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LIFT GARAGE

Safe Cars Secure Lives

aka The Lift   |   Minneapolis, MN   |  http://www.theliftgarage.org

Mission

The Lift Garage is a 501c3 nonprofit aimed to move people out of poverty and homelessness by providing low-cost car repair, free pre-purchase car inspections, and honest advice that supports our community on the road to more secure lives.

Ruling year info

2012

Executive Director

Cathy Heying

Main address

2401 E Lake St

Minneapolis, MN 55406-1967 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

45-4444338

Subject area info

Human services

Population served info

Low-income people

Adults

Women and girls

NTEE code info

Transportation (Free or Subsidized) (P52)

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Lack of access to affordable transportation can be a significant barrier for people finding or keeping jobs, maintaining child car, attending school, keeping medical appointments and more. When a vehicle breaks down and people don't have the money to repair it this can begin a downward spiral into deeper poverty, despair and homelessness.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Automotive Repair Services

At The Lift Garage we provide low-cost car repair to low-income individuals. We charge $25 per hour for service versus the typical labor rate for a similarly sized shop of $145+/hour. We bill customers a modest 7.5% markup for parts (versus 50%+ market rate) and absorb the cost of shop supplies.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Low-income people

When customers are looking to buy a "new" vehicle, we encourage them to bring it to our shop to look it over before they buy it. We look for any major issues and discuss with customers to help them invest in a car that will get them further down the road.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Once a month we host a Basic Car Care Class, which teaches about vehicle components, car tips, and basic car maintenance. These classes are to make people more familiar with their car in order to maintain safety and security in their vehicle.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls

Where we work

  • Minneapolis (Minnesota, United States)

  • Minnesota (United States)

  • Saint Paul (Minnesota, United States)

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of people served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Automotive Repair Services

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Average wage of clients served (in dollars)

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Automotive Repair Services

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Car Care Classes

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Basic Car Care Classes

Type of Metric

Other - describing something else

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The Lift Garage is working to move people out of poverty by providing low cost car repair, free pre-purchase inspections and honest advice. We believe that safe cars lead to secure lives.

All customers who qualify for our services pay $25/hour for labor (compared to $145/hr or more for market rate rent),and only a 7.5% markup for parts

We also offer free pre-purchase inspections to customers whose cars may not be able to be repaired and need to procure a different one. We want to ensure that the limited money our customers have go to purchasing the most sound car they can for their money.
We offer free monthly car care classes to ensure that people have a good working knowledge of their vehicle's operations. In addition we offer transportations supports including uber rides, bust tokens, and towing.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Financials

LIFT GARAGE
Fiscal year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
Financial documents
2025 Final Audit Report 2023 The Lift Garage 2022 The Lift Garage Final Audit
done  Yes, financials were audited by an independent accountant. info

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2024 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

5.48

Average of 12.64 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2024 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

8.3

Average of 8.4 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2024 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

20%

Average of 21% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

LIFT GARAGE

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

LIFT GARAGE

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

Executive Director

Cathy Heying

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

LIFT GARAGE

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.

LIFT GARAGE

Board of directors
as of 04/07/2026
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization

Andrew Sveen Vice Chair

Chris Reisdorf

Chris Reisdorf

Retired Health Policy Expert

David Stevens Chair

David Stevens Board Member

David Telep Board Member

Erik Klis

Retired Risk Manager

Haley Brahmbhatt

University of Minnesota

Jonna Kosalko Secretary

Jordan Simon Board Member

Jordan Simon Treasurer

Ricardo Nakano

Elevance

Stephanie Zahrbock

Finance and Ops Various Nonprofits

Vanessa Jenkins

Zac Willette

Chaplain

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? yes

Organizational demographics

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability