Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in May 1971.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
25 people listed on the 990; $942K paid to officers and key staff.
Carl Nagy-Koechlin’s $179K as Executive Director is at the 27th percentile of top reported officer pay among 572 $10–100M community development nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Nagy-Koechlin | $178,596 | $172,710 | $156,374 | $166,212 | $172,815 |
| Noah Sawyer | $152,021 | $152,736 | $155,855 | $135,813 | $136,978 |
| Robert Brainin | $145,096 | $136,161 | $5,394 | — | — |
| Carmen Chan | $131,814 | $123,092 | $123,256 | $112,250 | — |
| Miriam Ortiz | $131,423 | $125,419 | $120,887 | — | — |
| Gerry Zipser | $129,646 | $124,913 | $129,509 | $110,317 | $105,980 |
| Craig Nicholson | — | — | — | $116,549 | $121,563 |
| Cidalia Silva | $111,968 | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Builds and preserves affordable housing while providing financial coaching, tax preparation, and stabilization services to prevent homelessness for low-income residents.
Questions for Just a Start INC
Your first name shows with your question. Just a Start INC answers here, for everyone.
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Education and Training
Just a start's education and training programs provide tuition-free pathways to careers in the region's growing employment sectors. Our adult training program, career connect, is an intensive, nine-month education and training program for adults with low incomes to develop the knowledge and critical problem-solving skills needed to enter…
Real Estate Development
Just a start has developed and continues to own and operate 621 affordable apartments throughout cambridge and somerville, housing approximately 1,500 people who would otherwise be unlikely to be able to afford apartments in these expensive and high-opportunity cities.
Housing Resources and Services
Just a start provides housing resources and services to its 1,500 residents and approximately 1,000 community members each year. Through financial assistance, mediation, and follow-up services, our housing stabilization program allows families threatened with homelessness to remain in their homes or helps them find new affordable…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $6.0M | $5.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $17.6M | $18.3M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $585K | $849K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $50.0M | $69.2M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $34.5M | $48.7M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $15.5M | $20.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $42K | $42K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $377K | $272K | $79K | $26K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $4.0M | $2.9M | $805K | $297K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $110K | $79K | $26K | $5K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $357K | $258K | $84K | $15K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $332K | $268K | $39K | $25K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $3K | $3K | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $11K | $11K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $137K | $137K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $7K | $7K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $33K | $33K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $524K | $435K | $48K | $41K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $448K | $317K | $104K | $27K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $1.6M | $1.6M | $45K | $413 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $90K | $90K | $439 | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $49K | $47K | $2K | $120 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $444K | $386K | $58K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $215K | $183K | $26K | $5K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $8.8M | $6.8M | $1.4M | $506K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest | $10.3M | $12.8M | −$2.6M | $18.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $13.4M | $8.8M | $4.7M | $20.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $11.4M | $13.6M | −$2.2M | $15.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $7.4M | $6.8M | $563K | $18.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $5.8M | $7.5M | −$1.7M | $17.4M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $13,437,370 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 18 of 18 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $13,437,370 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $8,760,951 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $69,150,614 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $20,474,386 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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