SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC

Financials

From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.

Officers, directors and key employees

As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025, highest compensation first.

Address and contacts

Address (IRS master file)

12417 COUNTY ROAD 95, ELBERTA, AL 36530-2899

Mailing address (990-N for 2024)

12417 County Rd 95, Elberta AL 36530

Principal officer (990 for 2025)

Amber Buswell, 12417 County road 95, Elberta, AL 36530

Principal officer (990-N for 2024)

Amber Buswell, 12417 County Rd 95, Elberta AL 36530

Signed the 990

Amber Buswell, Executive Director

Phone

(251) 213-9634

Website

shortyssafehaven.org

Mission

At Shorty's Safe Haven, we are deeply committed to our mission of being "Where Hope Lives," a sanctuary where the most vulnerable girls in our community find solace and strength. Through the powerful and transformative experience of working with our horses and farm animals. Our ranch program is a comprehensive approach to healing and growth. We provide a safe place of hope and healing for our girls to grow and become leaders of tomorrow. Working closely with our horses teaches the girls essential life skills like responsibility, accountability, compassion, empathy, just to name a few. The time spent on the ranch is so important and helps our girls learn how to communicate effectively, how to work as a team, how to solve problems and use critical thinking. Beyond these, we extend our support to meet other crucial needs such as food, clothing, and household essentials, ensuring a holistic approach to care. Emotional support provided by working with and bonding to horses under close supe

