Helping Paws, Inc. (Helping Paws of Minnesota)
The mission of Helping Paws is to further people’s independence and quality of life through the use of Assistance Dogs.
About Helping Paws, Inc. (Helping Paws of Minnesota)
Helping Paws, Inc. is a Minnesota-based nonprofit that breeds, trains, and places assistance dogs to support people with physical disabilities, veterans and first responders with service-related PTSD, and facility partners in educational, mental health, and courthouse settings. Founded as an independent nonprofit in 1988 and nationally accredited by Assistance Dogs International, Helping Paws operates a volunteer-driven program and a breeding program that produces puppies for multi-year training and placement. In 2024 the organization relocated its training operations to a larger, fully accessible facility in Eden Prairie and in January 2025 opened the Herman Puppy Enrichment Center to strengthen early puppy development and improve training outcomes. Recent organizational initiatives include the Four Paws Forward campaign to expand capacity and support for graduates, ongoing placement and graduate-follow up services, and the Hortman Heroes Fund established in 2025 to support placements for veterans and first responders.
Notable achievements
Relocated to Eden Prairie (2024)
Moved training operations to a larger, fully accessible Eden Prairie facility in 2024, enabling expanded on-site training, volunteer programs, and the Hemak Training Center build-out.
Herman Puppy Enrichment Center (opened Jan 2025)
Opened a purpose-built puppy enrichment center in January 2025 to provide structured early development for service-dog puppies and to improve long-term training and graduation outcomes.
Program scale and placements (recent year)
In the most recent reporting period Helping Paws reported active breeding and training activity (dozens of puppies born, roughly fifty dogs in training) with double-digit placements in the year and nearly one hundred supported graduate teams, reflecting measurable program output and ongoing graduate support services.
At a glance
- Total assets
- $1.9M
- Annual revenue
- $1.7M
- Tax status
- 501(c)(3)Public charity
- EIN
- 41-1628876
- Location
- Eden Prairie, MN
- Website
- www.helpingpaws.org
- On Mahalo since
- May 2026
Financial figures from the IRS Business Master File, the IRS’s registry of tax-exempt organizations.
Recognition
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