Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

Overview

Mission

The mission of the cambridge chamber of commerce is to make cambridge a better place in which to live, to work, to do business, to visit and to study.

What it reported doing in 2025

The chamber provides membership to local businesses to provide them the ability to connect with its local community to obtain products, services, clients and employees. The chamber connects its members large and small with the people, products, and services necessary to succeed. The chamber's ability to provide the resources that all companies need and share is unmatched by any other business organization in the city. The chamber is the conduit through which many cambridge businesses access opportunities and funnel resources into cambridge schools and nonprofit organizations.the chamber offers many venues for companies to connect to other members and the general public including committees, networking events, publications and professional development workshops. Through its programs and events, the chamber enables members to develop personally and professionally. The chamber's educational programming provides opportunities to build new relationships, discover and discuss topics vital to success in today's business world, and meet with leading business, political and public figures who influence the region's economy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
041144780
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Headquarters
Cambridge, MA, USA
Phone
6178764100
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

The verdict

- This form does not report enough financial and governance detail to rate the organization. That is normal for this form and is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.3%; rating input score 96; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.8%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.05; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 26 of 27 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $233K · 27 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 10 of 10 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID MAHER (PRESIDENT/CEO): $232,755 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2025.