Drivers Union

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850513348
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tukwila, WA, USA
Phone
2068120829
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Citizen Participation

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,379,047
Expenses
$5,297,724
Assets
$2,374,681
Liabilities
$1,788

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gatkuoth Kuel (President)
  • Takele Gobena (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Patrice Tisdale (General Counsel): $209,493 total reported compensation
  • Hannah Purcell (Staff Attorney): $127,205 total reported compensation
  • Gatkuoth Kuel (President): $119,161 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Drivers Union is a nonprofit organization that advances justice and fairness for gig economy workers, most of whom are immigrants and refugees, through organizing, education, advocacy, and free legal support.

What it reported doing in 2025

We are an association of drivers for various app-based companies that promotes fairness, justice, and transparency in Seattle's personal transportation industry.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 77% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.2%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 70%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 14th 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 63%; rating input score 63; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 34.5% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 28.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 46.1% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58.2% of revenue deployed · 70% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $209K · 12 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.