Cars 4 Causes

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770455976
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Ventura, CA, USA
Phone
8054777617
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Gift Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,019,211
Expenses
$5,915,666
Assets
$860,703
Liabilities
$2,163,792

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PATTI LIVINGSTON (President/Off)
  • PATTI LIVINGSTON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATTI LIVINGSTON (PRESIDENT): $138,743 total reported compensation
  • PATRICIA JESSUP (EXEC DIRECTOR): $128,612 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization supports youth education and other causes by giving donors the opportunity to select an additional charity to share in the net proceeds realized through the net sale of vehicle donations received by the organization.

What it reported doing in 2013

Distributed direct cash contributions ($495,221), indirect contributions ($1,527,726) and in-kind contributions ($27,981) to qualified charities designated by donors or approved by the board of directors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 58% for direct work, and 42% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 10
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 83.1%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.9%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.51; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.5%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -34% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -51.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.9% of revenue deployed · 83.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $2M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2012 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is not authorized to operate as a charity in California.