OATS Transit

Legal name: Oats Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431016961
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Columbia, MO, USA
Phone
888-875-6287
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Transportation Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$41,022,269
Expenses
$34,598,721
Assets
$55,599,834
Liabilities
$8,315,129

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DARLEEN RAPP (PRESIDENT)
  • TAMMY NADLER (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • DOROTHY YEAGER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVE WEEKLEY (IT DIRECTOR): $159,831 total reported compensation
  • DOROTHY YEAGER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $152,638 total reported compensation
  • JILL STEDEM (ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR): $143,802 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Enhancing quality of life by providing safe, caring, and reliable transportation services.

What it reported doing in 2024

Oats transit is general public transportation system serving 87 counties in the state of Missouri. Annually, the agency provides 847,000 one-way trips, and travels more than 11.7 million miles with a fleet of over 700 vehicles. Normal operating hours are monday through friday, 6:00 am-6:00 pm. Many times the agency operates outside of those hours due to the nature of the transportation such as dialysis treatments, medical appointments and long-distance travel. In addition to its operating expenses, replacement of vehicles is a top priority for the agency to ensure its fleet is safe and operates efficiently. Oats transit raises funds through donations and grants to purchase new vehicles. While federal grants pay for a portion of its fleet, a 20% local match is required for each new vehicle. This is a challenge and takes years to get funds to be able to match one vehicle. The agency has an extensive fleet plan which includes future expansion needs and major repairs on each vehicle. Our long-term goal is to provide the most transportation service for the dollars received and look for other means of support to continue our mission. A quarterly newsletter is emailed to people and also shared on the agency's various social media sites. The agency website provides general information, as well as bus schedules for all 87 counties it serves.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 25th 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: 15.7%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.61; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 77.4% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $31.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 23 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.