HORSE HELPERS INC

Horse Helpers intends to
1. continue rescuing, rehabilitating and adopting equine.
2. We are seeking a larger facility, owned by Horse Helpers, with the ability to take in more horses and do on site training.
3. Strengthen our educational components especially our 4-H program and providing lessons for underserved youth
4. Provide equine therapeutic programs through PATH--program for those with physical handicaps, and EAGALA--equine-assisted therapy
5. Strengthen our ties with the local colleges and universities to draw on the knowledge of faculty and provide internships and teaching opportunities for students
6. Increase our advocacy presence

1. Reorganize the administrative side of the rescue to facilitate our efficiency, insure the use of best practices, and allow us to smoothly transition to a larger program
2. Network with and strengthen ties with key community members to find the property and funding needed for expansion and to increase our visibility and value within the community
3. Restructure the physical layout of the current facility to allow us to begin some therapy and lesson programs now, smoothing the transition to a new facility. These programs also draw in more income and will provide more stable, steady income flow.
4. Find a capital campaign fundraiser and implement a capital campaign to facilitate moving to a larger location owned by Horse Helpers
5. Strengthen ties to local law enforcement, animal controls, and county leaders in an effort to influence interpretation of equine laws and strengthen counties' ability and willingness to enforce equine laws.
6. Increase the reach of our grant writing program
7. Create new website and improve social networking reach
8. Complete our accreditation process as a rescue
9. Create greater local visibility and support
10. Horse Helpers is actively seeking long-term corporate support for our current education program: Chester's Barn.
11. Renew equine investigator licensing

Horse Helpers is fiscally and physically at a size that is unsustainable. We are too large for unpaid volunteers to commit the long-term time needed to maintain the responsibilities of this size and yet too small to hire people to do the work. Equine rescues are difficult to maintain in general because they require so much money and little funding is available for equine--unlike for cats and dogs. Moving into equine therapy and lessons would allow an income flow that i could help support the rescue financially while enhancing our mission to strengthen human-animal bonds. Our facility, however, is too small to maintain any substantive lesson or therapy programs. However, with restructuring of the facility we can at least begin a lesson program, incorporating this new piece effectively into the overall program. We have a team of committed volunteers willing to last through this shift. We have strong support of and ties with the local university. We have strong support and ties with a multi-million dollar equine program in the community. We have a strong base of core donors who, if given a plausible strategy, are willing to help us fund this change. We have strong political ties with three of the five counties we serve most frequently. We are already serving almost all of the local at-risk youth programs, elementary schools, special needs programs for adults and youth, and numerous programs at the university. When publicly presented with a strong strategic plan for expansion the networking we have done should begin to fall into place and help us make the expansion a reality. Additionally, we have worked to establish a policy of best practices through the main rescue accreditation organization GFAS and we meet best practice requirements prescribed by other major organizations like HSUS, ASPCA and AAEP. Nationally we have created ties with HSUS, ASPCA and ADL and work closely with these organizations when the need arises. The rescue overall has a national reputation for professionalism and a heart for the rescue work we do and that reputation will aid us in making a transition to a larger program. We have strong systems in place for barn management, healthcare, volunteer management, grant writing, adoption management, and investigation processes.

Our Chester's Barn educational program is booked through 2018 and into 2019 and is covering six counties. This programs has received substantial support and all the basic aspects of management for the program are in place and working well. We completed a list of faculty and administrators interested in being a part of networking and new programs with the university. The process of restructuring current facility is now at the grant writing phase. We have worked with engineers and licensing with the Corp of Engineers and are moving forward with the grants. We have almost doubled the grants for 2018 at the beginning of May. We are meeting with animal control and county commissioners regarding contracts with the counties this month. We have achieved almost all of the requirements for accreditation and will have those completed by the end of the summer. Still seeking a capital campaign fundraiser but continuing to reshape the administrative end of program to be ready for beginning the capital campaign process.