Boston String Academy INC FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Boston, MA501(c)(3)Since 2012Arts & CultureEIN 46-1423890

Provide a vibrant after school string program for inner city youths. Giving them the necessary skills to build a strong foundation for their musical growth.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
92¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$145K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
Is it a real charity?
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Are gifts tax-deductible?
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Is it filing on time?
FY2024
latest Form 990
IRS e-file · Filing history
Is it financially stable?
2 of 3
years in the black
Pt I · Ln 19 · 3 filings
How much reaches the programs?
92%
of spending
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
What are leaders paid?
$145K
to officers and key staff · 31% of spending
Pt VII · Sec A
Do they have reserves?
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Who is supporting them already?
9
named funders · $128K
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Do they carry debt?
$31K
liabilities
Pt X · Ln 26
Who oversees it?
4
independent of 4 voting board members
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$606K
+76% vs prior year
Spent
$460K
To programs
92%
Net assets
$276K
By yearFY2021–FY2024
Revenue
$606K
FY2023▲ +76%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$344K
FY2023$606K
FY2024$610K
FY2024$616K
Expenses
$460K
FY2023▲ +88%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$245K
FY2023$460K
FY2024$629K
FY2024$721K
Net assets
$276K
FY2023▲ +91%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$145K
FY2023$276K
FY2024$256K
FY2024$151K

From the FY2023 Form 990 (year ending June 2023) · see the original

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Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2024 (typical filing lag)
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CBoston String Academy INC
EINHdr · item D46-1423890
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 2014
Year of formationHdr · item L2012
Latest filingForm 990FY2024 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CBoston, MA
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A68)
WebsiteHdr · item Jbostonstringacademy.org

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.92 Management & general $0.05 Fundraising $0.04
Program services92%$422K
Management & general5%$21K
Fundraising4%$16K
Total functional expensesLn 25$460K

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Program efficiency
92%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
5.6mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+24%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2023 · Form 990
Total assets
$307K
FY2023▲ +97%
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2021$156K
FY2023$307K
FY2024$331K
FY2024$213K
Total liabilities
$31K
FY2023▲ +180%
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2021$11K
FY2023$31K
FY2024$75K
FY2024$62K
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$147K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$307K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B92%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 34
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 44

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$212K
Total assetsLn 16$307K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$31K
Total net assetsLn 32$276K
Months of cash on handcomputed5.5

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$355K · 59%
Program service revenue$251K · 41%
Contributions & grants59%$355K
Program service revenue41%$251K
— government grantsLn 1e$57K
Total revenueLn 12$606K

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2023 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $212K · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $460K · Less non-cash grants $8K · Cash operating expenses/yr $452K
5.6 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $422K · Total expenses $460K
92%
Management & General
Management & general $21K · Total expenses $460K
5%
Fundraising
Fundraising $16K · Total expenses $460K
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $13K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $202K
$0.07 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $355K · Total revenue $606K
59%
Government reliance
Government grants $57K · Total revenue $606K
9%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $251K · Total revenue $606K
41%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $606K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $251K · Total expenses $460K
55%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $606K · Prior year $344K
+76%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $276K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $606K · Expenses $460K
+24%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $307K
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $276K · Total assets $307K
90%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $307K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Marielisa Alvarez · Reported title CO-EXECUTIVE · Highest reported compensation $72K · Total expenses $460K
16%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) — · Total expenses $460K
—
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 92%——
Overhead ratio 5%——
Fundraising cost ratio 5%——
Revenue growth 76%——
Accounting fee ratio 0.7%——
Fundraising fee ratio 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.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Co-Executive
$72,459Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Executive
$72,119Pt 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 2216 $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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Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 4Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 4Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2Yes

Mission and programs

What it does.

Offers after-school string music lessons to inner-city youth, building foundational skills for musical growth.

Provided by the organization

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $422K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2022.
01

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

$422Kprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

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

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2024 $610K$629K+0.6% 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $606K$460K+76% 990 PDF
FY2022 Not on file
FY2021 $344K$245K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2023IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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