Boston String Academy INC EIN 46-1423890

Boston String Academy INC

EIN  46-1423890 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Boston, MA Founded 2012
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Offers after-school string music lessons to inner-city youth, building foundational skills for musical growth.
Leadership
Mariesther Alvarez · Co-Exec. Dir · $91K
Money in and out
$616K revenue, $721K expenses
Bottom line
75% program efficiency

Offers after-school string music lessons to inner-city youth, building foundational skills for musical growth. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $616K in revenue, $721K in expenses, and $151K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$616K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$721K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$151K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$105K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.75 Management & general $0.20 Fundraising $0.04
Program efficiency
75%
of spending reaches programs▼ -5% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
2.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -50% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-17%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -438% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$616K
FY2024▲ +1%
Expenses
$721K
FY2024▲ +15%
Total assets
$213K
FY2024▼ -36%
Total liabilities
$62K
FY2024▼ -18%
Total revenue
$616K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$721K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$151K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$105K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$213K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B75%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 34
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 44
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $544K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

A collaborative where professional musicians provide affordable high quality string instrument instructions to youths. Providing concerts, orchestra programs and guest artists.

$544Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CBoston String Academy INC
EINHdr · item D46-1423890
Principal addressHdr · item CBoston, MA
WebsiteHdr · item Jbostonstringacademy.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2012
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A68)
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 2014

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a4
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b4
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Co-Exec. Dir
$90,620Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Exec. Dir
$80,830Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Mariesther Alvarez’s $91K as Co-Exec. Dir is at the 83rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 2213 $100K–1M arts & culture 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2021
Mariesther Alvarez$90,620$70,260$72,119$60,178
Marielisa Alvarez$80,830$77,740$72,459$56,960

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$329K · 53%
Program service revenue$287K · 47%
Contributions & grants53%$329K
Program service revenue47%$287K
— government grantsLn 1e$61K
Total revenueLn 12$616K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.75 Management & general $0.20 Fundraising $0.04
Program services75%$544K
Management & general20%$146K
Fundraising4%$31K
Total functional expensesLn 25$721K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$131K
Total assetsLn 16$213K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$62K
Total net assetsLn 32$151K
Months of cash on handcomputed2.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $131K · Operating expenses/yr $721K
2.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $544K · Total expenses $721K
75%
Management & General
Management & general $146K · Total expenses $721K
20%
Fundraising
Fundraising $31K · Total expenses $721K
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $18K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $290K
$0.06 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $329K · Total revenue $616K
53%
Government reliance
Government grants $61K · Total revenue $616K
10%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $287K · Total revenue $616K
47%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $616K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $287K · Total expenses $721K
40%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $616K · Prior year $610K
+1%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $344K · FY2024 $616K
+16%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $151K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $616K · Expenses $721K
-17%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $213K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $151K · Total assets $213K
71%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $213K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Mariesther Alvarez · Reported title CO-EXEC. DIR · Highest reported compensation $91K · Total expenses $721K
13%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $488K · Total expenses $721K
68%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 75%
Overhead ratio 20%
Fundraising cost ratio 10%
Revenue growth 1%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 9 funders →
Grants paid · 2 grants · $3K · 2022–2023
Unitemized GrantFY2023$360
Unitemized GrantFY2022$2,950

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$610K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$606K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022not on file
FY2021$344K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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