Whitewater Therapeutic & Recreational Riding Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
820469677
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2014, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Salmon, ID, USA
Phone
2084690617
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Developmentally Disabled Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$154,864
Expenses
$84,413
Assets
$594,976
Liabilities
$27,820

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVE DRIPPON (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JOYCE SCOTT (EXECUTIVE DI)
  • MIKE KOSSLER (DIRECTOR)
  • SHANNON WILLIAMS (VICE PRESIDE)

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

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

Overview

Mission

To improve the quality of life for individuals with physical, cognitive educational or emotional disabilities through equine assisted activities and therapies.

What it reported doing in 2024

Wtrra is a premier accredited therapeutic riding program. Two path-intl certified therapeutic riding instructors volunteer their time to serve participants enrolled in equine assisted activities. Wtrrra sessions begin in april and run through november. Sessions vary in length - 4, 6 and 8 week sessions witha week break between sessions. During the year wtrra offered the following five programs: 1. Hoof beats of honor for veterans, which offers four opportunities for veterans and their families to participate: a. Veterans as volunteers: veterans serve as volunteers in whitewater programs including those for veterans, children and adults with disabilities, youth at risk and the elderly. There are a variety of other volunteer opportunities available based on the veterans interests. B. Veterans on the ground: veterans and instructor will work through a curriculum to prepare the horse for a variety of equine assisted activities while the veteran gains skills in horse handling technique. C. Veterans in the saddle: veterans learn basic to advanced horsemanship skills in a group or in an individual class which may include trail riding, parades, horse soccer. Prior riding experience is not necessary. D. Veterans and family: the veteran, spouse and children participate in a variety of equine assisted activities to facilitate fun and communication while learning horsemanship skills on the ground or in the saddle. Wtrra hoof beats of honor has been awarded grants from path-intl equine services for heroes and Idaho services for veterans. 2. Therapeutic riding - therapeutic riding is more commonly referred to by path-intl as equine assisted activities and therapies or eaat. A. Hippotherapy: the use of horseback riding as a therapeutic or rehabilitation treatment by occupational, physical and speech/language therapists; b. Equine assisted activities are any specific activity e.g. Therapeutic riding, mounted or ground activities, grooming and stable management, shows, parades , trail rides, demonstrations, etc, in which wtrra clients, participants volunteers, instructors and equines are involved. These include : a. General horsemanship/therapeutic classes: wtrra instructors teach horsemanship skills to individuals 4 years and beyond with special needs . For example, individuals challenged with neurological diagnosis, ptsd, anxiety disorder, stroke, adhd , autism etc with doctors clearance. B. Developmental riding: providing equine assisted activities for adults challenged with developmental disabilities. Wtrra works closely with the developmental workshop, development center, human service agencies and care givers to provide recreational equine assisted activities, including mounted and ground activities, parades, horse shows and trail rides. 3. Wtrra sponsors an equine 4-h club providing children and youth the opportunity to transition therapeutic programs to involvement in community 4-h including 4-h horse camp and horseshows. 4. Equine experiences for the elderly: this program includes two experiences: a. Miniature horse visits to the nursing or assisted living homes. Manny or lady louis make bed side or court yard visits to residents. These visits started 23 years ago when tater tot the miniature horse with the huge heart first rode in the van to make his weekly visits. B. The elderly may also travel to the wtrra arena to meet the horses, groom, lead and possibly mount depending on doctors clearance and their interest. 5. Youth-at-risk: youth referred by parents, schools, juvenile systems, human service agencies participate in horsemanship classes, volunteering, barn or horse chores.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.6%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 45.5%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.05; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.6% of revenue deployed · 96.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $81K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.