Lots of interesting information in that document.

One I found peculiar was a $10k donation to the National Italian-American Foundation for the purpose of “animal welfare”.  Animal Welfare?  Seemed weird, so I googled “National Italian American Foundation” + “Animal Welfare”. 

The second entry (after Wayne’s Wikipedia page) was Wayne’s bio on HSUS’ website.  Go figure! 

      http://www.humanesociety.org/about/leadership/executive_staff/wayne_pacelle.html

Seems that $10K gets you an award to add to your lengthy list of accolades and accomplishments!

The National Italian-American foundation presented Wayne with a Special Achievement Award in Humanitarian Service in the year…...2008!  What a coincidence!  LOL

I imagine people would be delighted to know that their donations helped buy a nice shiny plaque to adorn the walls of Wayne’s office.

Keep up the great work!!

Thank you VERY MUCH for your advertisement in 4/1/10 USA Today!  That REALLY opened my eyes.  I was seriously considering donating money, but no longer.  I can do it other ways that will make sure the local pet shelters receive what I give them.  THANK YOU, again!!!

    Wow, that was a close shave!

When I saw your full page ad in USA Today (04/01/10)I think I looked as shocked as the dogs pictured in the ad. I felt compelled to go to your website.  In the past I have already generously donated to the Humane Society, ASPCA and local no-kill animal shelters.  In the future I will limit my contributions to the ASPCA and local no-kill shelters (one in particular is Operation Kindness, which happens to be one of the finest no-kill shelters that I know of in this part of the country).

This is why I prefer to give my money directly to local groups. I volunteer and donate to my local house rabbit society and local Thoroughbred retirement foundation.

After 50 years of living, it is my belief that as a rule large “corporate structured” non-profit organizations are more concerned about being profitable so that they can pay large salaries to top executives in fancy offices and a lot less concerned about donations going to their cause whether it be cancer research or saving animals. I am a former volunteer and employee at the AZ Humane Society where the statistics state that over 98% of all adoptable animals are placed in homes - the reality at that time (2003) was that over 40,000 animals were taken in and approximately 17,000 were adopted with the rest being euthanized.  Being being put down the animal is re-categorized from adoptable to un-adoptable so that the statistic is not affected. So, my rule when donating to animal or any other organizations - the smaller and more local - the better and do your homework - know where the money goes!

Unfortunately this type of abuse is all too common.  Especially in those groups that advertise themselves as “not for profit.”  Not for profit?  That’s misleading.  The profits supposedly go back into the business.  But where they really go is into the pockets of the top executives.  And when they are “losing” millions per year?  They add more layers of top executives.

Interesting report - and while I’d really like to know where 99% (probably half of which is salaries) of their budget is going, if you look at the report, which lists grants to organizations, while only the highlighted ones (which are probably 30-40% of those listed, at least) are going to orgs named as Shelter’s (i.e. Broward County Humane), i only saw one which didn’t relate to animals - Natl Italian American Foundation. The other grantees were PETA, Soc for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, various universities and vet schools, a farm animal rescue, Defenders of Wildlife, etc.

In any case, support your local shelter - the news this week that after 81 facilities were investigated and found 28,000 violations sickened me. I adopted a dog from a large Humane Society shelter (he would have been put down or died if i hadn’t) - a great fabulous dog - and while i can understand that shelters can get overwhelmed, when i took him to the vet (b/c he got a strain of kennel cough which turned into pneumonia within 36 hours of leaving the shelter), he also had a foot wound which had not been treated at all and was infected. He looked like they had just picked him and put him in a room and left him there and he’d been there about 10 days. I really don’t think my local shelter would have been quite so negligent.

I, like many other animal lovers, cried every time I saw the TV ad for HSUS and last month I pledged $20 a month (19 is a stupid number) They got two payments from me, but no more after the bank opens Tuesday. Thank you so much for the eye opener. I will look for an honest place for my animal money.  Keep up your great work.

Wow, I really trusted the Humane Society, and have given to them for years, now I am considering not giving anymore!

I’ve been looking over the report posted above, and I honestly don’t see the problem.  The Humane Society’s website never makes the claim that money donated will go straight to pet shelters.  HSUS mission even claims to include wild animals as well.  An organization called Bethany’s Gait, for example, is not one that has been highlighted as acceptable, but its purpose is to shelter abused horses.  That seems to fit perfectly with the Humane Society’s mission.  To me it seems that HSUS is simply trying to address all of the facets of animal abuse.  Although I will admit that the donations to the Hamners Institutes, the National Italian American Foundation, and the two Florida Universities (apparently given to the school as a whole, rather than for a specific program or function) seem questionable.

Thanks for sharing.
Thank God I give my money at right place .

Like Peta, this animal hating group would eliminate all animal ownership. 

A great deal of their money ends up in the pockets of politicians when they lobby for laws against pet animal breeders, exotic ownership and of course their outlandish farm animal ideas. 

How about Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream using human milk so calves would be deprived of cows milk.  Now that’s a yummy thought, lol.  But yes it was suggested.

I think this just proves even more that the true solution doesn’t rely on a corporation killing animals, but education about keeping animals from overpopulating themselves. Go to a shelter not a pet store, you don’t have to have a puppy. Get your animal Spayed or Neutered <—-  Probably the most important thing.

Interesting! bookmarked and linked from my blog.

This is appalling!!!  I have been donating my hard earned money to the Humane Society for years.  However, after this article has opened my eyes, I won’t be donating cash any longer - I’ll find a different way to get those poor creatures help.

I don’t like to give to these big organzations, but try to help out my local rescue groups.  Please everyone, rescue a dog and give a dog sitting and waiting for a good home a chance.

Support your local shelters by volunteering, providing food.  Spending an hour here and hour there helping to socialize kittens or puppies helps assure that they will get into homes.

Running a cattery, I try different foods and if my cats don’t like the new food, I take those opened bags to the local shelter instead of tossing them.  Because they know me so well they are happy to accept the food.

They may not do that if they don’t know you, but if I see food on sale I buy a few extra bags and donate them.  Every little bit helps.

There is a sight called ‘Open Book Charities’ they list HUS and the Humane society as not open book, meaning they do not want to show where their money goes to the public.

Check it out.  http://www.charitywatch.org/azlist.html#a

It will show you the ones that are open book also there are a lot of them that won’t show you were the money goes, you’ll be surprised at some of them, I was.

I find it atrocious that less than one percent of the income of hsus goes to animal care.  They need to stop exploiting the abused/neglected animals in their campaign to raise money.  This needs to stop, if for no other reason, for the sake of the animals that the money is supposed to be helping.

I believe they are the same group that runs the poison hotline for pets. If you call in to find out if something your pet has injested is poisonous, and you don’t have a credit card and can pay them 50.00 then you are just out of luck. I’m pretty sure they care more about the money than if the pet lives or dies. I havent donated anything to them for years because of that. I realize it costs money to man the phone lines for the hotline, but 50.00? Thats crazy. I didn’t have a credit card at the time, but luckily I got a hold of a vet who was able to tell me if avacados were poisonous to pets. By the way they are. My cat was fine he didn’t get enough to hurt him, but the HSUS sure wasn’t any help.

I think you are overreacting a little. I looked at the pdf and although maybe only the highlighted ones are shelters almost all the other ones, as Kate Adams already said, are other organizations helping animals or providing future help to animals (such as the several veterinary schools). With a little research even the The Hamner Institute which people are skeptical of is doing research to help stop animal testing (funded by the HSUS).

Im not saying the HSUS should not give more money to shelters but you are twisting the facts to make it seem like 99.5% of the money is going into the CEO’s pocket when that is anything but true.

That being said small or local organizations are almost always better then big corps.

Rhea,

The fact sadly is that the majority of the money donated to HSUS goes into the pockets of the politicians they lobby.  They heavily lobby against pet ownership, are against farm animals being used for food, including their eggs and milk.

It’s a real shame that they exploit pet animals to get funding for their anti-pet animal legislation.

HI JUST GAVE $20.00 TO THEM FEW DAYS AGO .WILL BE MORE SELECTIVE NEXT TIME .THANK YOU

It is soooo sad that people pretend to help a cause and than get carried away. I belief it started as a good idea and now is totally out of proportion ... I used to donate to the Humane Society, but I stopped a long time ago. People are too much worried about names and awards and all this crap. They should help because they want to help. If they do a great job, the rest will follow and fall in place ... I agree that rescue is a very hard job, but if one does not want to do it for the cause, don’t do it at all ...Very disappointing!!! Thats like donating to the United way where only approx. 20% go to the cause - why not donating directly to your local shelters and organization and cut out the middle man, unfortunately with the HS it will have such an impact ... I also think their euthanization rules and regulations should receive a closer look!!!

