Dogs Inc
Legal name: Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 592252352
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Palmetto, FL, US
- Phone
- 941-729-5665
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Blind/Visually Impaired Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $26,688,002
- Expenses
- $20,538,921
- Assets
- $106,482,644
- Liabilities
- $3,332,202
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Titus Herman (Chief Executive Officer)
Highest reported compensation
- Titus Herman (Chief Executive Officer): $484,088 total reported compensation
- Stacy Howe (Chief Marketing Officer): $204,101 total reported compensation
- Larissa Daigle (Chief Philanthropy Officer): $192,902 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To create and nurture a partnership between people and dogs, transforming lives with enhanced independence, confidence, and mobility.
What it reported doing in 2024
When people lose vision, it's easy to lose hope. When veterans lose hope, it's easy to give up everything. It's easy to let darkness define life instead of living life to its fullest. Our dogs deliver hope to people who need it most.* We currently ensure the wellbeing of over 1,300 dogs, including puppies and dogs training on our campus, dogs growing in puppy raiser homes, and active guide, service, and skilled companion dogs transforming lives throughout the country. During the past year, we placed more than 130 dogs into important, impactful careers.* We provide a personal, caring touch through follow-up services to more than 700 graduates throughout the United States. Our students-people with vision loss and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder-report a 99.7% overall satisfaction rating in their exit surveys.* Dogs Inc operates the most comprehensive alumni support of any service dog organization in North America. Thanks to partnerships with Fromm Family Pet Food, Elanco and private donors and veterinarians, our organization ensures that every graduate can receive-completely free of charge-premium dog food, monthly preventatives, vaccinations, and financial support for their veterinary needs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 78
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 66.5%; rating input score 67
- Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 23%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.18; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 66.5% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $16.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $484K · 20 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.