Form 990 for tax year 2023

Totals

Total revenue

$4,976,843

Total expenses

$5,192,171

Contributions and grants received

$3,474,483

Grants paid

$66,000

Program service revenue

$1,305,441

Investment income

$63,980

Other revenue

$132,939

Total assets, end of year

$8,654,674

Total liabilities, end of year

$4,198,946

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$4,455,728

Program services expenses (Part IX)

— not reported

Management and general expenses

— not reported

Fundraising expenses

— not reported

Program service expenses (Part III)

— not reported

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.

Mission and programs · 2023

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE BOSTON BAR ASSOCIATION PROVIDES A ROBUST ARRAY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEGAL PROFESSIONALS AT EVERY STAGE OF THEIR CAREERS. THROUGH CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (CLE), INDUSTRY CONFERENCES, SUBSTANTIVE LAW SECTION MEETINGS, LEADERSHIP TRAINING, AND SKILLS-BASED PROGRAMMING, THE BBA EQUIPS LAWYERS WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, TOOLS, AND SUPPORT THEY NEED TO GROW AND SUCCEED IN THEIR PRACTICE. SPECIALIZED INITIATIVES PROMOTE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, LAWYER WELL-BEING, AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING WITHIN THE PROFESSION. THESE OFFERINGS ARE DESIGNED TO FOSTER EXCELLENCE IN LEGAL PRACTICE WHILE SUPPORTING A THRIVING, INCLUSIVE LEGAL COMMUNITY.

• EVENTS: THE BBA HOSTS A WIDE VARIETY OF EVENTS DESIGNED TO BRING MEMBERS OF THE LEGAL COMMUNITY TOGETHER FOR NETWORKING, CELEBRATION, COLLABORATION, AND SERVICE. THESE EVENTS INCLUDE LARGE ANNUAL GATHERINGS THAT HONOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROFESSION AND THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS SMALLER RECEPTIONS, MEMBER-FOCUSED NETWORKING, AND CELEBRATORY PROGRAMS. EVENTS ARE HELD THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND SERVE TO STRENGTHEN THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY, SPOTLIGHT IMPORTANT ISSUES, WELCOME NEW LAWYERS AND LAW STUDENTS, AND RECOGNIZE LEADERS IN PUBLIC SERVICE AND THE PROFESSION. TOGETHER, THESE EVENTS FOSTER MEANINGFUL CONNECTION, PROFESSIONAL CAMARADERIE, AND A SHARED COMMITMENT TO OUR MISSION.

• COMMUNICATIONS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: THE BBA ENGAGES IN PUBLIC POLICY WORK AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS TO ADVANCE THE RULE OF LAW, PROMOTE ACCESS TO JUSTICE, AND REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION. THROUGH PUBLIC STATEMENTS, POLICY ADVOCACY, PARTICIPATION IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, AND CONVENING THOUGHT LEADERS, THE BBA ADDRESSES ISSUES OF LEGAL SIGNIFICANCE AT THE LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL LEVELS. ITS COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS PROVIDE TIMELY UPDATES ON LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS, COURT NEWS, AND POLICY ISSUES. A RANGE OF NEWSLETTERS, PUBLICATIONS, AND DIGITAL CONTENT INFORMS AND ENGAGES MEMBERS, AMPLIFIES VOICES FROM ACROSS THE LEGAL COMMUNITY, AND HIGHLIGHTS THE PROFESSION'S IMPACT ON SOCIETY.

• SECTIONS - THE BOSTON BAR ASSOCIATION HELD APPROXIMATELY 205 BROWN BAG MEETINGS IN A VARIETY OF PRACTICE AREAS. THESE 1 TO 1.5 HOUR PROGRAMS FEATURE ONE OR TWO EXPERT SPEAKERS. PROGRAMS VARY IN STRUCTURE AND SUBSTANCE TO REACH THE DESIRED TARGET AUDIENCE, WHICH CAN BE EITHER NOVICE OR VERY EXPERIENCED. BROWN BAG MEETINGS CAN BE PLANNED QUICKLY, CREATING AN IDEAL FORUM TO DISCUSS VERY CURRENT 'HOT TOPICS AND LEGISLATION.

• CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION: THE BOSTON BAR ASSOCIATION HELD APPROXIMATELY 30 CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND CONFERENCES IN A VARIETY OF PRACTICE AREAS. THESE SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES COVER IN-DEPTH SUBJECTS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE PRACTITIONERS A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW ON SPECIFIC AREAS OF LAW AND OFTEN INCLUDE A NETWORKING COMPONENT. CLE PROGRAMS ARE ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY WRITTEN MATERIALS. CLE PROGRAMS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO NON-BBA MEMBERS AND ARE PROVIDED TO MEMBERS AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE. BBA CLE PROGRAMS WELCOME OVER 1,500 ATTENDEES AT THE LIVE PROGRAMS, AND ARE VIEWED BY ANOTHER 1,155 PEOPLE ONLINE VIA LEARN ONLINE. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE BBA CLE PROGRAM IS TO FULFILL PART OF THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION TO ADVANCE THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION BY PROVIDING MEMBERS WITH THE TOOLS, RELATIONSHIPS, OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES TO DEVELOP SUCCESSFUL CAREERS AND PRACTICES. CLE DOES THIS THROUGH EDUCATION. OUR CLE PROGRAMS ARE ALSO A GREAT PLATFORM TO ALLOW OUR MEMBERS TO SPEAK OR PRESENT ON A SPECIFIC TOPIC.

• EVENTS - THE BBA AND BBF EVENTS BRING TOGETHER NOT ONLY THE BOSTON LEGAL COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITIES, LEGISLATORS AND JUDGES IN A CONGENIAL ATMOSPHERE. THEY PROVIDE A FORUM FOR HONORING LAWYERS, LEGISLATORS, JUDGES, LAW FIRMS AND CORPORATIONS WHOSE PUBLIC SERVICE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE EXCEPTIONAL.

• LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE - THE BOSTON BAR ASSOCIATION LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE (LRS) HELPS CLIENTS WITH SPECIFIC LEGAL PROBLEMS FIND THE RIGHT LEGAL RESOURCE TO ADDRESS THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS. THE LRS RECEIVED APPROXIMATELY 3,500 CALLS FROM PEOPLE SEEKING LEGAL ASSISTANCE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE LRS IS TO HELP MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FIND THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES AVAILABLE WHETHER IT BE AN ATTORNEY WHO SPECIALIZES IN THEIR LEGAL NEEDS, OR AN ATTORNEY WHO WILL HELP LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS WITH REDUCED FEE OR PRO BONO ASSISTANCE.

As filed on the 2023 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

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

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.

• BOSTON BAR FOUNDATION

  501(C)(3) · LEGAL SERVICES FOR UNDERSERVED, SUPPORT COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS · MA · controlled entity

  Directly controlled by BOSTON BAR ASSOCIATION

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2023

Filed

10 July 2025

IRS schema version

2023v6.0

Source object

202531919349301708

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.