Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL
URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,850,325 to it, the largest being EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION ($1,431,890). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.9M
- Funders on record
- 4
- Grants received
- $2.9M
- Net assets
- $2.2M
What Urban Libraries Council does
Mission
The Urban Libraries Council is dedicated to strengthening and advancing the essential role of public libraries as dynamic, accessible places for opportunity, learning and innovation. We connect public library leaders and drive transformative change to enrich the lives of individuals and urban communities across north america.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Membership programs: ulc is an innovation and action tank of north america's leading public library systems. We drive cutting-edge research and strategic partnerships to elevate the power of libraries as essential, transformative institutions for the 21st century. We identify significant challenges facing today's communities and develop new tools and techniques to help libraries achieve stronger outcomes in education, workforce and economic development, digital inclusion, and race and social equity.
$1,621,231 spent$1,859,972 earned by the program46% of program spendingHealthy and sustainable communities: ulc is leading the work in groundbreaking research and initiatives that are testing and enhancing new ways that libraries serve people and communities. Ulc's work generates new service delivery models, best practices and tools of value to libraries. Public libraries are essential to promoting equitable economic mobility, civic engagement, and serve as essential hubs to help build stronger, healthier communities. In 2024, ulc led the convening youth opportunities initiative funded by the walmart foundation and hubs for entrepreneurship funded by the ewing marion kauffman foundation.
$1,069,161 spentof which $180,500 as grants30% of program spendingConferences: ulc's conferences and training focus on the critical issues that challenge local communities.
$459,150 spent$398,240 earned by the program13% of program spendingEducation: education transforms the lives of individuals and is the foundation for strong, economically vital communities. In the knowledge economy, the library is the learning institution ready to guide and support citizens at every age and level of need. In 2024, ulc led research on the science of reading and the barbershop books initiative funded by the institute of museum and library services (imls).
$279,780 spent8% of program spendingDigital equity: as well-respected civic institutions and trusted technology hubs, public libraries play a vital role in breaking down barriers to equitable digital opportunities and experiences. Libraries are uniquely positioned to assist with making equitable change in the digital ecosystem affording people and the communities in which they live. In 2024, ulc led research on ai adoption and the role of public libraries as well as its national benchmarks focused on digital inclusion and equity.
$99,137 spent$111,875 earned by the program3% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,528,459.
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 2017 to 2018, from $4.6M to $3.8M (−17%).
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 19% · 2023 21% · 2024 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
34% of URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (72% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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
Brooks Rainwater
President and CEO
Board chair
Pilar Martinez
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $250k → $649k.
1 of 4 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% 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 URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL’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
URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL leans on a few funders — its largest provides 50% of grant income and the top three 99%; 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 100% · 2019 86% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 62% — 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.
Where its funders are
URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 3 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $25k 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
URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL's funding base is broadening — from 1 funders to 2 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 611 unclassified nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.9M on record — $1.6M federal, $265k state.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$1.6M
- AGENCY PROGRAM RELATED SERVICES$150k
- COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY COMPUTER PROCESSING$65k
- SUBSCRIPTIONS AND PUBLICATIONS$50k
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 URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL
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, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
76%
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 URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL: 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 URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL?
- URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,850,325 to it, the largest being EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION ($1,431,890). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL have?
- IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $2,850,325 in grants to URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL?
- EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,431,890 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. 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 4 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