Program accomplishments

• Our ranch girl program is set up to serve low-income girls from age 10-18. We accept enrollment year-round. We conduct our program impact measurements every three months. We evaluate our girls' progress in the following areas: * school attendance as reported by the school [as measured by attendance before and after 3 months in the program] * improvement of grades as reported by the school [as measured by grades before and after 3 months in the program] * improvement of behavior at home and at school as reported by parents and the referring * program attendance at the ranch * improvement of behavior at the ranch as reported by staff and volunteers there Our enrollment process is referral based, and an application is required. We accept referrals from several sources: * Parents with proof of need (ie; failing grades, behavior, in trouble with the law) * School staff * Therapists, either in practice or at rehab centers * Law enforcement We select applicants based upon several different criteria. The applicant must provide proof of failing grades, behavioral issues and/or trouble with the law. Our program is free if the applicant is currently receiving SNAP food benefits and/or Medicaid services. We also require each family to contribute 4 hours of working hours per month. Working hours can consist of office work such as organizing and filing, ranch work or serving at one of our outreach committee events. During the school year, the girls come twice a week for 2 hours each time after school from 4:30-6:30 PM. When they first begin our horse therapy program, the girls focus on horse and farm safety. They learn to catch, halter, lead, and safely groom the horse. Once they are comfortable with these tasks they begin to learn to ride. One of the two days of the week is devoted to team building with the other girls in the program where they work in groups doing things around the farm. They care for the horses, and clean stalls and water tanks. They learn about feeding the horses and their nutritional requirements. They learn first aid for horses and how to spot a sick animal and are involved with the farrier when he comes. The second day is the one all the girls look forward to with excitement: riding day. This day provides much needed stress relief and calmness that can only be provided by being near and around a horse. This day they start to bond to and really care about the horse for whom they are caring, and it is mutual - between horse and girl - always such a joy for us to behold. We work on breathing exercises within the riding sessions. The girls learn to saddle the horse. They learn to understand the importance of caring for their tack spotting any potentially problematical issues with their horse. Currently this summer we have 21 girls enrolled with 13 therapy horses. In the summer we run camps twice a month for a week in each camp. All of our ranch girls are low income and all but one is in a one-parent family. We do our best to open the farm up for them to come and have a supervised safe place to stay for a few hours or even all day in some circumstances. To date, every one of our girls have improved their grades and behavior both in school and at home after just a few weeks of being enrolled at Shorty's. The girls learn how to solve problems and grow their confidence, which helps them with good decision making. Our whole goal is to provide them with the emotional support they need to make the right moral decision when faced with the opportunity to make a wrong decision that can change their life and take them down the wrong path. Emotional support provided by working with and bonding to horses under close supervision is crucial for our girls to learn how to heal. Our team of volunteers and professionals work closely with the girls as they work with the horses, providing them with a safe space to express their emotions and process their experiences to develop healthy coping mechanisms Our preliminary data from testimonials from parents and teachers suggest that our horse therapy program is having a major positive impact on the lives of the girls who are enrolled with us here at Shorty's Safe Haven and Girls Ranch.
  Expenses $177,270 · grants $8,000 · revenue $180,053
• Our ranch girl program is set up to serve low-income girls from age 10-18. We accept enrollment year-round. We conduct our program impact measurements every three months. We evaluate our girls' progress in the following areas: * school attendance as reported by the school [as measured by attendance before and after 3 months in the program] * improvement of grades as reported by the school [as measured by grades before and after 3 months in the program] * improvement of behavior at home and at school as reported by parents and the referring * program attendance at the ranch * improvement of behavior at the ranch as reported by staff and volunteers there Our enrollment process is referral based, and an application is required. We accept referrals from several sources: * Parents with proof of need (ie; failing grades, behavior, in trouble with the law) * School staff * Therapists, either in practice or at rehab centers * Law enforcement We select applicants based upon several different criteria. The applicant must provide proof of failing grades, behavioral issues and/or trouble with the law. Our program is free if the applicant is currently receiving SNAP food benefits and/or Medicaid services. We also require each family to contribute 4 hours of working hours per month. Working hours can consist of office work such as organizing and filing, ranch work or serving at one of our outreach committee events. During the school year, the girls come twice a week for 2 hours each time after school from 4:30-6:30 PM. When they first begin our horse therapy program, the girls focus on horse and farm safety. They learn to catch, halter, lead, and safely groom the horse. Once they are comfortable with these tasks they begin to learn to ride. One of the two days of the week is devoted to team building with the other girls in the program where they work in groups doing things around the farm. They care for the horses, and clean stalls and water tanks. They learn about feeding the horses and their nutritional requirements. They learn first aid for horses and how to spot a sick animal and are involved with the farrier when he comes. The second day is the one all the girls look forward to with excitement: riding day. This day provides much needed stress relief and calmness that can only be provided by being near and around a horse. This day they start to bond to and really care about the horse for whom they are caring, and it is mutual - between horse and girl - always such a joy for us to behold. We work on breathing exercises within the riding sessions. The girls learn to saddle the horse. They learn to understand the importance of caring for their tack spotting any potentially problematical issues with their horse. Currently this summer we have 21 girls enrolled with 13 therapy horses. In the summer we run camps twice a month for a week in each camp. All of our ranch girls are low income and all but one is in a one-parent family. We do our best to open the farm up for them to come and have a supervised safe place to stay for a few hours or even all day in some circumstances. To date, every one of our girls have improved their grades and behavior both in school and at home after just a few weeks of being enrolled at Shorty's. The girls learn how to solve problems and grow their confidence, which helps them with good decision making. Our whole goal is to provide them with the emotional support they need to make the right moral decision when faced with the opportunity to make a wrong decision that can change their life and take them down the wrong path. Emotional support provided by working with and bonding to horses under close supervision is crucial for our girls to learn how to heal. Our team of volunteers and professionals work closely with the girls as they work with the horses, providing them with a safe space to express their emotions and process their experiences to develop healthy coping mechanisms Our preliminary data from testimonials from parents and teachers suggest that our horse therapy program is having a major positive impact on the lives of the girls who are enrolled with us here at Shorty's Safe Haven and Girls Ranch.0
