TBF
Overview
Mission
We are committed to closing the gaps on this region’s greatest disparities. Founded in 1915, the Boston Foundation is one of the largest—and highest impact—community foundations in the nation, with net assets of some $1.9 billion. The Foundation is proud to be a partner in philanthropy, with nearly 1,000 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. The Foundation also partners thoughtfully with investors to manage its funds for maximal support of our mission. Valuing transparency, the Foundation makes available its most recent tax returns and financial statements, including investment pool performance, through links in this section.
What it reported doing in 2024
Major goals and objectives: We have chosen four interconnected pathways to equity where we believe we can have the greatest impact. See Schedule O-Child Well Being: Ensure that children are physically and emotionally healthy, developmentally on track and well prepared to thrive in school and adulthood.-Economic Opportunity: Every resident will have equitable access to high-quality career exploration and education opportunities, resources, tools and supports.-Community Wealth: Traditionally under-invested residents will build stability and individual and collective wealth through more equitable housing, business and creative systems.-Community Leadership: Movement leaders are equipped to provide crucial leadership and support for marginalized communities and nonprofit organizations.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 96% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 042104021
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Website reviewed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Headquarters
- Boston, MA, USA
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public, Societal Benefit
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The website gives limited detail about important organizational relationships and the filing reports few safeguards for setting executive pay.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 88
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.9%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: $96.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.1%; rating input score 99; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
- Public monitoring controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Public policy transparency: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Public financial transparency: 3 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 60
- Impact reporting controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Public governance controls: 1 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Zakat policy transparency: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 34.4%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Operating reserve ratio: 7.66; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 63.9% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $257.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $916K · 36 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 13 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
- Money network: 2390 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2348 filed related-organization links