Parelli Foundation Inc.
Helping create a better world for horses and humans through Natural Horsemanship education.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Future of Horsemanship
Kids are initially so natural with horses. But as the drive for the next blue ribbon evolves or the pressure from well-meaning adults increases, things often change for the worse. This doesn’t have to happen.
The Foundation fosters the innate savvy of youth by making Natural Horsemanship easily accessible to youth 10-24 who love horses. Programs and activities in youth horsemanship will also support the primary purpose of the Foundation by identifying young people with the promise and ambition to become future educators, exhibitors, competitors, or leaders, and providing them the means and opportunity to do so.
Therapeutic Horsemanship
Therapeutic Horsemanship
Our goal is to support staff, volunteers, and disabled individuals in building their horsemanship skills. Horses are increasingly used as facilitators in variety of therapies. They provide fun, rhythmic exercise for children with physical and learning disabilities, help veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, and offer teens a way to improve their communication and social skills without passing judgment or leveraging peer pressure.
The Institute provides and funds education for therapeutic horsemanship program staff and volunteers, and support opportunities for individuals with disabilities to build their horsemanship skills. These programs are designed to follow our Founder's direction:
“Horses are dang good therapy for people.”…Pat Parelli
Horse Welfare
Parelli Natural Horsemanship’s mission has always been to create a better world for horses and humans. The Parelli Foundation will fund initiatives that provide education and inspiration for improved horse welfare, concentrating on issues where education will make a significant difference. This includes reducing the over-breeding of horses, supporting rescue organizations through education, preventing horse abuses in the competitive world, and improving horse lifestyle management.
Pay It Forward
All scholarship applicants are required to make a specific commitment to support one of the Institute’s areas of focus by providing at least a minimum number of service hours within three to five years of receiving their scholarship. The number of service hours varies based on the level of study and the amount of the scholarship award.
There are 75 students in our Pay It Forward system as of May, 2015. Of these, 32 are “partial” status and 43 are “completed” status. Hours entered into the various programs from the 75 students total 2,818 hours invested in horse welfare, youth, therapeutic and other.
Scholarship applicants have some flexibility in how they design their Pay It Forward commitment toward youth horsemanship, therapeutic horsemanship, or equine welfare programs. You determine how and when, and tell us your promise! Be realistic, yet stretch yourself in how you can help. This will be one of the elements that the Scholarship Committee considers in reviewing applications.
Here are some examples:
◾Volunteer a half-day every two weeks at a local horse rescue to help prepare horses for adoption homes.
◾Volunteer at a therapeutic horsemanship center for one day per month to play the 7 Games with the horses, and to teach the staff more about how the horses are communicating.
◾Work in the Parelli Education Institute booth at a Parelli tour stop or other Parelli event to explain our mission to interested horse folks.
◾Volunteer for a staff position at the Institute, in anything from bookkeeping to marketing to fundraising to administrative tasks.
◾Host events throughout the year to raise funds for the Institute.
◾Sell an impressive number of tickets to our annual fundraiser!
◾Volunteer to start a natural horsemanship youth program or 4-H club.
◾Volunteer to teach lessons once a month at a youth horsemanship program.
Equine Talent and Career Natural Horsemanship Scholarships
Scholarships help in the development of future natural horsemanship professionals. Through scholarships, the Parelli Foundation is increasing the number of highly qualified instructors, horse development specialists, equine practitioners, and competitors who will touch the lives of students and equine enthusiasts around the world.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Parelli Foundation's mission is to support advanced natural horsemanship scholarships and education for students with the skills and aptitude to become extraordinary horsemen, educators, or both. In addition, the Foundation offers grants to those focused on therapeutic horsemanship, including helping veterans, military, and first responders, and equine welfare.
Profound opportunities exist to improve the relationship between horses and humans.
• Natural horsemanship instructors can develop a life-long career helping horses and humans come together in a better world, improving safety, satisfaction, enjoyment and competitive endeavors.
• Many unwanted horses suffer due to overproduction, economic conditions, opportunistic human behavior or mismatch between owner and horse.
• Children and adults with a variety of challenges and disabilities experience enriched lives through therapeutic horsemanship programs.
• The next generation of horse savvy owners will grow through youth education.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The key to success for both horses and humans is the quality of the relationship they share. Horse owners and professionals often have love for their animals, however they may lack the expertise to provide the language and leadership that their horses need. The Parelli Foundation bridges this gap by providing opportunities and education to help humans build solid and productive relationships with their horses. We do this by providing scholarships and grants promoting natural horsemanship education.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Parelli Foundation is based on promoting natural horsemanship education and while the Foundation maintains a close partnership with Parelli Natural Horsemanship, we operate independently. The Parelli program is a training program focused on the study of horse behavior and horsemanship skills. The program encourages students to develop creative problem-solving skills and think in a lateral manner, while taking the non-verbal feedback and expression of the horse into consideration.
There are over 300 experienced, licensed and graded instructors for the Parelli program. These individuals have demonstrated ability to teach humans and horses. The Parelli Program has practitioners who serve as champions across the spectrum of equestrian disciplines. Often efforts in the equine community are limited by the scope of a particular base group. Because our efforts focus on the relationship between the horse and the human, it is valuable to all horse people, regardless of their specialization.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Throughout the early period, we created the organization, processes and systems that support our on-going efforts. Our Board has complemented our very complete financial reporting system.
During 2013, 2014, and 2015, the Parelli Education Institute (now re-named the Parelli Foundation) successfully managed courses at the Parelli Natural Horsemanship Colorado campus, Florida campus, and other locations. We had hundreds of participants, with their horses, in courses ranging from one to 12 weeks. These students gave their experiences high ratings in our end of course evaluations. During these years, the organization awarded many scholarships for a total of over $200,000. As of April 7, 2015, the Parelli Foundation transitioned all courses and campus responsibilities to Parelli Natural Horsemanship Inc. Both parties are pleased with this win-win change.
This change permits the Parelli Foundation to focus on our philanthropic program areas, without the involvement and resource drain of also managing the courses and campus ranches.
The Way Forward
We have expanded our outreach to therapeutic and horse welfare programs. In May, 2015 our first "Rehoming for Life" clinic was offered in California, led by natural horsemanship professional Erin Fowler. This was an intensive course focused on the needs of horse rescue professionals. Additional “Horses Helping Humans" courses will be offered to Parelli and therapeutic professionals. To maximize the connection with the serving community, these sections will be offered in residence at three therapeutic centers throughout the US. The Foundation piloted their first Future of Horsemanship program in 2015. This program helps qualified youth's achieve their goals, with a successful crop of young horsemen receiving these scholarship each year since.
The Parelli Foundation hopes to increase the scholarship support it can offer to students over time. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that anyone who wants to learn Natural Horsemanship skills will be able to do so regardless of financial resources.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Parelli Foundation Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Elizabeth Womack
Kris Fulwiler
Starry Knight Friesians
Robin Ryan
Blue Sky Ranch
Ann Kiser
SEAN HOLLONBECK
Andrew Turnbull
MARYCAROL WHITE
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: