The American Farriers Journal staff are sometimes asked about the financial strength of national farrier groups.

In order for a non-profit to maintain its non-profit status, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires each organization to fill out an annual form. This exemption allows them to avoid having to pay federal income tax.

The 12-page IRS 990 filing is public information and available to everyone who wishes to view it on the official IRS website. However, filing requirements can lag several years due to delays in IRS approval.

For this article, we relied on the latest IRS 990 forms shown on the IRS website, with some dating as far back as 2015.

1. In their IRS 990 filing for 2023, the American Farriers Association reported:

• Total revenue of $807,077.
• Total expenses of $800,952.
• Revenue less expenses of $6,125.
• Net assets of $357,154.  

2. With total yearly income below $50,000, the Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association is allowed to file a much simpler yearly IRS e-postcard form rather than the lengthier IRS 990 form. In its latest IRS 990 filing from 2015, the group reported:

• Total income of $18,754.
• Total expenses of $18,418.
• Total revenue less expenses of $336.
• Net assets of $13,995.

3. In their IRS 990 filing for 2024, the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization reported:

• Total income of $277,205.
• Total income of $277,205.  
• Total expenses of $305,953.
• Revenue less expenses of a negative ($28,748).        
• Net assets of $22,334.          

4. In their IRS 990 filing for 2023, the International Association of Professional Farriers reported:

• Total income of $189,436.  
• Total expenses of $125,728.    
• Revenue less expenses of $63,708.      
• Net assets of $133,189.

5. In their latest IRS 990 reported filing that was made in 2021, the National Alliance of Equine Practitioners (NAEP) reported:

• Total income of $132,966.    
• Total expenses of $164,330.        
• Revenue less expenses of a negative ($31,344).          
• Net assets of $125,889.
  
  Note: The IRS website states the NAEP non-profit status has been withdrawn due to the fact that they had not made a 990 filing for three consecutive years.

On a half dozen recent occasions we contacted NAEP headquarters about commenting on this situation via phone, text and email using the email address and phone number shown on their website, but never heard back from them.

6. Organized under a different business structure, the World Championship Blacksmiths group is not required to file an annual IRS 990 non-profit form.

If you would like more data on any of the non-profit farrier organizations, it is public information and available to everyone on the Internal Revenue Service website. There are instructions for looking up tax exempt organizations at the top of the page on https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search.

To review the first article in this 3-part American Farriers Journal series, visit “No Government Agency Tracks Farrier Numbers.”

To review the second article in this 3-part American Farriers Journal series, visit “U.S. Farrier Group Member Numbers Vary Greatly.”