Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2010.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
74 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
19 people listed on the 990; $168K paid to officers and key staff.
Brandy Brooks’s $168K as Executive Director is at the 54th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2832 $1–10M 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandy Brooks | $167,966 | $137,371 | $137,371 | — | — | — |
| Mossik Hacobian | — | $120,192 | $120,192 | $125,000 | $94,654 | $93,802 |
| Thomas O'Toole | — | — | — | $101,577 | — | — |
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
Connects underserved Boston children, youth, and families to existing services for cradle-to-career empowerment.
Questions for Bostons Higher Ground
Your first name shows with your question. Bostons Higher Ground answers here, for everyone.
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Education, Support for Local Schools
In fiscal year 2025, boston's higher ground (higher ground) continued with its agreement with boston public schools and to coordinate the 14-MEMBER surround care coalition and supported children and families served by two local schools, david a.
Family-Led Stability Initiative
In fiscal year 2025, higher ground continued to play a lead role in the family-led stability initiative (flsi) to address student homelessness in boston schools. Higher ground coordinated the program with an agreement with boston public schools (BPS) on behalf of four non-profit organizations and in collaborations with the boston housing…
Other Programs
While maintaining focus on its primary efforts to improve educational outcomes for children and families in its community, higher ground engaged in activities complementary its educational programs.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $148K | $58K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.9M | $1.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $333K | $233K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.6M | $1.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $169K | $121K | $28K | $20K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $665K | $508K | $134K | $22K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $55K | $31K | $22K | $2K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $81K | $46K | $32K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $75K | $75K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $406K | $311K | $95K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $45K | $29K | $15K | $937 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $78K | $55K | $17K | $6K |
| TravelLn 17 | $14K | $13K | $320 | $19 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $17K | $17K | $403 | $23 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $13K | $13K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $26K | $17K | $9K | $236 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.6M | $1.2M | $366K | $56K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $1.6M | $1.6M | −$82K | $1.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $2.4M | $1.9M | $591K | $1.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $626K | $1.6M | −$1.0M | $982K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.6M | $1.3M | $1.3M | $2.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $1.7M | $1.1M | $528K | $708K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $698K | $453K | $244K | $320K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,561,830 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 14 of 14 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,561,830 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,644,198 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,723,205 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,490,105 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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