Riding to the Top

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010482069
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Windham, ME, USA
Phone
2078922813
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Developmentally Disabled Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,795,430
Expenses
$868,962
Assets
$3,047,892
Liabilities
$742,921

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARRIE NIEDERMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • CARTER LORING-LESSARD (VICE PRESIDENT/INTERIM SECRETARY)
  • SARAH BRONSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH BRONSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $91,180 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Riding to the top's mission is enhancing health and wellness through equine-assisted services.

What it reported doing in 2025

The center provides equine-assisted services (eas) for children and adults with disabilities. The center's three largest programs are therapeutic riding, equine assisted learning and therapeutic carriage driving. All of these services are provided by path intl. Certified instructors with the assistance of trained volunteers. For therapeutic riding and driving, client goals are focused on riding/driving and horsemanship skills and in equine assisted learning, students work on skills aligned with educational goals and personal growth.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% 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: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.8%; rating input score 38
  • Program expense ratio: 74.2%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 51.6%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.51; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.5%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.8% of revenue deployed · 74.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $645K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.