Exceptional Equestrians Company

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391959653
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
De Pere, WI, USA
Phone
9203473174
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rehabilitative Medical Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,011,410
Expenses
$811,798
Assets
$2,530,605
Liabilities
$32,982

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH MOBERG-WOLFF (PRESIDENT)
  • ALYSSA GROMOWSKI (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • LISA KAFKA (CEO)
  • MICHAEL TELZEOW (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA KAFKA (CEO): $109,900 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL TELZEOW (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $44,712 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Improving lives through the healing power of horses.

What it reported doing in 2025

The program provided skilled, quality therapy/hippotherapy services provided by licensed and specially trained professionals. All participants are assessed by a licensed therapist to determine appropriate program participation, and to develop individualized goals and objectives. In 2025, 3,303 hippotherapy sessions were provided to individuals and groups. Participants include children and adults with physical, cognitive, sensory and/or mental health needs. Progress toward goal achievement is determined via objective testing, observation, and quarterly reporting. The adaptive riding program offers therapeutic movement of the equine while teaching basic horsemanship skills. Adaptive riding offers an opportunity for skill progression and advancement as goals are met in hippotherapy. This program is led by a path certified instructor and monitored by a hippotherapy clinical specialist. In 2025, adaptive riding participants were provided a total of 435 sessions. The taking the lead program works with individuals struggling with emotional well-being and mental health. Led by occupational therapists and an equine specialist in mental health, the taking the lead program addresses emotional self-awareness, self-esteem, confidence, communication, and problem solving to offer coping strategies to be incorporated into daily life. In 2025, 15 individuals participated in this program. Funding for all programs comes from a variety of sources including the childrens long term waiver program, iris and lakeland care, private pay, and grant and fundraising income which assists in covering the shortfall as fees charged do not cover the expense of providing the services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% 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: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.2%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 63.7%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.7%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.12; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.2% of revenue deployed · 63.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $517K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.