Boston Foundation CEO salary and executive pay
Boston Foundation paid its CEO, M Lee Pelton, $915,854 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $40,038 (4.6%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. Total revenue on that return was $426,656,046, up 102.8% from $210,389,550 for the fiscal year ending June 2024. Boston Foundation ranks 9th of 18 foundations and grantmakers on this site by CEO pay. Boston Foundation has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 04-2104021, Boston, MA.
CEO, fiscal year ending June 2025
$915,854
- Total revenue
- $426,656,046
- CEO pay vs. peers
- Higher than 20%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202641269349301584.View the filing
Peers: the 207 other organizations on this site with revenue of $50 million to $500 million. Ranked 166th of 208 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.21% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 1 person was paid more than $500,000 and no one more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| M Lee Pelton CEO President & CEO | $915,854 |
| Kate GuedjSVP and Chief Phil. Off. | $469,241 |
| George C WilsonAssistant Treasurer | $461,064 |
| Alfred F Van Ranst JrFrmr CFO&Treasurer | $449,166 |
| Brian DouglasCFO & Treasurer | $428,399 |
Also paid on the latest return: Keith Mahoney (VP, Comm. & Public Affairs), $367,340; Orlando Watkins (VP & Chief Prog. Officer), $362,123; Leigh Gasper (Asst.Sec.& VP), $296,531; Leslie Pine (Mgr Partner, TPI), $289,646; Jane Dixon (VP, HR & Culture and Talent), $281,715; Nalia Bolus (VP&Dir of the Campaign for a Greater Boston), $252,206; Margaret Alexander (Partner, TPI), $245,458; Rupal Dandia (VP Development/Deshpande), $214,000; Soni Gupta (Associate VP Programs), $208,339; Kristen O'Connell (Secretary (1/3/24-11/8/24)), $123,086.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Kendall Stanley (Secretary (4/3/25-present)), Dwight Poler (Chair), Charles Anderson (Director), Andrew Arnott (Director), Raja Bobbili (Director), Kendall Burlin Oconnell (Director), Vanessa Calderon Rosado (Director), Elyse Cherry (Director), Petrina Martin Cherry (Director), Brian Conway (Director), Pam Eddinger (Director), Betty Francisco (Director), Tracy Palandjian (Director), Raj Sharma (Director), Jane Steinmetz (Director), Rob Waldron (Director), CA Webb (Director), Elaine Zecher (Director), J Keith Motley (Director), Zamawa Arenas (Director), Scott Squillace (Director).
CEO pay by year
Each row is the CEO on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | M Lee Pelton CEO President & CEO | $915,854 | $426,656,046 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | M Lee Pelton CEO President & CEO | $875,816 | $210,389,550 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | M Lee Pelton CEO President & CEO | $813,517 | $161,296,905 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | M Lee Pelton CEO President & CEO | $455,936 | $324,652,362 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending June 2025.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202641269349301584.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| M Lee PeltonPresident & CEO | $844,144 | $71,710 | $805,855 | $23,977 | $14,312 | $43,700 | $28,010 | $915,854 |
| Kate GuedjSVP and Chief Phil. Off. | $400,579 | $68,662 | $382,601 | $11,490 | $6,488 | $37,621 | $31,041 | $469,241 |
| George C WilsonAssistant Treasurer | $409,291 | $51,773 | $387,672 | $11,730 | $9,889 | $20,700 | $31,073 | $461,064 |
| Alfred F Van Ranst Jr*Frmr CFO&Treasurer | $442,569 | $6,597 | $66,100 | $40,000 | $336,469 | $4,938 | $1,659 | $449,166 |
| Brian DouglasCFO & Treasurer | $394,571 | $33,828 | $350,642 | $41,250 | $2,679 | $0 | $33,828 | $428,399 |
These figures come from Boston Foundation's Form 990 returns, as the IRS publishes them. The methodology page explains how they're chosen. To report an error, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
How Boston Foundation compares
Ranked 9th of 18 foundations and grantmakers by CEO pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 8th, Dayton Foundation, $953,481
- Next in this ranking: 10th, Jewish Federations of North America, $852,662
Closest in revenue among organizations in the same revenue band:
Somerset Academy$245,726 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Wounded Warrior Project$404,382 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
Toys for Tots$484,426 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2025
Jewish Federations of North America$852,662 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Houston Food Bank$434,369 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Common questions
M Lee Pelton (President & CEO) was paid $915,854 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $844,144 from Boston Foundation and $71,710 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The CEO, M Lee Pelton, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $915,854.
Boston Foundation paid its CEO, M Lee Pelton, $915,854 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $40,038 (4.6%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2022, when the CEO was M Lee Pelton, paid $455,936. By fiscal year end: June 2022, $455,936 (M Lee Pelton); June 2023, $813,517; June 2024, $875,816; June 2025, $915,854.
Boston Foundation's return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports total expenses of $279,853,597 and total revenue of $426,656,046 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so revenue exceeded expenses by $146,802,449. Expenses were $215,292,419 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, so they rose 30.0%. The CEO's pay of $915,854 equals 0.33% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns Boston Foundation filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on May 6, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.