I havent given to hsus since they sided with MIKE vick the dog murderer..How can the hsus side with someone who has committed dog fighting and hasnt done anything to stop it..  Wayne pacelle is on an ego trip and cares more about himself than dogs..

I’m shocked as well… reading over people’s comments, withholding our money from future donations is one option, since its not getting to the animals anyway.

But what is the best way to force this group to charge their spending habits and funnel more money to actually help the animals?

The animals need the help, HSUS is obviously not spending very much money to help. But animals that end up in their shelters, not the no-kill shelters we all also support, NEED that funding and that care.

How can we ask/demand that they change their ways?

Is writing letters a good option?

Perhaps withholding our money IS the best option and will be an eye opener to them to change.

Thoughts? (Thanks for bringing this to us)

Thank you for sharing!
I put aside some $$$ for a year… thought to donate the fund to SPCA, but….I finally decided to adopt a non-popular dog breed from SPCA. She required so much work, but it is a joy to watch her grew up being a better dog day after day.That’s the best decision of the year for me and our new family addition.

I am donating to ASPCA on a monthly basis. I told them instead of sending out all kinds of materials (which I’m sure they are paying for, at least for part of it) to apply that money to the animals that need it. I am not donating to get free notepads, gloves etc.

hey folks, donate to your LOCAL animal shelter, they won’t turn anything down, and just as an example, my local shelter has a beautiful new shelter funded by state funds, but despite that, they rely 100% on donations for food, treats, dog beds, etc….one would assume by the state of the facility that they are flush, but that’s not the case, at least you know where you’re money, bags of dog food etc. are going…the shelter in the next county (10 miles away) has an inferior shelter but GIVES away food during the winter (a great thing, but my local shelter doesn’t have enough food to do that)... just an example….

I just don’t understand this.  I really don’t have much to do with HSUS because I’ve heard a little bit here and there.  There’s a lot of legitimate organizations where I sign petitions, mostly concerning animals and children.  I’m really sick to hear about this.  How could they deprive these sweet animals help?  What kind of people are they?  Can something be done through maybe a government agency?

I think all of the wonderful who have decided to personally support their local Animal Shelters are on the right track.

Remember there are local no kill shelters that depend on private donations as well.  Google, you city or county and add “no kill shelters” and you’ll find out who and where they are. 

It simply seems that when a “charity” gets too big, there is always fraud, misdirection of funds and as with HSUS, they end up working against the animals they collect funds for.

PETA is another BAD charity, the attorney general in their home state wanted them reclassified as a slaughter house as they kill all but 11.3% of the animals they got their hands on.

Follow this link to see the awful truth about them.

http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

It will really wake you up!

Your local shelter is always the BEST place to put your donation. 

The ASPCA, for instance, Services JUST NYC and a radius of 100-300 miles. But they are allowed to fund raise NATIONALLY implying your donation will be used locally. Just not so. Yes they have a wonderful hospital/adoption center in NYC, but what good does it do you in Alaska? To even be ELIGIBLE for one of their grants you must be an affiliate at the tune of $125 a year and this does not guarantee you will get your proposed grant.  But it does raise another $125 for ASPCA.  If you are a small Ma and Pop nonprofit shelter largely financed by the SS check and a few supporters, those funds are better put on vaccine rather than 15% discounts on ACPCA materials and trainings!

The ASPCA and HSUS will come out for a LARGE number/high profile media event they can get lots of good PR from and therefore lots of $ raised, but there is no one but your local shelter to deal with the day to day a few animals at a time abuse. They are always alone, understaffed underfunded and misunderstood.

Please remember, the name on an organization does not reflect affiliation with the HSUS or ASPCA. HS and SPCA are generic names used by humane groups all over the world most often with no support from the original two groups.

OMG are you serious?? Wow—how sick is HSUS anyway? We donated our hard earned money because we believed when were donating it that it was all going to the shelters and the animals and that’s it! 
I’ll never donate another penny of my money ... wow WTF. Who can you trust these days??? Nobody, that’s who! They’re sick bastards for using that money for any other reason than the shelters or animals!

I must say that I am apalled at what I just read. I have faithfully and 100% whole heartedly donated money (what I could, and then some) to the Humane Society for 25+ years. I am devistated by these statistics. I have adopted three cats in the past 10 years that were all rescue cats. I love them dearly. I love all animals and want to help as much as I can. I will continue to donate to local shelters here in Laurel, Maryland. Thank you for this eye opening, however, disturbing news.

I think most of us already know that the purpose of any large Corporation or Organization becomes an effort to survive, prosper and support itself and it’s Share Holders, so the Bottom Line becomes the driving force behind it’s survival. Now, having said that, I do believe that, on some level, someone’s mission was to Rescue, Rehabilitate, and find Forever Homes for the Rescues.
That is secondary now, to the importance of profit, no matter what they say about being a “Not for Profit” Organization
I prefer to work with local Rescuers, who’s only goal is to Rescue the animals from being killed in the “Shelters,” and to get them adopted. They are the selfless ones who tend to spend all their money on food and Vet bills. And they don’t emphasize the donation part, In fact, the emphasis is on everything but the money. Of course they appreciate anything that is donated, but seldom, if ever ask.

I am just amazed and did not know this.  I will never give again to Humane Society, I will give only to the animals.  Someone should govern that these $$ go to the animals not the ads.  Please, someone in power with authority pay attention and help these animals, please!  If all of us lay people don’t make a voice to our local reps on a consistent basis this will never stop.  Our donations intended for these animals should go to these animals and their caregivers, absolutely no where else.

I had heard the HSUS wasn’t really into helping animals yet they do a lot of publicity against many evil things such as the seal murders, slaughterhouses, etc.  It’s hard to know which groups to donate to.  I prefer to donate to my local rescues that I am fairly certain are kosher.

what are you doing to change this??? is there any way we can all do something?

I have stopped donating to Human Society nationally, locally and all together but support my local Animal Control Shelter that tries to find homes for dogs and cats rather than killing them. I help any local rescue organization that I found to be legit and true to the cause.

I do not like how they use their money to get personal awards, not spending the money on animal needs, euthanizing animals at a faster rate than Animal Control and anyone else - but try to make everyone the bad guy, side with Michael Vick who should be punished the same way he treated his dogs ... etc. Humane Society - nothing Humane about it and their charity status should be revoked. They are a disgrace to call themselfes rescuer ... if the animals need to be rescued from them ...
Maybe they get a cut of Michael Vick’s money, with which they can buy another award from a society that has nothing to do with animlas.

They are on an ego trip, have nothing to do with animal rescue and should be boycotted.

They will get no donations from me and I already convinced several of my friends to drop their support and their financial donations which some of them were pretty good in size.

Someone asked what can I do about this horrible organization and PETA.  Most of you are on Twitter, My Space or Facebook.  Both are powerful mediums for spreading news and ideas.  Post which you have learned here and your opinions about what you’ve learned on your Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

The more people alerted, the better, information is a powerful tool.  Make sure to provide a link to this page.

I have adopted many animals that I support every month and I help local people get their animals spayed and neutered. When a wayward feral comes through my land I get them spayed or neutered also. This helps keep animals out of the local shelters by not being born. To me this is the only true way to keep animals out of kill shelters. Put your money where it really counts, PLEASE spay and neuter your animals and HELP others that can’t afford it. I won’t give to the Humane Society of the United States again.

You are correct.  The local shelters are funded by the local public.  They provide a completely different function than the National HSUS. To the best of my knowledge, HSUS works nationally to lobby for animal issues.  Whereas the local shelters take-in homeless pets and try to place them with new families.

omg that breaks my heart! i am a believer. (((

Thank you Teri Jo!  It is a different organization than the local ones.  They stop the down cows from being slaughtered; the puppie mills (where all of your pet store dogs come from), horse abuse; The magazine All Animals just did an article on the Bat disease issue.  This isn’t all about saving animals in shelters.  And as far as your shelters go, go to “no kill” shelters.

People who donate expect their donations to go to nonprofit organizations. Simply put the money should go to the needs of the animals ONLY. The donations are not intended to line the pockets of the persons that are supposed to save the animals. The funds were not intended for any retirement fund. If the money was intended for retirement, the persons would invest in their own retirement investments.

The reality of animals in need is a direct result of adult humans not taking responsiblity and not having any real feelings towards animals. If breeding were to stop for maybe the next 5 years then maybe, just maybe, animals needing good familes would be placed. Most of the animals in these shelters ended up there because they were abandoned - puppy chewed on their shoe or the horse got old and the family did not want to spend the 200 a month to feed them allegra senior and another 30 every 2 months to give them butte for their arthrites or pay the 400 to put them down and have them hauled off.

Breeders are irresponsible ,  they don’t educate people on the reality of the owning a pet - horse, dog cat - whatever the case may be be. And in the here and now the last thing the animals need is another one to be born - we have plenty of horses , dogs, cats and any other pet out there now to provide every human with a pet of their choice that will fit in with their lifestyle.

It is time to stop breeding dogs, cats , horses, whatever the pet may be until those in shelters have families. In this day and age most of us have these animals simply because we want to , not because they are an working animal.

I helped with rescue for the GA Humane Society.  I paid for all the food and medical care for the dogs I fostered. They would have me take the dogs w/medical issues to tug @ heartstrings to get donations. The money went to the general fund. When there were donations of food etc. the officers did not share with the people like me. I didn’t even know food was donated for a year after helping out.  When dogs were adopted out the money went to the organization. I was never reimbursed and was OK with that until I came to believe the people running things were profitting while I was spending $1000’s. Now, I donate to shelters.  Food, bedding, bleach and paper towels.  I don’t regret saving the dogs. I regret being played for a chump!!

I have never donated to the group and now never will. I have always spent my time and money directly helping animals themselves.  Our preference has always been cats, but have been fosters for dogs too.  I own only two cats now, but have had more.  I have also taught my children, that to own a pet is a great responsible commitment, one that should be done out of love and by going to your local shelter to do so.  If more people are taught and raised to understand that you should not throw away animals. That they have feelings as well, then maybe we could have a better understanding on the issue of abuse and abandonment of these defenseless creatures. We humans are the caretakers, and I am afraid that many are failing in this endeavor

I am so upset and hurt after reading all these things because I have sent so many of them money for many years even PETA not realizing how they are and what they do. Everyone`s local shelters can use the donations much better and you can be sure the wonderful animals there will get good care. Our small shelter is doing such a good job and and people get together daily and stop there whenever they have some free time and help walk the dogs and hold and give all the animals there love and attention..of which they all need. Our two grocery stores always donate food and treats for all the animals. A lot of jobs have been lost around here because the goverment has pretty much shut down our timber industry. Our shelter helps families keep their beloved pets rather then having to bring them to the shelter and be adoped because they can`t afford to feed them and their children. So our shelter also helps keep food for the pets of these families so they don`t have to loose or give up the pets they love. If people would just realize coming together, caring for each other helps not only the humans but it helps the wonderful animals also.  Thank You for reading this ,,Gloria

All too often the large organizations do not apply the money you send to helping the animals.  Rather it is squandered on “operating expenses” and those can be very broad.  Bottom line:  Donate to charities you can see are using the funds to help the animals.  Orphans of the Storm, is one that has done great work for many years in our area. 

Get involved, donate goods they need like towels, food, supplies, etc., along with monetary donations.  Be wary of those that have bloated into such a large operation that they “forget” the reason they are there in the first place—to help the animals.

My husband and I have rescued so many cats and over the past decades, we’ve lost count.  When we had 28 acres, we also had 9 dogs and 4 cats. As we both worked then, we only allowed people WE KNEW to adopt our rescues.  If we couldn’t find suitable homes, we kept them until they crossed over. 

We’re on Social Security now and still have three rescues with us.  A dog and two cats.  We can’t imagine our lives without them.  So when you see a little one with four feet on the side of the road, remember, they are in need of YOU to help them.  To take them home after you know they are not just taking a walk away from the farm, care for them, feed them, and most of all, give them LOVE.  The look in their eyes says it all, and that is the only reward needed.

THAT IS WHY I DON’T GIVE MONEY. I HELP OUT MY LOCAL SHELTER BY TAKING DOG AND CAT FOOD TO THEM.  NO MONEY.  I GAVE ONE TIME TO HSUS AND THEY KEPT PUTTING MY CHECK THRU MY ACCOUNT AND I DIDN’T FIND OUT ABOUT IT TILL A YEAR LATER WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN I COME UP WITH OVERDRAFTS. HAD TO CLOSE THAT ACCOUNT AND OPEN A NEW ONE AND THE BANK WAS NICE ENOUGH TO WAIVER THE OD CHARGES.  NICE PEOPLE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING THE ANIMALS, INSTEAD THEY ARE HELPING THEMSELVES TO MY ACCOUNT.

I received this email with the link this morning.  Follow the link at the bottom to read the whole article.

