— first published in the November 2025 issue of The Equiery

October Horse Month is in the books and just like that, the holiday season is upon us. The November issue is typically our 12-Days-of-Giving issue, where we make every effort to support those 501(c)(3) charities that are the backbone of much of our industry. It’s also the time when tax payers are looking for year-end tax deductions.

Vetting charities has always been necessary but it is even more so in our time of social media. Luckily there are national watchdog organizations (such as GuideStar and Charity Navigator) that provide useful information about all types of charitable giving to the general public. Both GuideStar and Charity Navigator have tools for assessing the accountability and transparency of a charity. Charities that follow good governance and transparency practices are less likely to engage in unethical or irresponsible activities, which can indicate your charitable contribution is less likely to go to support the charitable mission that is important to you. It also means that charity is more likely to run afoul of federal or state taxing authorities, thus jeopardizing the tax-deductible nature of your contribution.

GuideStar and Charity Navigator will also help you confirm that the charity to which you plan to contribute is a Section 501(c)(3). This matters because contributions to 501(c)(3)s are generally deductible to some degree as charitable donations—depending on an individual’s tax status of course—whereas contributions to many other kinds of non-profits are not.

Section 501(c)(3) status is generally available for any corporation that is “organized and operated exclusively for . . . charitable . . . or educational purposes,” or to “foster . . . amateur sports competitions,” or to “prevent cruelty to animals or children.” 

The primary limitation on 501(c)(3)s is they cannot use charitable contributions for private gain, and they cannot be in the business of “attempting to influence legislation . . . or interven[ing] in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” Generally speaking, 501(c)(3) charities must keep their lobbying expenditures under 20 percent of their total expenditures. 

Not all 501(c)s, however, are charities. The Maryland Horse Council, for example, is a 501(c) but we are not a charity. We are organized under Section 501(c)(6) which is the section that covers business associations and that allows us to lobby.

The horse industry owes a great deal to volunteers and charities. This season, thank them in one of the most meaningful of ways—give wisely, give generously, and give often!

— Kimberly K Egan | MHC VP-Publications