Save the Harborsave the Bay Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042908768
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6174512860
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,805,163
Expenses
$1,832,238
Assets
$1,112,561
Liabilities
$251,685

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTOPHER MANCINI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTOPHER MANCINI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $156,137 total reported compensation
  • JOYE WILLIAMS (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $122,076 total reported compensation
  • MAYA SMITH (DIR. PARTNERSHIPS & PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT): $116,628 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to restore and protect boston harbor, Massachusetts bay and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy.

What it reported doing in 2025

Better beaches program: we lead and manage the metropolitan beaches commission for the Massachusetts legislature, which issues an annual report focusing attention on the state of the region's public beaches from nahant to nantasket. Our better beaches program strengthens boston's waterfront neighborhoods and the region's beachfront communities by hosting and sponsoring hundreds of free events and programs on the region's public beaches from nahant to nantasket including concerts, workshops, clambakes and family nights, sand sculpture competitions and healthy outdoor activities including swimming and kayaking. The focus of these events is to improve the accessibility of these spaces for individuals who face physical, language, monetary and other barriers to enjoy our region's public beaches. In 2025, save the harbor funded 201 free beach events from nahant to nantasket through the better beaches grant program.

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 81% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 59
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 76.5%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 26th 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: 29.3%; rating input score 29; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.8% of revenue deployed · 76.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $156K · 30 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 12 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.