New York · Nonprofit
LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC
LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC (New York) receives grants from 8 organizations whose IRS filings report $129,375 to it, the largest being THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION ($50,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $151k
- Funders on record
- 8
- Grants received
- $129k
- Net assets
- $52k
What Literary Freedom Project Inc does
Mission
The Literary Freedom Project creates free, open spaces for communities to engage with books through weekly discussions and presentations. Our programs promote literacy, celebrate the diverse cultures of the Bronx and NYC, and foster community connections through the literary arts and shared histories. Since 1998, LFP has focused on books, culture, and education in its initiatives. Mosaic, a literary print and online magazine, showcases writers of African descent and provides lesson plans for educators. The Mosaic Literary Conference, established in 2002, promotes literature-based creative thinking and knowledge sharing. One Book One Bronx, created in 2017, facilitates weekly discussions on gentrification, social justice, women's empowerment, racial inequality, and more.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ.
Programs
One Book One Bronx: A Literary Home for Community, Culture, and Conversation: At its core, One Book One Bronx is a celebration of the borough's identity-bold, resilient, and rich with untold stories. Rooted in the heart of the Bronx, the program draws a devoted audience of local readers who see their lives, histories, and hopes reflected in the books they read and the conversations they have. In a city where cultural narratives are often dominated by outside perspectives, One Book One Bronx offers something different: a literary space that centers voices from the margins and invites readers into a deeper dialogue about the world around them. Each week, the program brings together readers not just from the Bronx but from across New York City, drawn by a shared interest in stories that illuminate identity, resistance, belonging, and power. Whether diving into classics by Toni Morrison and James Baldwin or exploring the voices of contemporary writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Yaa Gyasi, participants are invited to think critically, listen deeply, and connect authentically. The book selections matter and so does the atmosphere. Every discussion is an invitation to reflect and grow,…
$46,987 spent65% of program spendingMosaic Magazine is more than a publication; it's a platform for transformation. Dedicated to elevating the voices of the African diaspora, Mosaic brings literature, culture, and education into vibrant conversation, creating resources that spark curiosity and deepen understanding in classrooms and communities. At the heart of Mosaic's mission is a commitment to educators, parents, and community organizations. Through dynamic professional development workshops and thoughtfully designed lesson plans, Mosaic provides tools to use reading, writing, and storytelling as gateways to engagement. These resources aren't just instructional; they're invitations to explore identity, history, justice, and imagination. Each issue of Mosaic, available in both print and digital formats, is paired with a comprehensive lesson plan crafted for high school educators. These plans reframe the magazine's core themes through culturally responsive instruction, offering a roadmap for integrating literature and social engagement in meaningful, accessible ways. Past lessons have centered figures and movements like Kalief Browder, Audre Lorde, Jesmyn Ward's The Fire This Time, and Black Lives Matter, allowing…
$10,123 spent14% of program spendingThe Mosaic Literary Conference (MLC) is a cornerstone of the Literary Freedom Project's mission to place books, culture, and education at the center of community life. Designed for high school educators, librarians, parents, and cultural workers, the conference is a vibrant gathering space where the power of Black literature is harnessed to inspire new strategies for teaching, learning, and community engagement. Held annually, MLC offers dynamic panels, hands-on workshops, and thought-provoking discussions that center the literary arts of the African diaspora. More than a traditional professional development event, the conference is a living extension of Mosaic Magazine, bringing the magazine's themes and voices off the page and into real-time exploration. Each issue of Mosaic is accompanied by a comprehensive lesson plan, and the conference creates space for educators and community members to interact directly with those resources, exchange ideas, and build confidence in using literature to engage students on topics of identity, resistance, justice, and belonging. By bridging the written word with practical instruction, MLC equips participants with tools to create culturally…
$14,984 spent21% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $72,094.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $2k to $41k (+1793%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
100% of LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.
Leadership and staff
Chief executive
Ronald Kavanaugh
Executive Director
Board chair
Haydil Henriquez
Board Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $7k → $2k.
From the IRS filings of LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 39% of grant income and the top three 73%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
31% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2021 51% · 2022 63% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
20% of LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC's funders are still giving 1 year after their first grant; 25% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
97% of LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC has grown faster than three-quarters of the 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC?
- LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC (New York) receives grants from 8 organizations whose IRS filings report $129,375 to it, the largest being THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION ($50,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC have?
- IRS filings report 8 organizations giving $129,375 in grants to LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC?
- THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $50,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like LITERARY FREEDOM PROJECT INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Literary Freedom Project →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2020–2025), and the filings of 8 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing