Wisconsin · Nonprofit
SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC
SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC (Wisconsin) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $383,716 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($113,050). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $940k
- Funders on record
- 13
- Grants received
- $384k
- Net assets
- $1.4M
What Special Methods in Learning Equine Skills Inc does
Mission
Special methods in learning equine skills, inc. (smiles) transcends traditional therapeutic methods by offering individuals with special needs, of all ages, the joy of participating in an equine assisted program which provides social, emotional, physical, and personal rewards.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
Therapeutic riding teaches horsemanship skills while using therapeutic activities that offer challenging recreation geared towards the individual's physical, emotional, social and educational benefits in mind. In our therapeutic riding program, participants learn true horsemanship skills as well as foundations for life's endeavors. The path international certified instructors develop challenging lesson plans that incorporate specific riding skills to meet the unique needs of each individual, and at the same time foster success. Smiles runs in four 8 week sessions throughout the year, where clients typically come once a week for a 45 minute riding lesson based in a small group setting.hearts (horse experiences & activities resulting in therapeutic success) is an unmounted program designed on an individual basis to accommodate each student's specific needs and goals. Clients learn how to safely work with the horses in a one-on-one setting where they will cover topics such as horse care, grooming, leading, saddling, and so much more! This program is tailored to each individual and their abilities to ensure success.clients typically come once a week for a 30 minute lesson for the…
$402,773 spent$203,131 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2023 Form 990. Program spending in total: $402,773.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $1.1M to $1.5M (+29%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 13% · 2021 10%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
72% of SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (18% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2019 and FY2020 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 3 funders, grant income fell $38k → $24k.
6 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 46% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 29% of grant income and the top three 72%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
80% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 68% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 40% · 2021 48% · 2022 69% · 2023 58% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
43% of SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 54% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
64% of SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC's grant income comes from Wisconsin funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $177k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 15,520 recreation & sports nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 15,520 recreation & sports nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Wisconsin
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
86%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC?
- SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC (Wisconsin) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $383,716 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($113,050). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC have?
- IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $383,716 in grants to SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $113,050 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SPECIAL METHODS IN LEARNING EQUINE SKILLS INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Wisconsin. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Special Methods in Learning Equine Skills →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 13 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing