Form 990 for tax year 2024

Totals

Total revenue

$2,833,665

Total expenses

$2,963,791

Contributions and grants received

$2,538,219

Grants paid

$1,157,654

Program service revenue

$0

Investment income

$361,275

Other revenue

-$65,829

Total assets, end of year

$10,779,427

Total liabilities, end of year

$3,458,476

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$7,320,951

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$1,839,136

Management and general expenses

$672,353

Fundraising expenses

$452,302

Program service expenses (Part III)

$1,839,136

Program services were 62.1% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2024

• LIBRARY FOUNDATION SD SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS, BOOKS AND OTHER MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT HELPED THE LIBRARY BE THE PLACE FOR OPPORTUNITY, DISCOVERY, AND INSPIRATION. PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY LIBRARY FOUNDATION SD DONORS PREPARED LEARNERS OF ALL AGES TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL, THE WORKPLACE AND IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. FROM SUPPORTING ONLINE AND IN-LIBRARY HOMEWORK HELP, TRAINING ON COMPUTER PROGRAMMING THAT SPARKS AN INTEREST IN TECHNOLOGY FIELDS, TO CLASSES ON COMPUTER SKILLS AND WRITING A RESUME, LIBRARY DONORS HELPED ENSURE ACADEMIC AND CAREER SUCCESS.

  Expenses $1,157,654 · Grants $1,157,654

• THE SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY OFFERS 12 IDEA LABS ACROSS THE 37-BRANCH SYSTEM, THE LABS ARE BUILT TO BE MAKERSPACES FOR PATRONS TO INNOVATE, DISCOVER, EXPERIENCE AND ACHIEVE AND OVERALL INSPIRE AN INTEREST IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, DESIGN, AND 21ST CENTURY SKILLS. IN EACH OF THESE IDEA LABS, PATRONS OF VARYING AGES CAN WORK TOGETHER, ALONE, OR WITH LIBRARY STAFF ON CREATIVE PROJECTS. THE GOAL OF A MAKERSPACE IS TO ALLOW PATRONS TO LEARN THROUGH DIRECT EXPERIMENTATION AND FROM EACH OTHER. THIS IS DIRECTLY IN LINE WITH THE SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY'S MISSION: TO INSPIRE LIFELONG LEARNING THROUGH CONNECTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE AND EACH OTHER. IDEA LABS DO NOT REQUIRE USERS TO HAVE A LIBRARY CARD AND THE TYPE OF EQUIPMENT VARIES ACROSS THE SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY. THE LEGLER BENBOUGH TEEN IDEA LAB, LOCATED INSIDE THE VALENCIA PARK/MALCOLM X BRANCH LIBRARY, OFFERS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR TEENS AGES 12 TO 18, AND PRIDES IT'S SELF AS BEING A SPACE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE YOUTH WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD JOB SKILLS IN A RANGE OF AREAS, BY INCLUDING A RECORDING STUDIO AS WELL AS 3D PRINTERS, A DIE CUT MACHINE, AND IMAC COMPUTERS.. THE IDEA LAB IS AT THE SAN YSIDRO LIBRARY LOCATION AND IS FOCUSED ON DIGITAL TEXTILE ARTS AND FEATURES A, DIE CUT MACHINE, SEWING/EMBROIDERY MACHINES, SERGER, BUTTON MAKER AND A HEAT PRESS. THE PACIFIC HIGHLANDS RANCH LIBRARY IDEA LAB FOCUSES ON PROP AND SET DESIGN; A THEME INSPIRED BY COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS HELD BY THE LIBRARY. OUR MAKERSPACE FEATURES INCLUDE A GLOWFORGE LASER CUTTER, 24" DESKTOP CUTTING MACHINE, A 3D SCANNER AND A DYE SUBLIMATION MACHINE. AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, THE IDEA LAB ALSO CONTAINS EQUIPMENT THAT CAN DIGITIZE PHOTOS, SLIDES, NEGATIVES, AND DOCUMENTS; 8MM AND SUPER 8 FILM; AND VARIOUS VIDEO FORMATS. IN FISCAL YEAR 2024, THE IDEA LAB HOSTED NEARLY 6,000 PEOPLE IN PROGRAMS RELATED TO THE IDEA LAB EQUIPMENT WHICH YIELDED 1,285 IDEAS TO LIFE, INCLUDING MORE THAN 200 SEWING PROJECTS, MORE THAN 1,700 3D PRINTS MADE, AND 532 LASER ENGRAVINGS AND CUTS. ACROSS THE SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM, IDEA LAB STAFF SEE PATRONS USING THESE SPACES IN A RANGE OF WAYS INCLUDING FASHION DESIGN, DIY BRIDES AND GROOMS, TRACE STUDENTS. SCOUT TROOPS, E3 SCHOLARS, NEW SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE STUDENT PROJECTS, AND PATRONS LOOKING TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW. ONE NOTABLE OUTCOME FROM THE IDEA LAB AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY IS THE LAUNCH OF THE CLEAN SHAVE, A BUSINESS THAT FOUNDED BY NAVY VETERANS AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY AND WENT TO MARKET IN 2025. THE CO-FOUNDERS CAME INTO THE IDEA LAB WITH DRAWINGS AND OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, COMPLETED A PROTOTYPE IN THE LAB. THE ACCESS TO MAKERSPACES WITH 3D PRINTERS AND LASER CUTTERS MADE THE START OF THIS BUSINESS POSSIBLE FOR THESE VETERANS. ANOTHER IS THE SEWING PROGRAM THAT HAS TAUGHT PATRONS TO SEW AND HAVE DONATED DOZENS OF PILLOWCASES TO RYAN'S CASE FOR SMILES.

