Education (B94) IRS Verified DX Registered 990 on File

BOOKS ARE GEMS

EIN: 56-2380561 · EL PASO, TX 79915-2907 · United States · FY 2024 Data

3 out of 5 56 / 100 Based on 2+ years of filings

Financial strength (30%) 83/100

Reliability (20%) 55/100

Effectiveness (25%) 82/100

Impact (25%) No data yet

Financial data: FY 2024 · Scored 9/13/2026

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CharityAI™ Score

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Mission Statement

Books Are Gems is a nonprofit organization in El Paso, Texas, dedicated to improving literacy and educational opportunities for children and families in underserved communities. Since its founding, the organization has provided free books to children, families, and teachers, distributing over 87,000 books in 2024 alone. Each child who visits receives one new and eight gently used books at no cost, encouraging the development of lifelong reading habits. Books Are Gems also supports over 800 teachers annually by providing free classroom resources, reducing their financial burden, and helping them reach thousands of students across El Paso, Southern New Mexico, and Fort Bliss. Through bilingual storytime sessions, partnerships with schools, and targeted outreach to low-income neighborhoods, the organization works to close literacy gaps in a community where 22% of residents live in poverty and over 18% of children face literacy challenges.

Financial Overview — FY 2024

$157K

Total Revenue

$91K

Total Expenses

$163K

Net Assets

N/A

Employees

Revenue Sources

Expense Breakdown

Program Expense Ratio 87.6%

Fundraising Efficiency N/A

Operating Reserve 21.41x

Liability-to-Asset 8.8%

Revenue Diversification 94.9%

Compared with Peers

FY 2024

Compared with 19,826 similar organizations (United States, Education, under $100K in expenses), FY 2024.

This organization Middle half of peers (P25–P75) Peer median

Ratio	This org	Peer median	Position (P10 → P90)
Program expense ratio Program expenses / total expenses · higher is better	87.6%	87.4%	P10P90	Above median
Operating reserve Months of expenses covered by net assets · higher is better	21.4 mo	19.7 mo	P10P90	Above median
Liabilities to assets Total liabilities / total assets · lower is better	8.8%	0.0%	P10P90	Bottom quarter
Revenue concentration Share of revenue from the largest source · lower is better	94.9%	85.3%	P10P90	Below median
Revenue growth Year over year revenue growth	106.7%	1.6%	P10P90
Expense growth Year over year expense growth	114.0%	0.2%	P10P90
Surplus margin Surplus as a share of revenue	41.7%	10.7%	P10P90

Financial History

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Net Assets	Program %	Staff
2024	$157K	$91K	$163K	87.6%	—
2023	$76K	$43K	$33K	69.8%	—
2021	$96K	$45K	$134K	—	—
2019	$85K	$65K	N/A	—	1

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Organization Details

EIN: 56-2380561
State: TX
City: EL PASO
ZIP: 79915-2907
Classification: B94
Category: Education
Rating: 3★
Coverage: A
Last Updated: Aug 2026
Foundation Code: 15
Form 990: On File

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CharityAI™ rates charities from 0 to 100 using public filings (IRS Form 990 and the equivalent registries outside the US) together with the information the charity itself provides on DonationX. Ratings are recalculated every quarter, without human bias, and shown as stars.

Four pillars

Financial strength30%

Program expense ratio, fundraising efficiency, operating reserves, liabilities and revenue diversification, compared with similar organizations.

Reliability20%

Standing with the registry, filing history, verification and how complete the profile is.

Effectiveness25%

How much goes to programs and how consistently the organization delivers them.

Impact25%

The outcomes the charity reports on DonationX: people served, cost per service and results.

Stars

★★★★★ 80–100 ★★★★☆ 60–79 ★★★☆☆ 40–59 ★★☆☆☆ 20–39 ★☆☆☆☆ 1–19

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