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Non-profit

Fresh Sound Foundation

Website:

freshsoundfoundation.org/
Location:

Cambridge, MA
Tax ID:

06-1428363
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Assets: $7,445,016
Type:

Private Grantmaking Foundation
Founded:

1996
President:

John Burt
Budget (2022):

Revenues: $921,594

Expenses: $935,551

Assets: $11,063,708

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The Fresh Sound Foundation is a left-of-center private grantmaking foundation based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The group focuses largely on giving to the arts and environmentalist causes.

The group is a supporter of left-of-center groups working to shift Georgia towards the Democratic Party such as the New Georgia Project, Fair Count Inc., and Women Engaged. New Georgia Project received $100,000, which was the largest single donation from the group, in 2022. 1

The group funded the American Repertory Theatre which performed a remake of the play 1776 that only featured actors who were female, transgender, or non-binary. 2

Background

Ellen and Stuart Burt and their three grown children founded what eventually became the Fresh Sound Foundation in 1996 and the group took its current form in 2006. 3

The group made a large contribution to St. Lawrence University and then another one to Emerson College. 4 Emerson College continues to receive support from the group as of 2022. 5

Grantmaking

Georgia Advocacy

The Fresh Sound Foundation is a supporter of several groups that are working to shift Georgia more towards the Democratic Party. It gave $100,000, which was its largest single contribution in 2022, to the New Georgia Project. 6 The New Georgia Project, founded by former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Abrams and once led by now U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia), has been accused of mismanagement and financial irregularities by the left-of-center media outlet Politico. 7

In 2022, the group donated $50,000 to Fair Count, Inc., which is another group founded by Abrams. Fair Count, Inc. worked on making sure the U.S. Census counts non-white Georgians. 8

In 2022, the group donated $40,000 to Women Engaged, a Georgia-based left-of-center feminist group working to mobilize Black women. 9

Environmental Causes

In 2022, the Fresh Sound Foundation donated to numerous environmentalist groups such as Alternatives to Community and Environment ($5,000), Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust ($5,000), Deer Hill Foundation ($5,000), Food Connects ($40,000), Land Trust Alliance Northeast Region ($8,000), River Network ($25,000), Save The River ($15,000), and Thousand Islands Land Trust ($31,000). 10

Arts

In 2022, the Fresh Sound Foundation donated $40,000 to the American Repertory Theatre, which produced a remake of the play 1776. 11 American Repertory Theatre’s production used actors who were all either female, transgender, or non-binary and criticized the Founding Fathers’ views towards slavery and women. 12

The play also included an educational program called “We Declare” which aligned with Massachusetts’s 8th grade Curriculum Frameworks for History and Social Science. 13

Other Donations Of Note

In 2022, the Fresh Sound Foundation gave to the left-of-center groups Equal Justice Initiative ($50,000), Generation Citizen ($40,000), and Rockefeller Family Fund ($75,000). 14

Leadership

The Fresh Sound Foundation’s president is John Burt. He is the co-founder of the arts nonprofit Cambodian Living Arts. 15

Jeff Burt is the treasurer of the group. He has been involved with land conservation for over a decade and serves on the board of the Thousand Islands Land Trust and the Killingworth Land Conservation Trust. 16

Laurie Burt is a trustee. She is a former Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. 17

Finances

According to the Fresh Sound Foundation’s 2022 tax returns, the group had $921,594 in revenue, $935,551 in expenses, and $11,063,708 in assets. 18

References

  1. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  2. “1776 Digital Program.” Digital Program | A.R.T. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://americanrepertorytheater.org/1776-digital-program/.
  3. “History.” Fresh Sound Foundation. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://freshsoundfoundation.org/about-us/history/.
  4. “History.” Fresh Sound Foundation. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://freshsoundfoundation.org/about-us/history/.
  5. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  6. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  7. Gibson, Brittany. “Voting Group Founded by Abrams, Once Led by Warnock, Faces Financial Scrutiny.” POLITICO, November 12, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/12/new-georgia-project-nse-ufot-00122485#:~:text=The%20New%20Georgia%20Project%2C%20a%20voting%20rights%20organization,and%20irregularities%2C%20according%20to%20a%20six-month%20POLITICO%20investigation.
  8. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  9. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  10. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  11.  “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  12.  “1776 Digital Program.” Digital Program | A.R.T. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://americanrepertorytheater.org/1776-digital-program/.
  13. “We Declare.” ART. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://americanrepertorytheater.org/we-declare/.
  14. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
  15. Trustees.” Fresh Sound Foundation. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://freshsoundfoundation.org/about-us/trustees/.
  16. “Trustees.” Fresh Sound Foundation. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://freshsoundfoundation.org/about-us/trustees/.
  17. “Trustees.” Fresh Sound Foundation. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://freshsoundfoundation.org/about-us/trustees/.
  18. “Fresh Sound Foundation Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61428363/202203269349100600/full.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: June - May
  • Tax Exemption Received: April 1, 1996

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $7,445,016 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $7,736,189 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2015 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $7,797,975 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $8,175,827 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $6,688,324 $45,342 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $6,206,704 $42,166 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $6,349,375 $27,356 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Fresh Sound Foundation

    186 Alewife Br 200
    Cambridge, MA 02138-0000