Starting a 501c3 for a horse rescue. Need advice.

[Lord_Helpus]

I feel strongly about starting a rescue for “old warriors” from the track. Horses whose useful life has been spent racing and who have little/no chance of a second career as a riding horse.

Is creating a 501c3 charity really a huge big deal? And is the yearly tax accounting difficult? I understand that anyone who is paid by the charity cannot be on the Board of Directors, but are there any other limitations on staffing it?

As you can see, I am too stupid to even know the right questions to ask, and I am not sure where to go to find information. I would love to hear from people who have started or who work for rescue charities.

[Bluey]

PM Cowgirljenn and JSwan.

Cowgirljenn published a book about starting a rescue.
Look under the “Resources” tag:

http://www.bluebonnetequine.org/

http://www.howtostartarescue.com/

JSwan has several articles about rescues that you may find interesting:
Here is one, food for thought:

http://www.ratemyhorsepro.com/news/vetting-the-horse-rescue-before-donating.aspx

Have you check with other rescues and see what they can tell you?

[LauraKY]

You might want to touch base with Akindale, Old Friends and Our Mims for advice.

You do need to look at it as a business. Many rescues seem to start with good intentions, but then the lack of business experience is a rescue killer. You’ll need an accountant and a marketing/PR person to start, along with a good solid business plan.

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;7047553]
I feel strongly about starting a rescue for “old warriors” from the track. Horses whose useful life has been spent racing and who have little/no chance of a second career as a riding horse.

Is creating a 501c3 charity really a huge big deal? And is the yearly tax accounting difficult? I understand that anyone who is paid by the charity cannot be on the Board of Directors, but are there any other limitations on staffing it?

As you can see, I am too stupid to even know the right questions to ask, and I am not sure where to go to find information. I would love to hear from people who have started or who work for rescue charities.[/QUOTE]

This is a noble idea. But, as with all things, the Devil is in the details.

Put another way, amateurs start rescues; professionals start rescues that are properly funded and professionally managed.

If you have the husbandry skills do manage aged, often injured or debilitated, horses then you can put the “X” in that block. If not, train yourself or hire the expertise you requrire.

How about funding? Horses are expensive to keep. Aged, debilitated horses are even more so. This means lots of money. Are you going to self-fund? Do you have a “guardian angel”? Are you going to publically ask for donations? Do you have any experience in fund-raising? Before you can put the “X” in this block you will have to do a “self inventory” and have some third party (particularly somebody like an experienced equine husbandryman who is also a CPA) review your business plan and call you out if the plan is defective.

In this forum we’ve had story after story of rescues that needed rescuing. The common thread is poor management and lack of funding. If you have both management and funding then go foreward. If you lack either then fix it before you start your activity. You don’t want to be one of those “stories.”

As to IRS status, that is important to the fundraising part but is, in reality, a paperwork exercise that you can hire a CPA or tax professional to handle for you. If you’ve got your funding lined up it’s a minor issue. If you can’t affort do hire this done then you likely don’t have the funding to begin.

Be your own worst critic, here.

G.

[Finzean]

Are you thinking this would be in the Sandhills? There are so many resources that could be tapped for a variety of things…so many different orgs/biz that you could partner with for fund raising, etc. And you know the pony clubs in Moore cty and other NC areas would love to come volunteer their time if you have a primary facility. OR if your rescue was the beneficiary of part of the entry fees for a show series. What a wonderful place for horses to retire or lay over until the last home is found.

I’m on the board of a community center here in our booming tiny town (1500 people). We filed paperwork with the state of NC and it was all pretty easy, just consumer some time and we had to have our by-laws, etc. in order.

Best wishes to you in this endeavor.

[LauraKY]

You will also need board members that you select for their expertise, vets, accountants, lawyers, farm managers, etc. You want a board that will help guide you, not friends who will be inclined to rubber stamp your opinions.

[meupatdoes]

The yearly tax accounting is no big deal.

Starting it in the first place is a big deal and needs to be done correctly.

I am a lawyer who specializes in non-profits and has started up horse rescue organization for COTHers before, if you want “official” help.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=meupatdoes;7047775]
The yearly tax accounting is no big deal.

Starting it in the first place is a big deal and needs to be done correctly.

I am a lawyer who specializes in non-profits and has started up horse rescue organization for COTHers before, if you want “official” help.[/QUOTE]

That would be a great place to start, yes it is.

