Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541638971
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Ashburn, VA, USA
- Phone
- 4439898214
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $14,210,255
- Expenses
- $13,911,931
- Assets
- $6,573,229
- Liabilities
- $1,808,272
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
27 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Robert Strassburger (President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Robert Strassburger (President & CEO): $462,986 total reported compensation
- Carol Kidd (Treasurer/CFO): $269,071 total reported compensation
- Scott Geisler (Director of Programs): $241,741 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To research, educate, and promote highway safety.
What it reported doing in 2024
Alcohol Detection: The Congressionally-authorized Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program brings together the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), which represents the world's leading automakers, and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in one of the most important government and private sector partnerships in recent years. Public-private partnerships like DADSS have led to innovations that enhance our everyday lives, such as the internet, GPS and the microchip. The DADSS Program is developing innovative, vehicle-integrated alcohol detection systems to address the problem of alcohol-impaired driving. Continued in Sch O
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 63
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.4%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 92.5%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 97.5%; rating input score 98; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.1%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 90.4% of revenue deployed · 92.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $12.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $463K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13.4M reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.