  Expenses $209,000

• THE MEDIA ARTS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE @ THE LIBRARY IS OFFERED IN TWO PARTS. THE FIRST IS A PAID 6-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM IN VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA DESIGN AND PRODUCTION, IN COLLABORATION WITH MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO (MACSD) HELD AT THE CITY HEIGHTS/WEINGART LIBRARY IN SMALL COHORTS OF 10 STUDENTS. THE SECOND PART OF THE INITIATIVE IS A 450-HOUR PAID INTERNSHIP TO BE COMPLETED IN SIX TO 12 MONTHS WITH THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO IN SEVERAL CITY DEPARTMENTS INCLUDING THE LIBRARY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES. SINCE IT WAS STARTED IN 2021, 136 STUDENTS HAVE COMPLETED THE MEDIA ARTS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE @ THE LIBRARY. FOLLOW-UP SURVEYS OF THESE GRADUATES SHOW THAT 94 PERCENT REPORT USING THE DIGITAL SKILLS THEY LEARNED TO DO SOMETHING NEW OR DIFFERENT WHILE 97 PERCENT REPORTED COMPLETING A TASK OR GOAL THEY COULD NOT DO OR COULD NOT DO AS WELL BEFORE. AN AVERAGE OF 80 PERCENT OF STUDENTS FROM EACH 6-WEEK TRAINING COHORT TRANSITION INTO PAID INTERNSHIPS WITH THE LIBRARY AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS. TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE PROGRAM'S PARTICIPANTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2023 WERE HIRED BY THE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT AFTER COMPLETING THEIR PAID INTERNSHIPS. SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY'S MEDIA ARTS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES INCREASES THE NUMBER OF UNDERREPRESENTED INDIVIDUALS IN THE CREATIVE WORKFORCE BY FOCUSING ON COMMUNITIES OF CONCERN, AS DEFINED BY THE CITY'S CLIMATE EQUITY INDEX TOOL, WHICH MEASURES THE LEVEL OF ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY RESIDENTS HAVE ACROSS SAN DIEGO. WHILE THE SUCCESS RATE OF THIS PROGRAM IS IMPRESSIVE, IT'S EVEN MORE REMARKABLE TO SEE GRADUATES SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE SAN DIEGO REGION WORKING FOR THE LIBRARY, THE CREATIVE ECONOMY, MARKETING FIRMS, AND SHOWCASING THEIR WORK AT FILM FESTIVALS ACROSS THE U.S.

  Expenses $127,500

• THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION ACTIVELY MARKETS LIBRARY PROGRAMS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARY SERVICE TO SUPPORTERS AND POTENTIAL SUPPORTERS, ELECTED LEADERS AND TO LIBRARY USERS. THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION PRODUCES A SERIES OF REGULAR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS TO LIBRARY CARD HOLDERS AND TO LIBRARY DONORS AND SUPPORTERS. THESE PUBLICATIONS MARKET THE VALUE OF LIBRARIES TO SAN DIEGO AND PROMOTE MONTHLY LIBRARY PROGRAMS AND OTHER SERVICES. THE FOUNDATION ALSO COORDINATES ADVOCACY EFFORTS AMONG A COALITION OF THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION, FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY AND THE BOARD OF LIBRARY COMMISSIONERS TO EDUCATE ELECTED LEADERS TO THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF LIBRARIES ON THE COMMUNITY AND THE NEED FOR ADEQUATE PUBLIC SUPPORT.

  Expenses $344,982

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

• CITY OF SAN DIEGO

  $1,157,654

  LIBRARY PROGRAM SUPPORT.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2024

Filed

13 November 2025

IRS schema version

2024v5.2

Source object

202533189349305968

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

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