• Our ranch girl program is set up to serve low-income girls from age 10-18. We accept enrollment year-round. We conduct our program impact measurements every three months. We evaluate our girls' progress in the following areas: * school attendance as reported by the school [as measured by attendance before and after 3 months in the program] * improvement of grades as reported by the school [as measured by grades before and after 3 months in the program] * improvement of behavior at home and at school as reported by parents and the referring * program attendance at the ranch * improvement of behavior at the ranch as reported by staff and volunteers there Our enrollment process is referral based, and an application is required. We accept referrals from several sources: * Parents with proof of need (ie; failing grades, behavior, in trouble with the law) * School staff * Therapists, either in practice or at rehab centers * Law enforcement We select applicants based upon several different criteria. The applicant must provide proof of failing grades, behavioral issues and/or trouble with the law. Our program is free if the applicant is currently receiving SNAP food benefits and/or Medicaid services. We also require each family to contribute 4 hours of working hours per month. Working hours can consist of office work such as organizing and filing, ranch work or serving at one of our outreach committee events. During the school year, the girls come twice a week for 2 hours each time after school from 4:30-6:30 PM. When they first begin our horse therapy program, the girls focus on horse and farm safety. They learn to catch, halter, lead, and safely groom the horse. Once they are comfortable with these tasks they begin to learn to ride. One of the two days of the week is devoted to team building with the other girls in the program where they work in groups doing things around the farm. They care for the horses, and clean stalls and water tanks. They learn about feeding the horses and their nutritional requirements. They learn first aid for horses and how to spot a sick animal and are involved with the farrier when he comes. The second day is the one all the girls look forward to with excitement: riding day. This day provides much needed stress relief and calmness that can only be provided by being near and around a horse. This day they start to bond to and really care about the horse for whom they are caring, and it is mutual - between horse and girl - always such a joy for us to behold. We work on breathing exercises within the riding sessions. The girls learn to saddle the horse. They learn to understand the importance of caring for their tack spotting any potentially problematical issues with their horse. Currently this summer we have 21 girls enrolled with 13 therapy horses. In the summer we run camps twice a month for a week in each camp. All of our ranch girls are low income and all but one is in a one-parent family. We do our best to open the farm up for them to come and have a supervised safe place to stay for a few hours or even all day in some circumstances. To date, every one of our girls have improved their grades and behavior both in school and at home after just a few weeks of being enrolled at Shorty's. The girls learn how to solve problems and grow their confidence, which helps them with good decision making. Our whole goal is to provide them with the emotional support they need to make the right moral decision when faced with the opportunity to make a wrong decision that can change their life and take them down the wrong path. Emotional support provided by working with and bonding to horses under close supervision is crucial for our girls to learn how to heal. Our team of volunteers and professionals work closely with the girls as they work with the horses, providing them with a safe space to express their emotions and process their experiences to develop healthy coping mechanisms Our preliminary data from testimonials from parents and teachers suggest that our horse therapy program is having a major positive impact on the lives of the girls who are enrolled with us here at Shorty's Safe Haven and Girls Ranch.0

What it must file and when

IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.

IRS record

EIN

88-1664916

Tax-exempt status

501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization

Foundation status

Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))

Donations deductible (Pub 78)

Public charity, 50% deduction limit

Exempt since

2022

Accounting year ends

December

Files

Form 990 or 990-EZ

Category (NTEE)

Human services (P30)

Assets (IRS master file)

$36,491

Income (IRS master file)

$180,053

Filing history

990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 88-1664916).

Questions about SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC

What is the EIN of SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC?

The employer identification number (EIN) of SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC is 88-1664916.

Is SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC tax-exempt?

Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2022.

Are donations to SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC tax-deductible?

Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).

Which annual return does SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC file?

Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.

When is the next return of SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC due?

The return for tax year 2026 (the year ending December 31, 2026) is due May 17, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.

When did SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC last file with the IRS?

The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2025.

Who is the principal officer of SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC?

The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 names Amber Buswell.

Who are the officers and directors of SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC?

The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 lists 5 people; 0 received compensation from the organization.

How much revenue does SHORTY S SAFE HAVEN EQUINE RESCUE & REHAB INC have?

On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $180,053, expenses of $177,270 and total assets of $36,491 at year end.

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