Pedals for Progress
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 223122003
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- High Bridge, NJ, USA
- Phone
- 9086388893
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Recreational l Clubs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $418,264
- Expenses
- $426,168
- Assets
- $159,555
- Liabilities
- $5,000
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ALAN SCHULTZ (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ALAN SCHULTZ (PRESIDENT): $60,000 total reported compensation
- DAVID SCHWEIDENBACK (VP & TRUSTEE): $25,000 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 empower sustainable economic development by recycling bicycles and sewing machines from the us and shipping them to motivated people in the developing world. Since its inception in 1991 and from the seed of an idea by its founder(a former peace corps volunteer), the organization has grown into an enterprise that has cumulatively collected and distributed over 162,000 bicycles and over 5,200 sewing machines to the working poor in central america, africa, eastern europe, asia and the islands of the caribbean and the pacific basin. Through volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, pedals for progress/sewing peace collects, warehouses, and ships new and used bikes, parts and accessories to recipient countries where they are repaired by non-profit partner organizations (providing employment, building management and repair skills to their staff)and subsequently building management and repair skills to their staff)and subsequently, sold at cost to help low-income
What it reported doing in 2024
Pedals for progress/sewing piece's primary exempt purpose is to supply, via charity partners overseas, reconditioned and used bicycles to low-income families in need of affordable transportation for productive purposes. Also to provide refurbished sewing machines, via charity partners overseas, which hold sewing classes and distribute the machines to create employment.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 52% for direct work, and 48% for grants.
- 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 90
- Transparency & Controls: 78
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.1%; rating input score 93
- Program expense ratio: 91.3%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $37.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Pass
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.9%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.9%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -5.1% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -5.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 93.1% of revenue deployed · 91.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $389K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.