Washington · Nonprofit
THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES
THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES (Washington) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,690,457 to it, the largest being MANTON FOUNDATION ($1,687,566). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.4M
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $1.7M
- Net assets
- $280k
What The Association for Rural and Small Libraries does
Mission
Arsl builds strong communities through advocacy, professional development, and elevating the impact of rural and small libraries.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
Arsl successfully held its annual conference, both in-person and online. More than 700 attendees participated in this four-day professional development event. Arsl leadership institute provided leadership development education for 30 librarians serving small, rural libraries. The institute was initially supported by a federal imls grant of approximately $250k over a 3-year period (2020-2023). A second round of funding was awarded to educate an additional 30-person cohort (2023-2026). Arsl monthly training and networking series, the arsl train. Held virtually over zoom this series provides professional development and networking opportunities for arsls 2000 members, as well as nonmembers nationwide.
$1,126,875 spentof which $724,688 as grants$315,590 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $1,126,875.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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 $1.2M to $355k (−71%).
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.
77% of THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Kate Laughlin
Executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income rose $3k → $650k.
1 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 0% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES’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
THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES leans on a few funders — its largest provides 100% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 88% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — growing more concentrated.
“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.
Where its funders are
THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, across 1 state in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $391 arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. 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
THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES has grown faster than three-quarters of the 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,127 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $945k on record — $932k federal, $13k state.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$932k
- OR$9k
- MA$2k
- VT$2k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES
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 Washington
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
73% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES: 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 THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES?
- THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES (Washington) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,690,457 to it, the largest being MANTON FOUNDATION ($1,687,566). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $1,690,457 in grants to THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES?
- MANTON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,687,566 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ASSOCIATION FOR RURAL AND SMALL LIBRARIES find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 3 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