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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: July 2025 Expires: July 2027

Boys Town

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
6
(800) 217-3700
14100 Crawford Street
Boys Town, NE, 68010
https://www.boystown.org
📄 Full Report 🖨️ Print 📋 BBB Charity Standards

Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

Boys Town does not meet the following 1 Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 6 (Board Policy on Effectiveness)
Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Boys Town does not meet this Standard because:

  • The board of directors does not have a written policy stating that, at least every two years, an appraisal be done assessing the organization’s performance and effectiveness and determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Boys Town meets the remaining 19 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to change the way America cares for children and families."

Year, State Incorporated:
1917, NE

Also Known As:
Father Flanagan's Boys' Home

Boys Town uses a model which is based on a series of programs aiming to provide children and families with the right placement and treatment at the right time. These programs range from preventive services in the home to restrictive out-of-home placements for children with severe behavioral and mental health disorders. Other programs include: school educational programs, in-home family counseling services, traditional and treatment foster care, short- and long-term family style residential programs and specialized group homes. Boys Town also focuses attention on the medical needs of children in their programs. The organization owns and operates two specialized hospitals and 11 pediatric clinics. The hospital program also conducts research and specializes in childhood deafness, visual impairment, and related communication disorders.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, Boys Town's program expenses were:

Programs across America: $57,916,000

Boys Town National Research Hospital: $245,657,000

Boys Town National Hotline and public services: $55,414,000

Home campus educational programs: $31,647,000

Nebraska/Iowa services: $79,046,000

Total Program Expenses: $469,680,000

Chief Executive
Rodney J. Kempkes, President and Chief Executive Officer

Compensation*
$589,710

Chair of the Board
Kathleen F. Driscoll

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, UMass Memorial Healthcare

Board Size
16

Paid Staff Size
3200

*2022 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Note: Kelli Jo Shidler, Physician, was the highest paid employee, receiving $1,350,715 in compensation during 2022.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Grant proposals, Internet, Direct mail appeals, Radio, Special events, Corporate solicitation

Fundraising costs were 31% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $193,793,000, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Boys Town's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Source of Funds
Contributions $142,685,000
In-kind contributions $39,197,000
Legacies and bequests $11,911,000
Program service revenue $269,232,000
Other revenue $6,137,000
Investment return, net $148,417,000
Total Income $617,579,000

Programs: 85% Fundraising: 11% Administrative: 4%

Total Income $617,579,000
Total expenses: $554,547,000
  Program expenses $469,680,000
  Fundraising expenses $60,793,000
  Administrative expenses $24,074,000
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $63,032,000
Beginning Net Assets $1,610,239,000
Other Changes In Net Assets $8,723,000
Ending Net Assets $1,681,994,000
Total Liabilities $155,843,000
Total Assets $1,837,837,000

Note 1: According to Boys Town's 2023 audited financial statements -consolidated-, the organization received in-kind contributions totaling $39,197,000 in the form of advertising and airtime ($36,750,000) and goods and services ($2,447,000).

Note 2: In the above financial section, "other changes in net assets" refers to change in value of beneficial interest in trust assets ($7,684,000), pension-related changes other than service cost ($1,900,000) and actuarial loss on annuity trust obligations (-$861,000).

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

RELATED CONTENT

Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance