Mission: Saddle Up's mission is to impact the lives of children and young adults with disabilities by providing opportunities to grow and develop through therapeutic, educati ... (More)
Saddle Up! is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1991, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
Good
This charity's score is 84.08, earning it a 3-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 80.37 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 89.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2019, the latest year published by the IRS.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
Star Rated Report
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Program Expense Ratio
76.8%
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).
This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Administrative Expenses
7.0%
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Expenses
16.1%
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
0.0%
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Efficiency
$0.21
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Working Capital Ratio
7.72 years
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Growth
2.72%
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Governance
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Governance: | |
|---|---|
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
| No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
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| Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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| Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
| Compensates Board ... (More) |
Policies
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Policies: | |
|---|---|
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
| Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Transparency
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Transparency: | |
|---|---|
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
Additional Information
Unscored
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Total Revenue and Expenses
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Salary of Key Persons
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Laurie Kush, Executive Director
$85,020 (7.62% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2020
Business Master File Data
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Services for the aged (see also 153 ad 382) (BMF activity code: 575)
Aid to the handicapped (see also 031) (BMF activity code: 160)
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
Data Sources: IRS Forms 990
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Pandemic Response
Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Saddle Up! reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
From March through December 2020, Saddle Up! compensated for lost revenue from cancelled fundraising events and a decrease in program fees due to the pandemic through increased support from individual donors and foundations. In late April 2020, Saddle Up! received $137,075 in PPP funding. In addition, with careful planning, we were able to cut expenses during the 2020 fiscal year, which helped with our overall financial position.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
Safety is a priority in all that we do at Saddle Up!. After the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, we suspended programming until July 2020, at which time we resumed limited programming. In mid-September, we ramped up our programming, serving 98 participants through Adaptive Riding lessons and Therapy Services. When COVID cases spiked again in the fall of 2020, we returned to limited programing until January 2021, and have been gradually increasing rider capacity ever since. Now in 2022, we are up to 140 riders/week, with a goal to increase to 176 riders/week (i.e., pre-COVID rider numbers) by the end of 2022.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
During the period of suspended programming in 2020, Saddle Up! quickly pivoted to hosting 2-3 weekly Zoom classes to engage our participants and families, created weekly social media activities, and developed "Bedtime Stories," where members of the SU! community would read horse-themed children's books via Zoom to our riders. Saddle Up! also cut expenses and made limited staff changes to further buffer the impact of the pandemic on our finances.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
We moved certain portions of our volunteer trainings online in 2020, which will continue after the pandemic in order to make on-boarding more convenient for volunteers. While we ramped up our social media presence and digital communications out of necessity in 2020, we have seen the overall benefits of doing so and have hired a contract communications manager to streamline and improve our communications.
Historical Ratings
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 2/1/2022 | 2019 | 84.08 | |
| 3/1/2021 | 2019 | 84.08 | |
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990. | |||
| 3/1/2020 | 2018 | 85.70 | |
| 2/1/2019 | 2017 | 87.81 | |
| 3/1/2018 | 2016 | 89.41 | |
| 4/1/2017 | 2015 | 90.75 |  |
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
Impact & Results
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Impact & Results Score
Not Currently Scored
Saddle Up! cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Do you work at Saddle Up!? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
Saddle Up! reported its largest program on its FY 2020 Form 990 as:
$770,932
Spent in most recent FY
100%
Percent of program expenses
HORSE-BASED PROGRAMS:1. ADAPTIVE RIDING- FORMERLY NAMED THERAPEUTIC RIDING SADDLE UP!'S ADAPTIVE RIDING (AR) PROGRAM IS AN EQUINE-ASSISTED ACTIVITY WHERE PARTICIPANTS BUILD THEIR MOUNTED AND UNMOUNTED ... (More)
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Leadership & Adaptability Score
100
out of 100
The score earned by Saddle Up! is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.
Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.
Leadership & Adaptability Report
100
of 100 points
Mission
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission
Saddle Up’s mission is to impact the lives of children and young adults with disabilities by providing opportunities to grow and develop through therapeutic, educational and recreational experiences with horses.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Vision
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Saddle Up! operates six programs year-round from our 34-acre farm in Franklin, TN, for children and young adults (ages 2-26) with disabilities. Participants in Saddle Up's programs show improvement in flexibility, balance and muscular strength. For individuals with mental or emotional disabilities, the unique relationship formed with the horse can lead to increased confidence, patience and self-esteem. Saddle Up! provides opportunities for physical, occupational and speech therapy; physical exercise; cognitive stimulation; learning; confidence building; creation of social and team networks; and recreation.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Strategic Goals
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Serving more children and maximizing the missional return on our greatest investment and largest asset - our facility.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
Goal Two: Leveraging our 30+ years of experience, central location and national reputation by repositioning Saddle Up! as a Center of Excellence.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Three: Increasing the number of full-time staff who are PATH Intl. (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International) certified instructors.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Leadership Development
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
We recently hired an Education & Training Director, and part of her role is to create new opportunities to educate volunteers and staff on equine-assisted therapies and activities.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Mobilizing for Mission
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
Saddle Up! is a member of PATH Intl. (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International) and the American Hippotherapy Association. We also partner with Vanderbilt University, Middle Tennessee State University, Belmont University, Rochelle Center, Center for Nonprofit Management, Father Ryan High School, Franklin Lions Club, Lipscomb University, White Fawn Farm, TEAM, Southern Reins, Colby's Army, Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding (STAR), the Shea Center for Therapeutic Riding (Calif.), the LEND program (a consortium of medical professionals who are helping us evaluate our program impact), Brightstone, and High Hopes. We recently tabled at the 3-day Southern Equine Expo, and regularly have staff attend industry conferences and trainings.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Story of Adaptability
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
When Saddle Up! had to cut back on programming and fundraising events due to COVID safety protocols in the past year, we cut expenses and made small staff changes to help counter lost revenue. We also relaunched a virtual fundraising campaign / competition from 2015 called "Pony Up! for Saddle Up!," which ended up raising almost $40,000 for operating expenses in its first year.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Additional Information
Unscored
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Organization Leadership
Audrey Kidd
Executive Director
Trina Hayes
President
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
Culture & Community Score
Not Currently Scored
Saddle Up! is currently not eligible for a Culture & Community score because we have not received its Constituent Feedback or Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion data. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the How We Listen and Equity Practices sections of their Candid profile.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Culture & Community Report
Unscored
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
This organization has not provided information regarding the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Methodology
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Constituent Feedback
Constituent Feedback and Listening Practice data are not available for this organization. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Methodology
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Analysis and Research
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
Constituent Feedback
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
