Education (B60) IRS Verified DX Registered 990 on File

BESS THE BOOK BUS INC

EIN: 51-0518142 · TAMPA, FL 33604-6007 · United States · FY 2024 Data

3 out of 5 59 / 100 Based on 2+ years of filings

Financial strength (30%) 92/100

Reliability (20%) 55/100

Effectiveness (25%) 87/100

Impact (25%) No data yet

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

Claim this Charity

CharityAI™ Score

Not yet evaluated

Mission Statement

The purpose of Bess the Book Bus programs is twofold: to provide reading skills and educational development through a far-reaching mobile literacy outreach program and access to free educational resources for families and individuals who consider book ownership a luxury. Bess the Book Bus mission is to provide access to literacy development and the love of books for EVERY child despite financial difficulty within the family.

Financial Overview — FY 2024

$677K

Total Revenue

$360K

Total Expenses

$703K

Net Assets

Employees

Revenue Sources

Expense Breakdown

Program Expense Ratio 84.5%

Fundraising Efficiency N/A

Operating Reserve 23.42x

Liability-to-Asset 0.2%

Revenue Diversification 98.1%

Executive Compensation $75K

Compared with Peers

FY 2024

Compared with 15,968 similar organizations (United States, Education, $100K–$1M 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	84.5%	89.3%	P10P90	Below median
Admin expense ratio Management and general / total expenses · lower is better	15.5%	8.2%	P10P90	Below median
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expenses / total expenses · lower is better	0.0%	0.0%	P10P90	Top quarter
Operating reserve Months of expenses covered by net assets · higher is better	23.4 mo	9.3 mo	P10P90	Above median
Liabilities to assets Total liabilities / total assets · lower is better	0.2%	0.3%	P10P90	Above median
Revenue concentration Share of revenue from the largest source · lower is better	98.1%	89.4%	P10P90	Below median
Revenue growth Year over year revenue growth	61.6%	8.4%	P10P90
Expense growth Year over year expense growth	-26.6%	9.0%	P10P90
Surplus margin Surplus as a share of revenue	46.8%	2.8%	P10P90

Financial History

Year	Revenue	Expenses	Net Assets	Program %	Staff
2024	$677K	$360K	$703K	84.5%	2
2023	$419K	$491K	$387K	88.5%	2
2022	$601K	$489K	$459K	88.8%	2
2021	$978K	$741K	N/A	—	2

Donor Reviews

Write a Review

No reviews yet

Be the first to share your experience with this organization.

Write a Review

Your Name *

Email * (private, not shown)

Relationship to Organization *

Your Rating *

Review Title

Your Review *

Minimum 20 characters

Post anonymously

Reviews appear after moderation (usually within 24 hours)

Organization Details

EIN: 51-0518142
State: FL
City: TAMPA
ZIP: 33604-6007
Classification: B60
Category: Education
Rating: 3★
Coverage: A
Last Updated: Aug 2026
IRS Ruling Year: 2002
Foundation Code: 15
Form 990: On File

Is this your organization?

Claim it to manage this profile, add your board, financials and impact metrics, and lift your CharityAI™ rating.

Claim this Charity

Write a Review

Back to Search New Search

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

A pillar with no data counts as zero. Without impact metrics the score is capped at 59 (three stars): only the charity can supply that data.
The coverage grade (A to D) says how much filing data the score rests on; NONE means there is not enough to rate.
An organization that is not in good standing with its registry (for example a revoked tax exemption) is shown as Not rated.
"Compared with peers" places the charity's key ratios against organizations of the same country, sector and size.

How a charity improves its rating

Claim the charity with a work email, a website token, or a document.
Complete the profile: mission, website, logo and contacts.
Add board members, your latest Form 990 or financials, and impact metrics.
Keep it current: the next quarterly rating picks the changes up.