Boston Debate League Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
593789722
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
8572468111
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,021,618
Expenses
$2,435,975
Assets
$1,737,426
Liabilities
$252,876

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KIMBERLY WILLINGHAM (EXECUTIVE DI): $186,854 total reported compensation
  • KIMBERLY BARTLETT-RA (DIR OF OPERA): $163,457 total reported compensation
  • JACKNEY JOSEPH (DIR EXTERNAL): $162,427 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The bdl's mission is to prepare young people for college, career, and engagement with the world through debate-inspired learning in the classroom and beyond.

What it reported doing in 2024

The debate-inspired classrooms (formerly evidence-based argumentation) initiative partners with schools and cohorts of teachers, supporting teachers in all disciplines. Bdl staff serve as instructional coaches and plan and facilitate faculty professional development. Research indicates that students learn better when they talk more - and with each other - in the classroom, so debate-inspired classrooms centers instruction on student voice by offering a comprehensive set of tools that teachers can use to engage students in academic content. With debate-inspired classrooms coaching, teachers create classroom environments where students engage with content and each other in ways that are meaningful, energized, and aligned with real-world problems; where students participate in evidence-based discourse; and where students lead and learn from each other. Debate-inspired classrooms reached 3000 students and 250 educators in partner schools and through professional development during the 2024-25 school year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 67% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.6%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -20.5%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.2%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.6% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $187K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.