Form 990 for tax year 2024
Filed by BOSTON 4 CELEBRATIONS FOUNDATION INC.
Totals
- Total revenue
- $2,099,191
- Total expenses
- $3,748,878
- Contributions and grants received
- $1,972,421
- Grants paid
- $0
- Program service revenue
- $126,770
- Investment income
- $0
- Other revenue
- $0
- Total assets, end of year
- $657,117
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $5,473,781
- Net assets or fund balances, end of year
- -$4,816,664
- Program services expenses (Part IX)
- $3,584,362
- Management and general expenses
- $164,516
- Fundraising expenses
- $0
- Program service expenses (Part III)
- $3,584,362
Program services were 95.6% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.
Line items
Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.
Revenue
Part VIII, the statement of revenue.
-
1e · Government grants (contributions)
$310,000
-
1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants
$1,662,421
-
1g · Noncash contributions included above
$7,412
-
2a · Program service revenue: BROADCAST REVENUE
total $126,770 · related or exempt $126,770
Functional expenses
Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.
-
11b · Fees: legal
total $43,506 · management and general $43,506
-
11c · Fees: accounting
total $6,825 · management and general $6,825
-
11g · Fees: other
total $952 · management and general $952
-
12 · Advertising and promotion
total $70,215 · management and general $70,215
-
13 · Office expenses
total $28,664 · program services $28,664
-
14 · Information technology
total $43,018 · management and general $43,018
-
23 · Insurance
total $171,450 · program services $171,450
-
24a · Other expenses: ONSITE PRODUCTION
total $1,882,055 · program services $1,882,055
-
24b · Other expenses: TELEVISION PRODUCTION
total $714,956 · program services $714,956
-
24c · Other expenses: SECURITY
total $322,734 · program services $322,734
-
24d · Other expenses: FIREWORKS
total $202,800 · program services $202,800
-
24e · All other expenses
total $261,703 · program services $261,703
Balance sheet
Part X, book values.
-
1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing
beginning of year $431,041 · end of year $56,499
-
3 · Pledges and grants receivable
beginning of year $616,453 · end of year $438,750
-
4 · Accounts receivable
beginning of year $0 · end of year $2,115
-
9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
beginning of year $118,198 · end of year $159,753
-
17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses
beginning of year $542,596 · end of year $59,125
-
25 · Other liabilities
beginning of year $3,790,073 · end of year $5,414,656
-
27 · Net assets without donor restrictions
beginning of year -$3,807,977 · end of year -$5,279,961
-
28 · Net assets with donor restrictions
beginning of year $641,000 · end of year $463,297
Mission and programs · 2024
Mission
TO PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC CELEBRATION, CONCERT, AND FIREWORKS ON JULY 4THIN BOSTON, VIEWED BY THOUSANDS IN PERSON AND THROUGH THE MEDIA.
Activities or mission (Part I)
TO PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC CELEBRATION, CONCERT, AND FIREWORKS ON JULY 4TH.
-
THE BOSTON 4 CELEBRATIONS RETURNED TO THE CHARLES RIVER ESPLANADE ON JULY 4, 2025. KEITH LOCKHART LED THE BOSTON POPS ESPLANADE ORCHESTRA IN THE ORGANIZATION'S JOYOUS CELEBRATION OF THE COUNTRY'S INDEPENDENCE AT THE HATCH SHELL. THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON, THE CROWD AT THE ESPLANADE SWELLED. AN ESTIMATED 400,000 PEOPLE ENJOYED THE CONCERT. IN 2025, KEITH LOCKHART MARKED HIS 30TH YEAR AS THE BOSTON POPS CONDUCTOR. THE BOSTON POPS ESPLANADE ORCHESTRA WAS JOINED BY HEADLINERS LEEANN RIMES AND LESLIE ODOM JR, BOSTON'S OWN BELL BIV DEVOE, THE BOSTON CHILDREN'S CHORUS, AND THE U.S. ARMY FIELD BAND AND CHORUS. THE U.S. ARMY CHORUS SANG THE "STAR SPANGLED BANNER" AS WELL AS A "SALUTE TO OUR ARMED FORCES." (CONTINUED IN SCHEDULE O)THE CONCERT CAME TO A CONCLUSION WITH A PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S 1812 OVERTURE WITH LIVE CANNONS FOLLOWED BY A HALF HOUR FIREWORKS DISPLAY THAT REQUIRED A TEAM OF 20 PEOPLE TO DESIGN, ENGINEER, LOAD IN 4,000 FIREWORKS SHELLS THAT LIT UP THE SKY.
