The Kiefer Foundation

Tax-deductible

Plymouth, MI501(c)(3)Since 2016Public Safety & DisasterEIN 81-4314355

The Kiefer Foundation works to end distracted driving and save lives by changing behavior through education on the importance of safe driving, and by promoting technology that helps to prevent distracted driving.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
66¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 66 volunteers and 1 employee.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $50K a year · 13% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
66%
of spending
Fine: 66% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$89K
to officers and key staff · 14% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 90% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 14% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
16 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 16.4 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $34K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$87K
8% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 8% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
6
of 6 voting members
Looks good: 6 of 6 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$740K
-1% vs prior year
Spent
$622K
To programs
66%
Net assets
$997K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$740K
FY2025▼ -1%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$5K
FY2021$42K
FY2022$277K
FY2023$559K
FY2024$748K
FY2025$740K
Expenses
$622K
FY2025▲ +43%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$125K
FY2021$310K
FY2022$301K
FY2023$277K
FY2024$436K
FY2025$622K
Net assets
$997K
FY2025▲ +19%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$545K
FY2021$277K
FY2022$254K
FY2023$528K
FY2024$840K
FY2025$997K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 2018.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

66 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 66% · $412K Management & general 23% · $143K Fundraising 11% · $68K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

7 people listed on the 990; $89K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$89,462Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary & Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President & Chairman
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Melissa Hamrick’s $89K as Executive Director is at the 90th percentile of top reported officer pay among 825 $100K–1M public safety & disaster nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

See The Kiefer Foundation executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Educates about distracted driving dangers and supports community needs and students.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until The Kiefer Foundation claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

1 program service account for $412K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

Raise Distracted driving awareness through media, partnerships, and education and improve Detroit and the surrounding communities by helping those in need and supporting future generations of students.

$412Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$34K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 13 grants · $580K · 2020–2025
Stopdistractions OrgIL · FY2025$27,500
Rapid Press INCFY2025$12,159
MiscellaneousFY2025$10,169
Impact SolutionsFY2025$6,512
Plymouth Ac LLCFY2024$100,000
Plymouth AcFY2023$100,000
Stop DistractionsorgFY2023$13,750
Plymouth AcFY2022$100,000
Stop DistractionsorgFY2022$10,000
Plymouth AcFY2021$100,000
Plymouth AcFY2020$80,854
League of MichiganFY2020$10,000

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$740K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$357K
Other incomeLn 4–11$304K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$50K
Money outPt IX
$622K
Ln 25
Programscol B$412K
Managementcol C$143K
Fundraisingcol D$68K
Owns and owesPt X
$997K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$850K
Total assetsLn 16$1.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$87K
PeoplePt VI, VII
7
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a6
IndependentVI 1b6
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$357K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$82K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$50K
Investment incomeLn 3$28K
Other incomeLn 4–11$304K
Total revenueLn 12$740K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$14K
SavingsLn 2$836K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$850K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$8K
Other assetsLn 15$141K
Total assetsLn 16$1.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$87K
Net assetsLn 32$997K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 51
VolunteersI 666
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$702K$850K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0$8K
Total assetsLn 16$840K$1.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$87K
Net assetsLn 32$840K$997K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$65K$65K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$89K$45K$36K$9K
Payroll taxesLn 10$7K$4K$3K$708
Legal feesLn 11b$6K$6K
Accounting feesLn 11c$6K$6K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$28K$28K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$123K$90K$33K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$47K$35K$12K
Office expensesLn 13$523$523
TravelLn 17$15K$12K$3K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$2K$2K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$35K$35K
InsuranceLn 23$2K$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$195K$180K$2K$13K
All other expensesLn 24e$461$461
Total functional expensesLn 25$622K$412K$143K$68K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $740K$622K$118K$997K 990 PDF
FY2024 $748K$436K$312K$840K 990 PDF
FY2023 $559K$277K$282K$528K 990 PDF
FY2022 $277K$301K−$24K$254K 990 PDF
FY2021 $42K$310K−$268K$277K 990 PDF
FY2020 $5K$125K−$121K$545K 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $739,899 across 7 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$81,670
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$275,235
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$356,905
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $50,500$50,500
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $28,320$28,320
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $304,174$304,174
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $50,500 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $332,494$739,899
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $622,120 across 15 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $65,340$65,340
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $44,731 · Management $35,785 · Fundraising $8,946$89,462
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $3,538 · Management $2,829 · Fundraising $708$7,075
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $6,064$6,064
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $5,900$5,900
IX-11d Lobbying feesPrograms $27,500$27,500
IX-11g Other fees for servicesManagement $90,240 · Fundraising $33,025$123,265
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $35,342 · Fundraising $11,781$47,123
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $523$523
IX-17 TravelPrograms $12,308 · Management $2,876$15,184
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $1,918$1,918
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $35,300$35,300
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $2,058$2,058
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $179,828 · Management $2,067 · Fundraising $13,052$194,947
IX-24e All other expensesManagement $461$461
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $411,869 · Management $142,739 · Fundraising $67,512$622,120
Part X · Balance sheet $1,083,801 assets, 13 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $16,352$13,518
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $686,103$836,453
X-4 Accounts receivable$34,000
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$51,722
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $0$7,525
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $137,931$140,583
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $840,386$1,083,801
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$62,159
X-19 Deferred revenue$25,000
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$87,159
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $840,386$996,642
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $840,386$996,642
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $840,386$1,083,801
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $996,642 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$739,899
XI-2 Total expenses$622,120
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$117,779
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$840,386
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$38,477
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$996,642

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.
Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.