[Jeito]

I’m a lawyer who knew nothing about non-profits until I started one up about ten years ago for some horse friends. For me, getting provisional 501©(3) status was the easy part. The yearly accounting turned out to be the problem. I left the board of directors - RAN!!! - after a couple of months because it was just too hard/frustrating to be the b***tch who had to remind other people it’s NOT okay to bend the rules. Eventually, they lost their 501©(3) status and closed.

I don’t mean to discourage you, but why are you doing this? Why not work with CANTER or one of the many other organizations that helps OTTB’s?

[War_Admiral]

I would definitely consult with Meupatdoes if I were doing it. I used to write the applications for a megaton of non-profits decades ago but I am way out of practice. Essentially you would start by setting up an LLC, decide what assets (if any) you are conveying into it, get them conveyed, then apply for tax exempt status which is a long, long, LONG IRS form but most of it you just check “N/A”. Where you do have to be careful is in drawing up your description of WHY you think your LLC is entitled to tax-exempt status. That’s where the benefit of a lawyer who does a lot of these will help.

I think it’s a cool idea; it does something CANTER et al. can’t really do, and with your skill set you might just be the one to git 'er dun!

[Laurierace]

I agree that there are plenty of organizations already out there doing good things and your time and money would be better spent finding one that has a like mind and supporting them. I will say that anytime a rescue tries to limit themselves they either alienate people or end up changing their policy or both. I don’t agree that war horses are less likely to have a career after the track, if they made it that far they are pretty darn sound but even if that were true where do you draw the line? 10 starts, 100 starts, 50 starts? What do you do with the ones who are one start away from your line? Bend the policy? Tell them to race the horse one last time etc.

Even if you limit it to TBs off the track what about the horse who was in race training but never ran or the pony who ushered race horses around the track for a decade but are of unknown ancestry? It is never as cut and dry as it seems.

[LauraKY]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;7047855]
I agree that there are plenty of organizations already out there doing good things and your time and money would be better spent finding one that has a like mind and supporting them. I will say that anytime a rescue tries to limit themselves they either alienate people or end up changing their policy or both. I don’t agree that war horses are less likely to have a career after the track, if they made it that far they are pretty darn sound but even if that were true where do you draw the line? 10 starts, 100 starts, 50 starts? What do you do with the ones who are one start away from your line? Bend the policy? Tell them to race the horse one last time etc.

Even if you limit it to TBs off the track what about the horse who was in race training but never ran or the pony who ushered race horses around the track for a decade but are of unknown ancestry? It is never as cut and dry as it seems.[/QUOTE]

I found my racing warrior dumped in lay-up after his last race (which he won, BTW, on my birthday.) He had 91 starts and was 10 years old. He was the horse of a lifetime. Don’t discount the racing warriors…if they’ve made it through sound, odds are they will be sound for almost anything.

Why don’t you talk to Akindale about offering another location for retirement? I’m going to be a little harsh here…you need financial backing, expertise, an in with the industry and a solid plan. The racing world doesn’t need another rescue that is always on the edge financially or one that is run with good intentions, but not in a business like manner. To top it off a rescue that is not well run gives all rescues a bad name.

Now I’m going to be even more harsh. If the horse is not sound and a companion home can’t be found, maybe a nice summer in the pasture and a quick death at the end of the needle in the fall might be the best solution.

[cowgirljenn]

@Finzean;7047664

Are you thinking this would be in the Sandhills? There are so many resources that could be tapped for a variety of things…so many different orgs/biz that you could partner with for fund raising, etc. And you know the pony clubs in Moore cty and other NC areas would love to come volunteer their time if you have a primary facility. OR if your rescue was the beneficiary of part of the entry fees for a show series. What a wonderful place for horses to retire or lay over until the last home is found.

I see too many people start rescued thinking this (that there are orgs/bizs/individuals they can partner with to make it easy). Fundraising for a rescue is hard - you are competing with a LOT of other rescues, and you are also dealing with the rumors and bad feelings poor rescues have given people. Don’t count your funding until you have it.

Buy my book - it points out some of the realities of running a rescue, and read the article I wrote that will be coming out in Out Here magazine (the TSC mag.) soon.

You’ll need a solid business plan (because a nonprofit IS a business). The best run groups take the time to put themselves together and educate themselves before jumping in.

It obviously isn’t impossible - I’ve been in rescue for 14, almost 15, years. It is just a LOT different than I thought it would be - I spend far more time on administrative stuff than I do on horse stuff (the volunteers get to do more of the horse stuff).

Feel free to PM me questions, too.

