Michigan · Nonprofit
THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC
THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC (Michigan) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $234,549 to it, the largest being THE KRESGE FOUNDATION ($66,500). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $319k
- Funders on record
- 10
- Grants received
- $235k
- Net assets
- $3.6M
What The Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation Inc does
Mission
To promote and enhance the city of detroit's cultural growth, all forms of literacy, an interest in books, and other forms of human record and to establish cooperative relationships and programs with the detroit public library and other cultural institutions and groups in support of such charitable, literary, and educational purposes.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Programming/events - includes youth and family literacy and educational activities, technology driven efforts and universal access through strategic partnerships and development.
$41,259 spentof which $336 as grants9% of program spendingLiteracy initiatives - literacy is the key to understanding the world around us and while the landscape may change as time moves on, knowledge will always be a formidable opponent against poverty and division. The organization will continue to seek out, support and provide resources that support the communities we serve in overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of their greatness.
$194,551 spentof which $26,697 as grants41% of program spendingCommunity engagement/ library support and advocacy - includes traditional library initiatives:early literacy (k-3); basic literacy; digital/technological literacy; prioritizes programs with an emphasis on literacy and mentorship for young children of color; encourages and supports collaborative partnerships to deliver new, innovative and equity driven programming opportunities for the detroit community.
$205,866 spentof which $2,263 as grants43% of program spendingSpecial collections and preservation support of initiatives that utilize the burton historical collection to serve as resources for the interaction of community members, social/civil equity projects and partnerships that enhance the detroit community.
$31,727 spentof which $6,453 as grants7% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $473,403.
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 2020 to 2021, from $3.9M to $4.9M (+26%).
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: 2021 9%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
19% of THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 9 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
Sean Ryan Everett
Exec director/board president
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 3 funders, grant income fell $25k → $18k.
2 of 10 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 3% 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 DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION 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 DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 28% of grant income and the top three 66%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
26% 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 THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 40% · 2018 70% · 2019 100% · 2020 62% · 2021 37% · 2022 32% · 2023 69% — 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.
How long its funders stay
33% of THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 70% 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
96% of THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC's grant income comes from Michigan funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $7k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states 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 DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC's revenue fell 24% between 2017 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 16,849 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION 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 Michigan
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
36%
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 DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION 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 DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC?
- THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC (Michigan) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $234,549 to it, the largest being THE KRESGE FOUNDATION ($66,500). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 10 organizations giving $234,549 in grants to THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC?
- THE KRESGE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $66,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 10 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