Boston Buddies Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
830364718
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Huntington Beach, CA, USA
Phone
3103644543
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$190,551
Expenses
$176,038
Assets
$525,131
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Rachael Farmer (President/Director)

People named in this filing

  • Rachael Farmer (President/Director)
  • Karen Engman (Treasurer/Director)
  • Kathleen Engberg (Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Boston Buddies rescues and rehomes Boston Terriers and Boston Terrier mixes in need in Southern California and surrounding areas. Boston Buddies rescues dogs from local shelters, owner relinquishments and strays. We match homeless and potentially homeless dogs with permanent families, provide temporary foster care and necessary and reasonable medical care. Boston Buddies assisted over 70 dogs in 2025.

What it reported doing in 2025

Adoption Program: Boston Buddies takes into our care dogs from animal shelters and owners no longer able to care for them. Dogs are either placed in a volunteer foster home or boarded (when no foster homes are available). In 2025 Boston Buddies spent $32380 to board dogs when volunteer foster homes were not available. Once the dogs have been vetted and medical needs taken care of we put them on our website and social media, listed on Petfinder and Adopt a Pet and advertised as adoptable. Boston Buddies charges an Adoption Fee for our dogs. Adoption Fees range from $100-$600 depending on the age and medical needs of the particular dog. Pre-pandemic Boston Buddies participated in adoption fairs and events where we would bring current foster dogs looking for homes. Boston Buddies follows up on all adoptions and remains committed to the dogs for their lifetime. Our Adoption Agreement requires that dogs be returned to Boston Buddies in the event the adopter dies or can no longer care for them. Boston Buddies remains available to adopters, and to members of the general public, for advice and trouble shooting for their dogs. Boston Buddies never euthanizes due to space limitation or length of time in foster care. Boston Buddies has assisted over 2600 dogs in need from time of inception through December 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 97%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 7.6%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.98; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 97% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $171K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.