Bierly Boasberg Foundation is the private foundation of Christopher Bierly and his wife Margaret Boasberg. It is a grantmaking organization has given to several left-of-center and environmentalist advocacy groups, including Voter Registration Project, Everytown for Gun Safety, and World Wildlife Fund.¹

Background

Bierly Boasberg Foundation is a private foundation that was founded by Christopher Bierly and his wife Margaret Boasberg in 2000. ² The couple are sole contributors to the organization. From 2016 to 2021, they contributed $4.8 million to the foundation, all of which was comprised of stock contributions. ³

Bierly Boasberg Foundation is a grantmaking organization that gives to Massachusetts-area community organizations, including children’s programs, food banks, and groups offering social services. It also gives to medical programs and colleges as well as left-of-center and environmentalist advocacy groups. ⁴

Grants

Between 2017 and 2021, Bierly Boasberg Foundation distributed over $1.5 million in grants. Among those grants were $49,781 to Voter Registration Project in 2020, $1,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety in 2018, and another $1,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety in 2017. During that same period, it gave to several environmentalist groups, including World Wildlife Fund, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, and NSW Wildlife. ¹

Trustees

Chris Bierly is a trustee of Bierly Boasberg Foundation and partner of Bain and Company, a Boston-based consulting firm, where he has been partner at since the 1990s and previously worked as vice president. ^{5 2} Bierly is also a senior advisor for Endeavor, a nonprofit organization that advocates for businesses to engage in activism, and is a published author by the World Economic Forum. ^{6 7 8} In February 2020, he co-published a report advocating for investment firms to follow environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs to promote environmentalist goals. ⁹

Margaret Boasberg is a trustee of Bierly Boasberg and is a partner of the Bridgespan Group, a consulting firm for nonprofits where she has worked since 2000. Boasberg is said to specialize in strategic planning of nonprofit organizations providing social and medical services as well as consulting “high net worth individuals” in how to effectively engage in philanthropy. From 1990 to 1999, she worked at Bain and Company. ¹⁰

Finances

In 2021, Bierly Boasberg Foundation reported $771,000 in total revenue, $468,000 in total expenses, and $8.8 million in total assets. ¹¹

1. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF). Bierly Boasberg Foundation. 2017-2021. Part XV.
2. “Ms. Boasberg and Mr. Bierly.” The New York Times, September 12, 1999. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/12/style/ms-boasberg-and-mr-bierly.html.
3. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF). Bierly Boasberg Foundation. 2016-2021. Schedule B.
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF). Bierly Boasberg Foundation. 2016-2021. Part XV.
5. “Chris Bierly.” Bain. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.bain.com/our-team/chris-bierly/.
6. “Chris Bierly – Senior Advisor at Endeavor.” THE ORG. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://theorg.com/org/endeavor/org-chart/chris-bierly.
7. “Endeavor – Org Chart, Teams, Culture & Jobs.” THE ORG. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://theorg.com/org/endeavor.
8. “Chris Bierly – Agenda Contributor.” World Economic Forum. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/authors/chris-bierly.
9. Bierly, Chris, and hugh MacArthur. “Investing with Impact: Today’s ESG Mandate in Private Equity.” Bain, February 24, 2020. https://www.bain.com/insights/esg-investing-global-private-equity-report-2020/.
10. “Margaret Boasberg.” Bridgespan. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://www.bridgespan.org/team-members/margaret-boasberg.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990PF). Bierly Boasberg Foundation. 2021.