Transparency
EquiPhysics is a small nonprofit. Here is who runs it, where the money comes from, and where it goes.
Our tax-exempt status
Equiphysics Institute is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Our EIN is 39-3732120. The IRS recognizes our exemption from August 14, 2025. Gifts are tax-deductible as the law allows.
You can check this yourself:
- IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Search for EIN 39-3732120.
- ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
- Our Candid profile, with our programs, people, and IRS filing
We earned Candid's 2026 Platinum Seal of Transparency, its highest level.
IRS filings
We are a small nonprofit. Our gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, so each year we file IRS Form 990-N, the e-Postcard. It is a short notice with no financial pages, so there is no return to post here. The IRS lists each one in the search above.
- 2025: Form 990-N filed October 11, 2026.
Our first year
EquiPhysics formed in August 2025. We grew out of a University of Arizona equine program our founder leads.
The university program we grew from (July 2025 to June 2026)
- Seven summer research students finished and presented posters.
- Ten undergraduates studied how music affects horses' heart rates.
- Nine students finished a hands-on horsemanship lab.
- About 40 math students did a horse heartbeat lab, and about 55 in another course saw a horse aorta demonstration.
- One undergraduate presented horse heart research at a math conference in Montréal.
- The Army Research Office gave $30,000 for Horse Days, a January 2026 workshop for about 22 people. It grew into a national research network with a funded NSF-Simons workshop for Summer 2028.
What EquiPhysics has done
- We became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
- With our partners at Rancho del Nido in Sonoita, we became the program's off-campus home. The horses arrived July 17, 2026, helped by volunteers with trailers.
- Eight horses are in the program now.
- We released two free classroom web apps, Horse Gait Lab and Horse Heart Lab, at equiphysics.github.io.
- We pay no salaries. Our board and founder are volunteers.
This fall
- We started working with Mighty Minds on a curriculum that helps kids learn math with horses. Our first session was about heartbeats and the rhythm of strides.
- Volunteers helped us build an arena and round pen at Rancho del Nido on our first Volunteer Day.
- We are reaching out to the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona.
- We are speaking at local schools.
- In December, we will hold a clinic with EquiPhysics demonstrations at Rancho del Nido. See the details.
Money in and money out
Money in
| Aug 12 to Dec 31, 2025 | Jan 1 to Oct 11, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Gifts from individuals | $0 | $2,622.50 |
| Gifts through giving platforms (Evite/Pledge, PayPal Giving Fund) | $0 | $800.00 |
| Gifts from our founder | $1,266.55 | $8,205.23 |
| Total money in | $1,266.55 | $11,627.73 |
Money out
| Aug 12 to Dec 31, 2025 | Jan 1 to Oct 11, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Program facility (barn, arenas, round pen) | $0 | $5,687.50 |
| Feed and bedding for program horses | $631.18 | $2,866.27 |
| Website, records, and software | $456.06 | $1,084.18 |
| Printing, postage, and outreach | $10.31 | $337.32 |
| State and IRS filing fees | $169.00 | $287.00 |
| Program supplies | $0 | $98.24 |
| Card and platform fees | $0 | $52.87 |
| Small items | $0 | $8.29 |
| Total money out | $1,266.55 | $10,421.67 |
These figures are from our own books and have not been audited. Updated October 12, 2026.
Our founder ran a personal GoFundMe in early August 2025, before EquiPhysics formed, and gave what it raised to EquiPhysics. It is counted in her gifts above. Gifts to it were not tax-deductible.
Four of our eight program horses belong to our founder. She lends them to us free and pays their board, feed, and care herself.
Board and leadership
EquiPhysics is governed by a volunteer board of directors:
- Laura Miller, President
- Christina Hamlet, Treasurer
- Siobhan Watkins, Secretary
Our team:
- Laura Miller, PhD, founder
- Bernadette Genua, horse trainer and barn manager
Donor privacy
We never sell, rent, trade, or share our donor list. We do not publish donors' names without their permission. If you would like to give anonymously, just tell us.
We use your name, email, and gift amount to process your gift, send your tax receipt, and thank you. Gifts made through PayPal Giving Fund or other giving platforms are receipted by those platforms, not by us, and follow their privacy rules. Our full privacy policy explains the rest.
Questions
Email laura_miller@equiphysics.org. We are glad to send any of this information on request.