Expenses $3,584,362 · Revenue $126,770
As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.
Listed in Part VII
-
Chad SmithCHAD SMITH
PRESIDENT, TRUSTEE
- Total calculated
- $1,325,810
- From this org
- $0
- From related orgs
- $1,318,099
- Other
- $7,711
- Hours/week
- 1 + 50 related
Schedule J breakdown matched by us
- Base
- $0 + $1,097,476 related
- Bonus
- $0 + $210,000 related
- Other
- $0 + $10,623 related
- Deferred
- $0
- Nontaxable benefits
- $0 + $7,711 related
- Filer's total
- $0 + $1,325,810 related
-
Katherine DecellesKATHERINE DECELLES
TREASURER, TRUSTEE
- Total calculated
- $238,190
- From this org
- $0
- From related orgs
- $218,872
- Other
- $19,318
- Hours/week
- 1 + 40 related
Schedule J breakdown matched by us
- Base
- $0 + $217,805 related
- Bonus
- $0
- Other
- $0 + $1,067 related
- Deferred
- $0 + $6,371 related
- Nontaxable benefits
- $0 + $12,947 related
- Filer's total
- $0 + $238,190 related
-
Joseph KamayJOSEPH KAMAY
CLERK, TRUSTEE
- Total calculated
- $100,160
- From this org
- $0
- From related orgs
- $89,995
- Other
- $10,165
- Hours/week
- 1 + 40 related
-
Paul Eric KraussPAUL ERIC KRAUSS
VICE-PRESIDENT
- Total calculated
- $362,808
- From this org
- $0
- From related orgs
- $314,556
- Other
- $48,252
- Hours/week
- 1 + 40 related
Schedule J breakdown matched by us
- Base
- $0 + $311,547 related
- Bonus
- $0
- Other
- $0 + $3,009 related
- Deferred
- $0 + $9,517 related
- Nontaxable benefits
- $0 + $38,735 related
- Filer's total
- $0 + $362,808 related
Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.
Schedule J
Answered yes
- 8 · Paid under the initial-contract exception
- 9 · Followed the rebuttable-presumption procedure
Answered no
- 4a · Severance or change-of-control payment
- 4b · Supplemental nonqualified retirement plan
- 4c · Equity-based compensation arrangement
- 5a · Pay contingent on this organization's revenues
- 5b · Pay contingent on a related organization's revenues
- 6a · Pay contingent on this organization's net earnings
- 6b · Pay contingent on a related organization's net earnings
- 7 · Other non-fixed payments
The filer's explanations (Part III)
- PART I, LINE 8
- COMPENSATION REPORTED IN PART VII, SECTION A PAID TO PRESIDENT AND CEO, CHAD SMITH, WERE SUBJECT TO THE INITIAL CONTRACT EXCEPTION DESCRIBED IN REGULATIONS SECTION 53.4958-4(A)(3). NONETHELESS, THE ORCHESTRA FOLLOWED THE REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION PROCEDURES DESCRIBED IN REGULATIONS SECTION 53.4958-6(C).
Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.
Grants on this return
No itemized grants to organizations on this return.
Related organizations on this return
Schedule R Part II: tax-exempt organizations related to the filer by control. It does not record shared board members or money.
-
501(C)(3) · MUSIC · MA
Taxable family on this return
Schedule R Parts I, III and IV, as filed. These record ownership and control, not shared board members or money moved.
Related partnerships
Part III: related organizations taxable as a partnership, with the filer's share.
-
263 HA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
N/A · REAL ESTATE · MA
Related corporations and trusts
Part IV: related organizations taxable as a corporation or trust.
-
263 REALTY CORPORATION
C · REAL ESTATE · MA · controlled entity
Provenance
- Return type
- form_990
- Tax year
- 2024
- Filed
- 14 July 2026
- IRS schema version
- 2024v5.5
- Source object
- 202631959349301823
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