Gerdas Equine Rescue Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
593800477
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
West Townsend, VT, USA
Phone
8028747213
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$433,829
Expenses
$406,486
Assets
$135,446
Liabilities
$95,165

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GERDA PALMBARD SILVER (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • GERDA PALMBARD SILVER (PRESIDENT)
  • ROBERT A SILVER (TREASURER)
  • GENOVEVA HOLGIUN-KIGER (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization conducts programs that 1) rescue and rehabilitate animals (primarility horses), 2) promote and facilitate animal adoption, and 3) operate a facility where the program mission is accomplished.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our mission is to primarily rescue horses that have run through auction only to be purchased by a kill buyer and will be sent on a horrific journey to Mexico to be slaughtered for human consumption outside the USA. These are the saddest, most hopeless group of horses you could ever imagine. Once they are in our care, we quarantine them for one month and begin to see what they are able to do, or not able to do any more. For those who survive we very carefully find safe loving homes. Homes are selected with the understanding that if they are no longer able to keep the horses adopted from us they must agree to return them to our rescue. The Organization also helps people local or otherwise who have horses that are unable to care for any longer by bringing them into our care and updating their medical needs and finding them homes as space allows; we rarely leave them with no options. We also educate the public by going into schools, hosting annual clinics, such as free castration, low fee dental clinics, and free winter blanket banks for people who are not able to afford these things for their horses. What is a labor of love, and we love making a small difference in this never-ending sea of unwanted horses, who through no fault of their own have become victims of this wretched slaughter pipeline. Our hopes are that one day this inhuman practice will be outlawed and a thing of the past and that our majestic horses may continue to serve man in harmony and respect.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 47
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $385.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.3%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.7; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88% of revenue deployed · 93.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $382K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.