Goals
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Indicator Measures
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How are we doing?
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| 1.1 Metro Boston’s Competitive Edge in Civic Health |
1.1.1 Racial and ethnic diversity |
As of 2005, 28% of Boston’s population was born in another country, despite conflicting reports of the city’s population growth. At the same time, people of color comprised 52% of the city’s residents, continuing to make Boston one of the most racially and ethnically diverse cities in the nation. |
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1.1.2 Massachusetts ranking on the Center for Wealth & Philanthropy Charitabe Giving Indices |
Massachusetts ranked 8th out of 50 states when adjusted for tax burden and cost of living. |
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1.1.3 Opportunities for civic discourse, Metro Boston |
Greater Boston offers an unusually large number and broad range of opportunities for public dialogue, ranging from small and informal to the technologically advanced, which have only grown in the past few years. |
1.2 High Rates of Social Capital
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1.2.1 Residents' trust in neighbors, Boston |
In 2006, nearly 76% of Bostonians surveyed felt that they could rely on a neighbor for help, down from almost 80% in 2003. |
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1.2.2 Civic engagement and social and racial trust, Massachusetts
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A majority of people polled rate the quality of race relations as “fair” or “good,” the percentage of whites who rate the quality as “excellent” is twice that of any other racial group. A majority of those polled feel that race relations have worsened over the last 8 years. |
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1.2.3 Volunteer activity, Boston and Massachusetts |
Between 2002 and 2006, the number of volunteers engaged with Boston Cares skyrocketed by 225% to 5,200. |
| 1.3 Demographically Representative Leadership |
1.3.1 Leadership of top 100 companies by race and gender, Metro Boston and Massachusetts |
Among the 100 best performing public companies in Massachusetts, 96% of board members are white, and 87% are male. Among 491 board members for whom race was identified, just 8 (or 1.6%) are African American, 11 (or 2.2%) are Asian and only 2 (or 0.4%) of board members are Latino. |
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1.3.2 Diversity of elected leadership by race and gender, Massachusetts Legislature |
200-member Massachusetts legislature, women lost 6 seats, bringing the total number of women Senators and State Representatives down to 50; while the number of people of color elected to the State House has stagnated at around 5% over the last 8 years. |
| 1.4 High Rates of Voter Participation |
1.4.1 Registered voters and participation rates, Boston |
In 2006 the number of Bostonians registered to vote increased by 6% from 2002 and the percentage of Boston’s registered voters who voted actually declined from 58.3% to 56.2%. |
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1.4.2 Contested Elections, Massachusetts Legislature |
In 2006 the number of contested seats in the Massachusetts Legislature hit its lowest point with only 54 of the 200 seats engaged in a competitive election (27%). |
| 1.5 Healthy Race and Community Relations |
1.5.1 Reported Hate Crimes by Type, Boston neighborhood |
The number of hate crimes in Boston investigated by the Community Disorders Unit of the Boston Police Department (BPD) continued to decline overall, reaching an all-time low of 169 in 2006, despite a slight increase in 2005 to 219 reported incidents. |
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1.5.2 Degree of residential segregation, Boston and Metro Boston |
Residential segregation is proliferating in the Metro Boston region: people of color make up 24% of the Greater Boston population and 34% of the population in cities like Worcester, Fall River and Lawrence. Whereas, in Massachusetts as a whole people of color comprise only 15% of the population. |
| 1.6 Stability and Investment in Neighborhoods |
1.6.1 People living at the same address by number of years, Boston neighborhood |
In 2005, of 511,840 surveyed residents of Boston, 392,360—76%—lived in the same house one year prior; 69% of renters lived in the same residence whereas 88% of owners remained in the same home over the course of the year. |
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1.6.2 Small business loans by race and gender, Boston neighborhood1.6.2 Small business loans by race and gender, Boston neighborhood |
In 2006, the Massachusetts Small Business Administration made 275 loans to Boston businesses, down from 333 in 2003. However, the total dollar amount given in small business loans increased by 16%. 20% of loans went to women-owned businesses and 42% wnt to firms owned by people of color. |
| 1.7 Welcoming and Inclusive Environment |
1.7.1 Public buildings and amenities accessible to people with disabilities, Boston |
In 2006, the Massachusetts Office on Disability, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the state Information Technology Division finalized a Memorandum of Understanding that ensures effective and useable access to state computer applications and websites for individuals with disabilities. |
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1.7.2 Multi-lingual capacity in major public institutions, Boston |
Between 2004 and 2006, the number of foreign language and sign language interpreters in Boston's public institutions more than doubled from 688 to 1,556. |
| 1.8 Access to Information |
1.8.1 Library books in circulation, Boston neighborhood |
Between 2004 and 2006, the total circulation of books throughout the Boston Public Library system increased by 16%, with virtually all of the increase driven by the neighborhood branches. |
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1.8.2 Community newspapers by linguistic group, Boston neighborhood and Metro Boston |
Boston maintains a strong community-based newspaper system with more than 70 special interest services. Of those, 24 are ethnic papers making the news available in just as many languages; 28 are neighborhood papers that keep residents up-to-date on the issues pertinent to the community. |
| 1.9 Strength of the Nonprofit Sector |
1.9.1 Nonprofits by budget and type, Boston |
In 2006, more than 14,000 of Massachusetts’ 25,000 registered nonprofit organizations held tax-exempt status, confirmed by the IRS. |
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1.9.2 Revenues for the 25 largest nonprofit organizations, Boston |
Between 2004 and 2006, just 6 of the 23 organizations on the Boston Business Journal's top-25 list in both years saw a decline in revenue. |
| 1.10 Public Support and Philanthropy |
1.10.1 In- and out-of-state grants, Metro Boston |
Out-of-state foundations gave about $289 million to Metro Boston in 2004, down 19% from $358 million in 2002. Giving from Massachusetts foundations declined by 21% from $155 million in 2002 to $122 million in 2004, the latest year for which data is available. |
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1.10.2 Personal philanthropic support for the nonprofit sector, Massachusetts compared to all states |
The 2006 report Center on Wealth and Philanthropy Charitable Giving Indices: Social Indicators of Philanthropy by State shows that Massachusetts households contribute an average of $1,837 annually, ranking 14th out of 50 states in total charitable contributions. |
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1.10.3 Assets and grants of top 50 foundations, Massachusetts |
According to figures released in 2006, assets among Massachusetts’ 50 largest foundations grew by a healthy 17% between 2002 and 2004. Likewise, there was an 8% increase in the dollar amount given out by Massachusetts foundations. |