Special Strides Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 223667820
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Monroe, NJ, USA
- Phone
- 7324460945
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Rehabilitative Medical Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $854,868
- Expenses
- $951,666
- Assets
- $661,589
- Liabilities
- $26,996
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAURIE LANDY (PRESIDENT/THERAPIST/FOUNDI)
Highest reported compensation
- SUSIE REHR (TREASURER/THERAPIST/EXECUT): $91,329 total reported compensation
- LAURIE LANDY (PRESIDENT/THERAPIST/FOUNDI): $69,297 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Special strides is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals withspecial needs using a unique combination of therapy, horses, and thenatural environment. Helping children and adults build strength, confidence, independence, and connection allow individuals to achievetheir personal goals. Special strides is a non-profit organizationcommitted to accessibility and inclusion, ensuring that every individualhas an opportunity to "improve their lives... One stride at a time"regardless of financial status.
What it reported doing in 2025
Special strides is a nonprofit organization located in monroe township, New Jersey, providing therapy, recreational, and educational services for individuals with disabilities across the lifespan. Program services include licensed physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy that integrate equine movement, as well as adaptive horsemanship with both mounted and unmounted activities.these services support the development of functional skills in balance, mobility, communication, social participation, and activities of daily living. In 2025, special strides served over 146 individuals through individualized sessions and community-based programming.
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 86% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 72.7%; rating input score 73; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -11.3%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16.9%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $800K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $91K · 11 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $126K reported
- Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
- 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.