River Valley Riders

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411949447
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Woodbury, MN, USA
Phone
6514392558
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rehabilitative Medical Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$759,797
Expenses
$280,676
Assets
$3,199,263
Liabilities
$4,927

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHY JO HANSON (CFO): $45,000 total reported compensation
  • CHERYL HOLT (EXECUTIVE DI): $45,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to create a supportive community where people with special needs connect with horses and experience life-changing benefits.

What it reported doing in 2024

River valley riders served 96 individuals and provided 2,176 lesson hours of therapeutic horseback riding, carriage driving and hippotherapy. Our participants are children and adults who are challenged by a wide range of disabilities including autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and development delay. They receive physcial cognitive and emotional benefits. They gain self-confidence and self-esteem, build strength, improve balance and hand-eye coordination, while forming meaningful relationships.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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: 43
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 26.9%; rating input score 27
  • Program expense ratio: 68.3%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th 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: 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 63.1%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.4; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.1%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 26.9% of revenue deployed · 68.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $192K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $45K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.