Massachusetts · Nonprofit
IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC
IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC (Massachusetts) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $75,309 to it, the largest being CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($67,500). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 100% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $240k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $75k
- Net assets
- $83k
What Improvisation Center of Boston Inc does
Mission
Improvboston is new englands leading theatre and school dedicated to the art of comedy and all its forms. Through weekly improv, sketch and standup comedy performances, an acclaimed comedy school, and numerous outreach, educational and development opportunities for all ages, improvboston continues to serve the communities of cambridge, boston and new england through laughter.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2023 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
During the year, the comedy school completed the last session of classes, and the theater will honor all remaining contracts with current clients. All regular operations ceased on december 31st, 2023.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
Shows/performances - due to the loss of improvboston's space in central square, cambridge, improvboston offers shows through multiple residencies in somerville, ma; manchester nh and additional shows through our touring company. As part of its mission to keep these performances and workshops accessible to audiences of all backgrounds, improvboston charges low ticket prices for shows and classes, and offers a sliding scale for nonprofits through the touring company. All regular operations ceased on december 31st, 2023.
$72,915 spent$40,162 earned by the program17% of program spendingClasses - improvboston's comedy school continues to offer classes through our experienced instructors in improv, standup and sketch comedy. From our donation based intro to improv to our multilevel master workshops our classes offer variety and flexibility to students of all levels. As part of our mission we keep our classes reasonably priced and offer reduced tuition to those who express financial need. The organization completed the last session of classes and all regular operations ceased on december 31st, 2023.
$236,268 spent$130,139 earned by the program55% of program spendingTouring - the improvboston national touring company provides private shows and workshops for clients all over the country including theaters, corporations, colleges, schools, and other private groups. The national touring company is made up of some of the best professional improvisers in the country and specializes in high quality, custom comedy, and experiences based on the applied principles of improv. All regular operations ceased on december 31st, 2023.
$122,948 spent$67,721 earned by the program28% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $432,131.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $106k to $852k (+707%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 36% · 2022 81%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Tammi Pirri Day
Chair (unt 4/24)/treas (as of 4/24)
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $198 → $114.
3 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 100% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 90% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
100% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 100% · 2021 90% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
100% of IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Too little is directly attributable to place on a map.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $75k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Government funding IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $500 on record.
- (PP) STATE AID/POL SUB$500
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Massachusetts
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
74% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC?
- IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC (Massachusetts) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $75,309 to it, the largest being CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ($67,500). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 100% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $75,309 in grants to IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC?
- CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $67,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like IMPROVISATION CENTER OF BOSTON INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Massachusetts. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Improvisation Center of Boston →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 3 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing