Skip to content
Ask
← Funding

New York · Nonprofit

THE READING LEAGUE INC

THE READING LEAGUE INC (New York) receives grants from 25 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,910,584 to it, the largest being POPPLESTONE FOUNDATION ($2,500,000). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$8.2M
Funders on record
25
Grants received
$6.9M
Net assets
$5.6M
15/25 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 16%
01What it does

What The Reading League Inc does

Mission

To advance awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-aligned reading instruction.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Services - professional development, coaching, and other fees - the reading league provides professional development, coaching, and other services to school districts to improve literacy outcomes. Programs are based on district needs and can be as short as a day or span multiple years.

    $2,235,010 spent$2,287,662 earned by the program
    35% of program spending

  2. Conference - the reading league annually holds a conference and summit. Speakers include experts in the science of reading who present on various topics centered around evidence-aligned practices. In 2024, there were over 3,000 attendees.

    $1,779,533 spent$2,196,857 earned by the program
    28% of program spending

  3. Merchandise sales - the reading league offers professional books and resources, including decodable books for classroom use that are aligned with the science of reading to supplement customers' science of reading journey, as well as logoed merchandise.

    $330,888 spent$847,469 earned by the program
    5% of program spending

  4. Reading buddies - the reading league reading buddies tm - the reading league's reading buddies tm is a foundational tv series for students in kindergarten through third grade. The 60 episode show instructs in three important underlying components of word reading: phonological awareness, letter names/sounds, and blending sounds to decode words accurately.

    $879,398 spent
    14% of program spending

  5. Chapters - chapters is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is similar to the reading league's and aligns with our purpose, activities, and policies.

    $267,245 spent$16,500 earned by the program
    4% of program spending

  6. The compass - the compass is a web page on the trl website that guides stakeholders such as policymakers, publishers, professors, teachers, and administrators in their science of reading journey. It provides a reliable go-to set of resources aligned to the science of reading to those whose decisions impact teachers.

    $465,599 spent
    7% of program spending

  7. Journal - the reading league offers a peer reviewed publication written and edited by both educators and researchers that focuses on leveraging scientific evidence to improve practice. The journal is published 3 times a year. Subscriptions are $100 per year.

    $249,020 spent$225,895 earned by the program
    4% of program spending

  8. Events - the reading league offers events that bring industry experts in the science of reading to provide insight on evidence aligned practices. Fees range from no cost to up to $20 in addition to being supported by sponsorships.

    $156,007 spent$460 earned by the program
    2% of program spending

The 8 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $6,362,700.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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.

100 = 20182018 Revenue 100 ($352k) Expenses 100 ($341k) Net assets 100 ($53k)2019 Revenue 847 ($3.0M) Expenses 587 ($2.0M) Net assets 1952 ($1.0M)2020 Revenue 617 ($2.2M) Expenses 562 ($1.9M) Net assets 2431 ($1.3M)2021 Revenue 791 ($2.8M) Expenses 656 ($2.2M) Net assets 3465 ($1.8M)2022 Revenue 1189 ($4.2M) Expenses 910 ($3.1M) Net assets 5507 ($2.9M)2023 Revenue 2199 ($7.7M) Expenses 1609 ($5.5M) Net assets 9764 ($5.2M)2024 Revenue 2333 ($8.2M) Expenses 2273 ($7.7M) Net assets 10628 ($5.6M)
2018201920202021202220232024
Revenue (2333)Expenses (2273)Net assets (10628)Peer revenue range

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 $8.6M to $12M (+37%).

$2.0M
$1.9M
$3.0M
$4.8M
$6.6M
$8.6M
$12M
2018201920202021202220232024
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2020 5% · 2021 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

28% of THE READING LEAGUE INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 12,352 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.

$11k
’18
$979k
’19
$253k
’20
$546k
’21
$1.1M
’22
$2.2M
’23
$457k
’24
4.8
months of
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

Maria Murray

Chief executive officer

Board chair

Stephanie Finn

Chair

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

2018201920202021202220232024
Listed10141818191820
Joined·+5+7+1+2+6+2
No longer listed·131170
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 11 funders, grant income rose $5k → $557k.

Funder
'17
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
'25*
total
funders
1
2
7
7
8
11
10
8

4 of 25 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 17% 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 READING LEAGUE 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 READING LEAGUE INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 36% of grant income and the top three 64%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

36%
largest funder
64%
top three
~5
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2019 98% · 2020 38% · 2021 69% · 2022 63% · 2023 54% — diversifying over time.

“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

29% of THE READING LEAGUE INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y

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

THE READING LEAGUE INC draws 75% of its grant income from funders outside New York, across 9 states in all.

MN
WI
NY
MA
IN
PA
CA
DE
NC

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
New York out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

THE READING LEAGUE INC has grown faster than three-quarters of the 11,752 education nonprofits its size.

Operating margin6% · above the median
Months of reserve4.8mo · above the median
Revenue growth (annualized)69% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,752 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024

Government funding THE READING LEAGUE INC receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $30k on record.

State$30k
23
24
25
26
Top programs
  • ASSOC DUES AND CONF FEES$27k
  • INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPLIES$2k
  • MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES$1k
  • BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS$461
  • TRAINING$400

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 READING LEAGUE 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

The Reading Institute85%Read to Lead Inc82%The Leadership Academy Inc82%Literacy Academy Collective Inc82%Encompass Resources for Learning Inc81%Reading Team Inc81%El Education Inc81%Proliteracy Worldwide80%

Nationally

The Reading Institute85%Reading Partners85%Lead to Read Inc85%The Literacy Lab84%Reading Assist Institute84%Reading Power Inc84%The Learning Accelerator84%Teaching Lab83%
05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

82% of spending goes to programs.

Program 82%Management 15%Fundraising 3%

Governance

16
board members
81%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

98%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

NY

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE READING LEAGUE 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 READING LEAGUE INC?
THE READING LEAGUE INC (New York) receives grants from 25 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,910,584 to it, the largest being POPPLESTONE FOUNDATION ($2,500,000). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does THE READING LEAGUE INC have?
IRS filings report 25 organizations giving $6,910,584 in grants to THE READING LEAGUE INC, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of THE READING LEAGUE INC?
POPPLESTONE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like THE READING LEAGUE 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 Reading League →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), and the filings of 25 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