Fund for Parks and Recreation - Boston
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 042784811
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Boston, MA, USA
- Phone
- 6176354505
- Rating
- 50
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $13,556,648
- Expenses
- $8,587,531
- Assets
- $32,456,895
- Liabilities
- $431,556
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- ASHLEY GROFFENBERGER (CFO, COLLECTOR-TREASURER): $194,880 total reported compensation
- SCOTT R ALLEN (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT): $181,066 total reported compensation
- KEVIN FRAWLEY (HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL): $169,802 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide residents and visitors with clean, green, safe, and accessible open space in more than 2,300 acres of park land throughout the city including parks, playgrounds, athletic facilities, city squares, urban wilds, street trees, three active cemeteries, sixteen historic burying grounds, and two golf courses. Our department is responsible for 217 city parks, playgrounds and athletic fields, two golf courses, 65 squares, 17 fountains, 75 game courts, 16 historic and three active cemeteries, urban wilds, four high school athletic fields, and approximately 125,000 trees, all covering 2,346, 1,000 of which comprise the historic emerald necklace. We are also responsible for more than 45,000 street trees.
What it reported doing in 2024
Funds, grants or contributions are used to provide boston residents with recreational programs at the franklin park golf course.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 47
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 31
- Sustainability: 79
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 45.7%; rating input score 46
- Program expense ratio: 64.4%; rating input score 64
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Limited
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 36.7%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.78; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 45.7% of revenue deployed · 64.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 2 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $195K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 46/100.
- High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.