Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 680404917
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Petaluma, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7077698900
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Health - General and Rehabilitative N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,441,783
- Expenses
- $1,184,066
- Assets
- $3,957,251
- Liabilities
- $203,184
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Elizabeth Porzig (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Elizabeth Porzig (Executive Director): $139,050 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Giant steps is dedicated to enriching lives through the power of horses, team, and community. Through the excellence of our equine assisted programs, people of all ages, means, and challenges experience the extraordinary benefits of therapeutic riding and activities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Therapeutic horseback riding and related equine programming for children and adults living with physical, mental, cognitive, developmental, and emotional disabilities. Giant steps also serves veterans and members of the military as well as individuals facing emotional challenges.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 67
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.9%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 68.4%; rating input score 68
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 17.9%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.34; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 66.9% of revenue deployed · 68.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $809K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.