Legacy Endowment fund is a Quasi-endowment established by the board to further the mission of the organization.
- $540 spent. ACL Virtual Fall Workshop: In the fall of 2025, we held a mini-series of workshops to reach members who were unable to attend the in-person conference. The content consisted of three of the most popular workshops. We used Zoom to conduct the workshops.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 2004.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.