High Hopes Therapeutic Riding, Inc.

Program Goals
High Hopes will maintain a strong leadership role within the field of Equine Assisted Activities
and Therapies (EAAT) through the continued evolution and innovation of program services, ,
providing high quality, individualized programming. High Hopes will expand training and education activities that are impactful to the field on a local, national and international level.

Infrastructure
High Hopes will ensure that human and equine resources are positioned to support its programs into the future. High Hopes will ensure that its facility, land use and technology needs are positioned to support its programs into the future.

Finance Goal
High Hopes will create a robust financial model which will support program growth and innovation into the future.

Governance Goal
High Hopes will ensure that a governance structure is in place which supports a strong and diversified board capable of providing the leadership needed to fulfill the mission.

Program Action Steps
Examine current program services and design new offerings which will optimize existing resources while providing participants with enhanced experiences. Pilot satellite activities and, if found feasible, incorporate into High Hopes' long term plan. Expand training and education activities to include distance education and the development of High Hopes branded courses , thereby providing
a reliable revenue stream in support of High Hopes operations.

Infrastructure Action Step
Conduct organizational inquiries and capacity analysis to identify constraints in all areas
and respond by developing and implementing an optimal resource model.

Finance Action Steps
Analyze present and future projected expenses to identify and implement ways to increase efficiency and increase potential savings. Develop recommendations to address funding gaps including optimization of the fee structure and scholarship policies , expanded fund development efforts and
identification of new revenue generating activities.

Governance Action Steps
Examine current structure, policies and practices of the Board and committees to ensure that the
composition and activities of the Board are aligned with the needs of the organization. Increase engagement of staff and trustees in fund development activities through ongoing education, preparation and training. Increase diversity on committees and the Board to increase community involvement and to support a culture of innovation and philanthropy.

This past year we served nearly 1,700 individuals at High Hopes. This translates to over 10,000 Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies. Each of these sessions signifies a participant making strides toward personal goals, making new and supportive connections with staff, volunteers, or horses, and learning new skills. These range from sitting on the horse with support, to gaining the trust of another living creature, to self-advocacy, all which benefit our participants in their daily lives. High Hopes achieves this with a full-time staff of 13 and a part-time staff of 12, together with our amazing 650 volunteers who show their commitment to our programs and our mission with every one of the 25,000 hours a year they donate to our mission.

Our financial management and corporate governance strategies are a model for others in our industry as well as other non-profits in our location and we are supported by a highly committed Board of Trustees who come from a wide range of backgrounds.

In 2018 we launched a $3m Endowment Campaign - "Share Hope" in order to strengthen our ability to provide need-based financial aid and rider scholarships. Through this, we will continue to ensure that nobody that could benefit from equine assisted therapies and activities is denied the opportunity based on their ability to pay.

Forty-four years ago Sis Gould pulled together a nomadic group of enthusiasts who believed in the power of therapeutic horsemanship and they took those skills (and horses) out to the Lower Connecticut Valley. Over time we have impacted the lives of many who never thought they would feel a special connection with a living being; who never knew they were capable of greatness, and who never took such pride in themselves and their achievements.

Today High Hopes is a world-class center, built on 127 acres of its own prime land in Old Lyme, Connecticut with 21 stalls, 30 acres of fenced paddocks and 3 miles of carriage riding and driving trails. We have 25 horses, a 15,000 sqft indoor ring and a year-round outdoor ring.

Each year approximately 625 volunteers ranging in age from 12 to 92, provide over 25,800 hours of their time to serve 1674 individuals with a wide range of physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. Between them, those individuals share 46 different diagnoses, many with dual and triple diagnoses. Of those participants, 73% ride, 10% drive, 14% take part in unmounted equine learning programs and 3% comes from our community in peer-programs like our integrated, inclusive summer camps. We serve over 10 school districts and over 56 towns.

We are also a PATH Intl. Premier Training Center and currently the only Riding Center offering the PATH Intl. Approved Instructor Training Course. Over the past 21 years, we have trained candidates from 29 US States and 19 different countries from Australia to Canada, Turkey to Brazil.

Late in 2017, we launched a $3m endowment campaign with which we seek to underwrite the progress that has been made over the past forty-four years and ensure that the organization is fit for the future. Only 3 months into that campaign we are already close to 1/3 of our goal and we look forward to achieving our goal within the next 18 months.

In terms of programming, we are constantly reviewing and reevaluating our offerings as we find new groups and individuals who can benefit from the very special connection between horses and humans. Most recently this has included: over 50 veterans through The Equus Effect program, children of veterans and currently active and deployed servicemen and women who are impacted by their families' sacrifice all with the support of the Bingham Foundation. We will continue to develop our Horses & Healing Programs which focus on disadvantaged Youth with partners such as Eversource Energy and Dominion Energy.

From a development perspective, we continue to build partnerships with organizations whose community goals align with our mission, thereby increasing the sustainability of all of our work.