Skip to content

Massachusetts · Nonprofit

The Boston Police Foundation Inc

The Boston Police Foundation Inc (Massachusetts) receives grants from 21 organizations whose IRS filings report $692,547 to it, the largest being THE 1434 FOUNDATION INC ($229,340). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2023
$87k
Funders on record
21
Grants received
$693k
Net assets
$59k
6/21 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 80%
01What it does

What The Boston Police Foundation Inc does

Mission

The boston police foundation (foundation) was formed in 1993 as a charitable organization, exempt from tax under code section 501(c)(3), with the specific mission of advancing public safety by supporting and funding programs that strengthen the performance, competence and professionalism of the boston police department (bpd) and its officers and members. The foundation also provides funding and financial support for a variety of programs that are designed to promote public safety in neighborhoods and communities that comprise the city of boston, massachusetts and its surrounding areas. The foundation in some cases operates directly, and in other cases provides financial support for programs run by other charitable organizations, or by the bpd, that advance the organizations's goals and purposes.

As stated on its FY2023 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Crime Stoppers - This is a program operated by the BPD that encourages citizens to call a non-traceable hot line to provide information on an anonymous basis concerning perpetrators of crimes and criminal activity. More recently, this program, under the name Text A Tip, has garnered national atention through it pioneering efforts to use text messaging from cell phones as a means of fast communication between concerned citizens and the police. The Foundation supports the infrastructure of the Text A Tip program, and also funds monetary awards that are given for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of criminals. The Foundation is a participant in the International Crime Stoppers program.

    $24,800 spent
    45% of program spending
  2. Wellness and Safety Program - The Foundation operates this program to provide funding for suicide prevention and other wellness initiatives for the Boston Police Officers.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending
  3. Other programs - Funding support for various initiatives that support community policing and outreach programs to promote and advance public safety and advance the organization's goals and purpose.

    $30,000 spent
    55% of program spending

The 3 programs described on its FY2022 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $54,800.

02The organization over time

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. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($150k) Expenses 100 ($566k) Net assets 100 ($252k)2018 Revenue 214 ($319k) Expenses 73 ($414k) Net assets 63 ($158k)2019 Revenue 147 ($220k) Expenses 56 ($316k) Net assets 25 ($62k)2020 Revenue 127 ($190k) Expenses 38 ($217k) Net assets 14 ($35k)2021 Revenue 104 ($156k) Expenses 26 ($145k) Net assets 18 ($45k)2022 Revenue 65 ($98k) Expenses 19 ($105k) Net assets 15 ($38k)2023 Revenue 58 ($87k) Expenses 11 ($65k) Net assets 24 ($59k)
2017201820192020202120222023
Revenue (58)Expenses (11)Net assets (24)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2018 to 2019, from $158k to $62k (−61%).

$252k
$158k
$62k
$35k
$45k
$38k
$59k
2017201820192020202120222023
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

100% of The Boston Police Foundation Inc’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (95% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 8,549 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.

−$416k
’17
−$94k
’18
−$96k
’19
−$28k
’20
$10k
’21
−$7k
’22
$22k
’23
11
months of
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

Carl Jenkins

Chairman

As listed on its FY2023 Form 990.

2017201820192020202120222023
Listed15151313131412
Joined·+3+2+0+0+2+2
No longer listed·340014
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 6 funders to 2 funders, grant income fell $119k → $30k.

5 of 21 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% 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 The Boston Police Foundation 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

The Boston Police Foundation Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 33% of grant income and the top three 69%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

55% 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 The Boston Police Foundation Inc.

33%
largest funder
69%
top three
~5
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 42% · 2018 44% · 2019 55% · 2020 58% · 2021 99% · 2022 56% · 2023 100% — growing more concentrated.

“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.

How long its funders stay

27% of The Boston Police Foundation Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 29% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

68% of The Boston Police Foundation Inc's grant income comes from Massachusetts funders.

MI
NY
MA
NJ
TN
NC
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Massachusetts out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $136k 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

The Boston Police Foundation Inc runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 7,317 philanthropy nonprofits its size.

Operating margin25% · above the median
Months of reserve11.0mo · below the median
Revenue growth (annualized)−9% · below the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,317 philanthropy nonprofits under $100k, FY2023

Organizations like The Boston Police Foundation 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

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

85% of spending goes to programs.

Program 85%Management 9%Fundraising 6%

Governance

13
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention–Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

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

MA

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for The Boston Police Foundation 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 The Boston Police Foundation Inc?
The Boston Police Foundation Inc (Massachusetts) receives grants from 21 organizations whose IRS filings report $692,547 to it, the largest being THE 1434 FOUNDATION INC ($229,340). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does The Boston Police Foundation Inc have?
IRS filings report 21 organizations giving $692,547 in grants to The Boston Police Foundation Inc, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of The Boston Police Foundation Inc?
THE 1434 FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $229,340 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like The Boston Police Foundation 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.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2023 (financials across 2017–2023), and the filings of 21 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