Maryland · Nonprofit
THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC
THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC (Maryland) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $140,494 to it, the largest being THE BOYE FOUNDATION ($90,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $231k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $140k
- Net assets
- $369k
What The Book Thing of Baltimore Inc does
Mission
The book thing provides free donated books to the community, including books for inner city schools.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
The book things sole program is to provide a free exchange of books to the community. Books are donated and individuals can take any books they choose, in any number. Books have been taken to stock classroom libraries in inner city schools, for example. A small number of books are sold to raise funds for operating expenses. In 2024, more than 215,000 books were given away. Nearly 10,000 patrons attended giveaways, served by 160 volunteers working more than 9,000 hours.
$189,417 spentof which $108,136 as grants$149,233 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $189,417.
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 2021 to 2022, from $245k to $293k (+20%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2022 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
76% of THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 5 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income rose $50 → $15k.
1 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 14% 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 BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE 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
THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 64% 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: 2017 100% · 2018 98% · 2019 100% · 2021 100% · 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.
Where its funders are
THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC draws 75% of its grant income from funders outside Maryland, across 4 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $20k 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 BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC has grown faster than three-quarters of the 22,812 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 22,812 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE 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 Maryland
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
98% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
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 THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE 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 THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC?
- THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC (Maryland) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $140,494 to it, the largest being THE BOYE FOUNDATION ($90,000). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $140,494 in grants to THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC?
- THE BOYE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $90,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE BOOK THING OF BALTIMORE INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Maryland. 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 2020–2024), and the filings of 6 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