Pittsburghers for Public Transit

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853644829
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
7034240854
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Citizen Participation

Reported finances

Revenue
$672,139
Expenses
$491,661
Assets
$1,008,948
Liabilities
$14,709

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Laura Chu Wiens (Executive Dir.): $73,842 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a grassroots union of transit workers, riders and neighbors who organize for more equitable, affordable and accessible public transit that meets all needs, with no communities left behind.

What it reported doing in 2024

PTT advocated for the deployment of more transit-supportive infrastructure in the City of Pittsburgh, including more bus shelters and completed, accessible sidewalks.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - 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: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49.5%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 26.9%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.05; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 45.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.3% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49.5% of revenue deployed · 67.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $333K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $74K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 50/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.