Nonprofit · EIN 47-3955286
FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY
Tax-exempt · BERKELEY, CA 94707
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30, 2025 | 990 | $694,233 | $758,759 | -$64,526 | $42,727 | $5,370 | $37,357 |
| September 30, 2024 | 990 | $537,373 | $524,083 | $13,290 | $106,591 | $5,031 | $101,560 |
| September 30, 2023 | 990 | $871,266 | $913,504 | -$42,238 | $90,408 | $2,138 | $88,270 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $623,436
- of which government grants
- $58,800
- Program service revenue
- $70,012
- Investment income
- $127
- Net income from sales of inventory
- $658
- Other revenue
- $658
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $0
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $120,000
- Other salaries and wages
- $100,687
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $267,689
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Accounting fees
- $22,150
- Travel
- $21,628
- Program services (functional)
- $680,563
- Management and general (functional)
- $49,794
- Fundraising (functional)
- $28,402
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $106,591
- Total assets, end of year
- $42,727
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $5,370
- Net assets, end of year
- $37,357
- Publicly traded securities
- $2,186
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $37,357
- Gross receipts
- $694,364
- Employees
- 3
- Volunteers
- 300
- Year formed
- 2015
- State of legal domicile
- CA
From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.
Officers, directors and key employees
As listed on the 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Fowler | Executive Dir. Officer | 40 | $120,000 |
| Piper Kerman | Board Chair Trustee or director, Officer | 3 | $0 |
| Aida Salazar | Secretary Trustee or director, Officer | 3 | $0 |
| George Rehm | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 3 | $0 |
| Aya de Len | Board Member Trustee or director | 3 | $0 |
| Gabriel Cortez | Board Member Trustee or director | 3 | $0 |
| Terria Smith | Board Member Trustee or director | 3 | $0 |
990 for the year ended September 30, 2024: 5 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aya de Leon | Prog. Director Trustee or director, Officer | 30 | $2,100 |
| Brooke Warner | President Trustee or director, Officer | 10 | $0 |
| George Rehm | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 10 | $0 |
| Aida Salazar | Board Member Trustee or director | 10 | $0 |
| Piper Kerman | Board Member Trustee or director | 10 | $0 |
990 for the year ended September 30, 2023: 4 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | Other / benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherilyn Parsons | Executive Dir. Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $139,977 | $37,715 |
| Brooke Warner | President Trustee or director, Officer | 0.5 | $0 | $0 |
| George Rehm | Treasurer Trustee or director, Officer | 0.5 | $0 | $0 |
| Igor Zagatzky | Director Trustee or director | 0.5 | $0 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 1569 SOLANO AVENUE 635, BERKELEY, CA 94707-2116
- Principal officer (990 for 2024)
- Joshua Fowler, 1569 Solano Avenue 635, Berkeley, CA 94707
- Signed the 990
- George Rehm, Board Chair
- Phone
- (510) 239-1652
- Website
- www.baybookfest.org
- Return prepared by
- Iryna AC
California records
California keeps its own records of charities and corporations. Search them by EIN 47-3955286 or by the name FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY.
- Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers
- Registration status and filed reports (CT-TR-1, RRF-1)
- Secretary of State, bizfile Online
- Corporation status, entity number, agent for service
- Franchise Tax Board
- Entity status letter (state tax exemption, good standing)
Mission
The Bay Area Book Festival celebrates a wide spectrum of literary voices, nurtures literary culture and community, cultivates literacy, and promotes great literary work, with special attention to work that engages with pressing social issues.We carry out our mission by creating relevant, thoughtful programming that we present at an annual, inclusive, weekend literary festival and in year-round literary events. The Festival features dozens of keynotes, interviews, panels and performances by hundreds of notable writers across literary genres and backgrounds. The festival also includes a robust outdoor fair with hundreds of literary exhibitors and a range of childrens activities.
Program accomplishments
- During FY 2425, the Foundation for the Future of Literature and Literacy dba Bay Area Book Festival produced its 11th annual festival, held May 31June 1, 2025 in downtown Berkeley, themed Changing the Narrative. The 2025 theme invited attendees to consider how narratives shape what is possible in our communities, encouraging people to rethink dominant stories, bridge divides, and imagine more just futures through literature. Across the weekend the festival offered more than 80 events and over 240 invited speakers in Inside Ideas conversations, Democracy Dialogues, Family Day programming, writers workshops, and a large outdoor Bookworm Block Party with 120+ exhibitors including bookstores, small presses, literary organizations, and community partners. Press coverage and festival materials highlighted headliners and widely known participants such as Piper Kerman, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Alka Joshi, and Prentis Hemphill, along with a range of legends and emerging voices whose work engages incarceration, refugee experience, diaspora, healing justice, and narrative change. Programming foregrounded social justice and collective care, with panels on mutual aid, democracy, racial and gender equity, queer and trans storytelling, environmental crisis, and graphic novels as tools for social action, while Family Day activities provided story times, crafts, and interactive sessions that local media recognized as among the Bay Areas best family-friendly arts offerings. In addition to the main festival weekend, BABF hosted one-off author events and media partnerships during the fiscal year, such as interviews and features with festival guests on KPFA and other outlets, that extended the Changing the Narrative theme into the broader regional conversation prior to September 30, 2025, deepening engagement with readers and communities throughout the year. There were around 25,000 people in attendance over the weekend.Expenses $680,563 · revenue $70,670
What it must file and when
IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in September, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | September 30, 2026 | February 16, 2027 | Not due yet |
| 2024 | September 30, 2025 | February 17, 2026 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | September 30, 2024 | February 18, 2025 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 47-3955286
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 2016
- Accounting year ends
- September
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Arts, culture and humanities (A70)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $42,727
- Income (IRS master file)
- $694,364
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | September 2025 | $694,233 | $758,759 | $42,727 | XML |
| 990 | September 2024 | $537,373 | $524,083 | $106,591 | XML |
| 990 | September 2023 | $871,266 | $913,504 | $90,408 | XML |
| 990 | September 2022 | $891,473 | $1,179,682 | $137,825 | IRS |
| 990 | September 2021 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | September 2019 | – | – | – | IRS |
990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 47-3955286).
Questions about FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY
- What is the EIN of FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY is 47-3955286.
- Is FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2016.
- Are donations to FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY file?
- Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.
- When is the next return of FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY due?
- The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending September 30, 2026) is due February 16, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended September 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY?
- The 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 names Joshua Fowler.
- Who are the officers and directors of FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY?
- The 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 lists 7 people; 1 received compensation from the organization, the highest $120,000 (Joshua Fowler, Executive Dir.).
- How much revenue does FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERATURE AND LITERACY have?
- On its 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 it reported revenue of $694,233, expenses of $758,759 and total assets of $42,727 at year end.
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