Sweetwater Shih Tzu

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
453555782
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025
Location
Mayer, MN, USA
Rating
42
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal-Related N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$62,860
Expenses
$54,280
Assets
$24,842

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Elizabeth Metzen (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Dr Genya Metzen DVM (Veterinarian)
  • Elizabeth Metzen (Executive Director)
  • Wallace Metzen (Honorary Board Member and Founder)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Eliminate inheritable disease in the Shih Tzu breed through genetic testing and health testing certifications.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Shih Tzu breed at times produces young that have a retained remnant artery in the eye Approximately 30 percent of the retained arteries do not resorb and result in a cataract of the eye that requires a 3000 surgery to remove and replace with an artificial lens. In 2025 we continue to test an enhanced protocol of specific eye drops and ophthalmic salves to determine if the process of resorption is facilitated

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 13
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 12.4%; rating input score 12
  • Program expense ratio: 14.4%; rating input score 14

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.6%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 56.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -24.8% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.9% per year; rating input score 0; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 12.4% of revenue deployed · 14.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $8K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 12/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.