[2tempe]

To echo part of an earlier post: FUNDING is the hardest part. I would think about drawing up a financial plan or budget as an exercise before you go much further. Start w/ the idea that you would have xx number of horses - 6, 10, whatever. Then list every expense item you can think of - feed, meds, worming, farriers, vet $ of some amount per horse per year, barn supplies, staff, etc. When in doubt, round up. Lets say for discussion purposes, (NO IDEA if this is right…) you come up w/ $5000 per horse and you want to keep 10. Then look at funding and ask where that $50k will come from the first year and every year after that, allowing for cost of living increases. No matter how many horse lovers you know, raising that kind of money over and over is incredibly difficult and time consuming. It is hard to build up reserves to cover yourself when something unexpected happens. Where would you keep them? There is also the cost of land, fencing, utilities, maintenance.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;7047553]
I feel strongly about starting a rescue for “old warriors” from the track. Horses whose useful life has been spent racing and who have little/no chance of a second career as a riding horse.

Is creating a 501c3 charity really a huge big deal? And is the yearly tax accounting difficult? I understand that anyone who is paid by the charity cannot be on the Board of Directors, but are there any other limitations on staffing it?

As you can see, I am too stupid to even know the right questions to ask, and I am not sure where to go to find information. I would love to hear from people who have started or who work for rescue charities.[/QUOTE]

Why not volunteer with a good established rescue, do all kinds of work for them, eventually in the office and on the board of directors, so you get an idea of what all that involves?

Then, once you know the lay of the land, it would make more sense for you to start your own, if you still think that makes sense for you.

[Finzean]

Cowgirljen - I ran a nonprofit reed specific rescue so my comments were not made flippantly. Fundraising is very difficult. It is part of what I do now and sometimes the most frustrating part. Def don’t count your eggs before they hatch but SP is uniquely blessed to help in more ways than the average locale. That’s all I was saying.

[danceronice]

Remember that you are running a business. The difference is your profit goes back into operating costs. Way too many “non-profits” are run by people who assume that you don’t have to treat it like any other business because its intentions are good.

[Judysmom]

No advice, but I think its a great idea! Buying a few old warriors or offering them a home is something that I want to do if I ever get a bit of land. I have such a soft spot for them. Come on money fairy LOL!

[Lord_Helpus]

Thank you very much for your input. The warnings are all valid and I take them seriously.

However, I have the benefit of already having the funding, so that is not a worry. A Foundation is being set up to donate money to the Charity.

I am also realistic in the long term view of the mission of the Charity. This includes humane euthanasia for horses who are in pain or not thriving. Such a rescue cannot keep a stagnant group of the same 25 horses for 20+ years. What I will be offering the horses is a good retirement as long as they are physically able to enjoy life. Then I will guarantee them a humane end, surrounded by people who care about them.

I have talked to a lady who runs such a group, and they even hold euthanasia clinics once a month to offer horse owners in the surrounding areas a viable option to sending their horse to slaughter. They get between 15 - 25 horses a month. Some of them are horses who have a future, and those are rehomed. But most of them are horses for whom a loving, quiet passing is the kindest thing we, as caretakers, can give them

Other than the one small group in Washington (and discounting Michael Blewin’s retirement homes for famous horses) I have not found another group whose mission is to be a final home for horses which are unfit for anything else. Of course some “old warriors” have a great future. Those are not the horses I want to help. I agree that there is a plethora of organizations out there for those horses.

If anyone knows of rescues which have a similar mission statement to my vision, I would love to know about them. I do not mean to duplicate efforts when I could join an up and running rescue. But, in my research I have not been able to find any except the small one in Washingon.

I have an MA, and MBA and a JD; I am aware of the necessity of running such an organization like a business. What I was hoping to find, when starting this thread, were people who can help me get started. And, thanks to you all, I now have several names of people who are in the business of starting 501©(3) organizations.

[Bensmom]

I do not know of anyone who is better suited to start such an organization. I have total and complete faith that you will do everything the “right” way and help many, many deserving horses.

There was a small group in Alachua, Florida, outside of Gainesville, that focused totally on taking in horses that were to be totally retired, rather than to be rehomed. I do not know if they are still in operation, or anything about them, other than that they are there.

My Sammy says that LH really knows what she is doing, and if an old warrior doesn’t want to stay retired, she does a fabulous job of moving them along into another home where they can do some more stuff for a while, and then retire. :yes:

Best wishes to you and while it isn’t my area, I’ll be more than happy to help if I can!

Libby & Southern Shuffle, (Sam) the incredible vibrating horse, lucky enough to have had Lord Helpus looking out for him when he retired at 10 years old, as an Old Warrior. :o