Cycle Oregon Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921378173
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032870405
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Recreation& Sports N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,228,671
Expenses
$1,991,070
Assets
$881,262
Liabilities
$308,424

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARAH GATES (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • STEVE YOUNG (BOARD VICE PRESIDENT)
  • STEVE SCHULZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVE SCHULZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $158,524 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To bring the joy of riding a bicycle to all of Oregon.

What it reported doing in 2025

Program development and other bike programs: cycle Oregon foundation believes that the simple act of riding a bike can be an antidote for physical and mental isolation and that everyone should be able to enjoy bicycling regardless of socioeconomic, geographic or cultural background. With the proper programmatic support and resources, we believe everyone can experience the joyful sense of adventure when bicycling is a part of everyday life, creating a bridge for a stronger, healthier and more inclusive society. We award scholarships to lower barriers to all of our programs and events. We provide summer bike camps for youth ages 6-12, where young riders build confidence, independence and essential bike safety skills while exploring their surroundings on two wheels in a fun and community building environment. We provide free bikes, helmets and accessories to under-resourced communities where kids and families have more barriers to accessing the joy of riding a bicycle. We host a community bike block party where dozens of bicycling adjacent groups and nonprofits gather together to build community with hundreds of attendees, providing free helmets and bikes, bike fun activities, and an expo. We work with communities across Oregon in developing community cycling strategies which convene local partners in creating programs, education, infrastructure and a community culture where children gain independence, families build connections, and communities thrive.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.8%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $55.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.7%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 145.4% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 99.4% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.6% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.8% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $159K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.