Put on the Brakes Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262176362
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Concord, NC, USA
Phone
7047203806
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,039,317
Expenses
$3,489,332
Assets
$4,034,463
Liabilities
$113,805

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DOUGLAS HERBERT (PRESIDENT/EX)

Highest reported compensation

  • DOUGLAS HERBERT (PRESIDENT/EX): $150,000 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 prevent injuries and save lives by training and educating teenage drivers and their parents, using proactive professional instruction to increase awareness, confidence, ability and safety behind the wheel.

What it reported doing in 2025

To provide education and training to inexperienced, young drivers through driving schools. These schools teach safe driving techniques and the dangers of distracted driving.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.8%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.16; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.8% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $150K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.