Equine Advocates Incorporated
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 113313534
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Chatham, NY, USA
- Phone
- 5182451599
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Animal Protection and Welfare
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,264,875
- Expenses
- $2,356,053
- Assets
- $9,242,025
- Liabilities
- $73,085
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SUSAN WAGNER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KAREN WAGNER (SEC'Y/DEVLP): $96,572 total reported compensation
- SUSAN WAGNER (PRESIDENT): $96,572 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 rescue, protect and prevent the abuse of equines through education, investigation, rescue operations, the dissemination of information to the public and the operation of a horse sanctuary for slaughter-bound, abused and neglected horses.
What it reported doing in 2025
To conduct rescue operations to save equines, including horses, ponies, donkeys & mules from slaughter & any form of abuse & neglect; to operate a horse sanctuary where rescued equines are cared for in an environment which is a model for the way equines should live and be treated & also as a way to educate students, teachers, law enforcement professionals & the public about the different situations from which equines are rescued - this is done through the examples of the ones who are rescued & live at the sanctuary - they are ambassadors for others from similar situations who also need help and/or rescue; to provide humane education as taught by a teacher in our humane education center, servicing elementary school and higher grade students to help fulfill state learning standards as mandated by New York state humane education law; to conduct and present symposiums, lecture demonstrations & other educational events, volunteer programs & tours at our humane education center on the sanctuary grounds - to educate the public about equine-related issues, the special care & needs of equines and to further the understanding & need for the rescue & protection of wild & domestic equines; to conduct investigations into various forms of equine abuse, including slaughter, the pmu industry, the urban carriage horse trade, the tragic fate of most camp horses, the horror of horse slaughter auctions, etc.; to produce films, video, books, literature & other materials to present and/or offer to the public as a way to bring about better awareness of problems facing wild & domestic equines in the united states and around the world.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 97% 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
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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 56
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 83
- Sustainability: 78
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 43.8%; rating input score 44
- Program expense ratio: 75.8%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th 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: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 44.8%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.92; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 43.8% of revenue deployed · 75.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $97K · 9 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $812K reported
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2014 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 44/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.