Anonymous said…
The author is correct, I use to work for HSUS, but when they told us to leave
the dogs behind in their crates after hurricane Katrina, I knew something was
wrong. When our Director told the judge to kill all the puppies we had just
saved in a dog fighting operation, I was sure the HSUS was wrong. But, I kept
going to the workshops and noticed that they became all about being part of the
group by becoming vegan and hating anyone who owned or bred animals. These
people are zealots who do not care about animals as they no longer accept the
fact that we need animals and they need us to survive as a species. They believe
animals cause global warming, therefore, they must no longer be on this earth. I
began to read up on all of these things that Wayne spouted as crimes or why we
should do this or that and found that he was twisting facts and in most cases
lying. For example, 89% of hunters do so because they use the meat to supplement
their meager salaries and keep their families fed. As for dog breeders 98% of
them are not substandard and HSUS and PeTA made up this hate term “puppy mill”
for slandering all dog breeders. He is pushing laws that make it harder for
anyone to buy or breed a pet based upon less than 2% who do the job poorly.

Copy and paste this link into your browser.

http://everydayhunter.blogspot.com/2011/01/poaching-statistics-hsus-style.html#c5672973963973795287

I have decided to donate just to local shelters.  When I gave to big organizations like HSUS and ASPCA they sent me book bags and other things I didn’t want, thereby wasting part of my donation.  I have also given to North Shore Animal League and need to research their use of donations to see if it is wise.  That said, to claim that PETA and HSUS are against pet ownership is preposterous.  Yes, it’s important for us to know how our donations are being spent by the big organizations, but it’s also important to watch out for twisted claims.

Thank you for the information.  A lot of folks have already said this, but if you want to help your local shelters, give items…NOT money!  Give food, cleaning supplies, blankets, litter, gloves, paper towels, etc.  These items help out tremendously and cannot be “dipped” into by CEOs and politicians!  Also, donating your time even ONCE a month is greatly appreciated.  Any help is needed.

This is upsetting information for me.  I’m a manager at a local humane society and I know we don’t receive any money from HSUS, but I didn’t realize their support in general was so small.  Our doors stay open through private donations, no city or county monetary support.  We are really stuggling as are all shelters and rescues right now.  I know HSUS is a very political organization and has to be to a certain extent to lobby for legislation on the treatment of animals, etc., but the National Italian American Foundation?  I’m not sure how that organization is fighting for animal welfare.

That is a sad disgrace - I would like to see this same research done into the the ASPCA.

I think your organization is flawed in your so-cvalled findings! You obviously do not know how to do a corporate tax return and have no clue what you are reporting to the public. You are a disgrace! They are actually doing alot of good and working hard to stop abuse of inoccent animals, helping pay for medical care and spaying/newutering of animals and educating the public as to the cruel and torteous things happening to sweet and inoccent animals all over the world. Keep supporting the Humane Association and ASPCA.

I support my local Humane Society with material items such as empty pill bottles, old blankets, newspaper, etc..  Last year my daughter and I went to the dollar store and bought several dog toys.  We were allowed to pick out the dogs who received them and to hand them to each dog.  Sad to say I couldn’t afford to buy all of them one.  I always look for dog toys after the holidays on clearance.  The poor babies don’t care when and where you buy them.  I also frequent there to only chat with the dogs behind the bars.  A little love goes a really long way!!

WOW—this is pretty hard to swallow. I have donated forEVER to the HSUS, and now I do believe I will give to local shelters, directly, and of course, BEST FRIENDS, in Kanab, Utah. Shame on you HSUS—-Karma will get you in the end.

i donate to many great animal shelers….one is the north shore animal league in ny…truly a no kill shelter…another is run by doris day and alley cat allies…there are tons who give almost 100% donations to care for the animals.  cleveland amory reserve is another great foundation.  you just gotta look.  volunteering locally by far is the best you can do!

I work for the humane society and i can tell you that most of our money goes to helping the public with the cost of spaying and neutering and vaccinations. without us, may people would not be able to afford those important services.

Terrifying! Are we still ok with ASPCA?
Thanks for watching out for the animals.
Blessings in Christ~

what about when we give the donation directly to the shelter in our local areas????

I am an avid contributer to the Humane Society because of course I love animals. Silly me. I thought I was helping a cause that I truely held close to my heart but as usual, the corporate structure has seen fit to utilize the money to advance their own personal cause. Never again will I donate to the HSUS. I will give it to my own local in the form of dog food, blankets toys etc. Shame on you!!!!!

Thanks Guys, I am glad that my local giving will be staying at my local shelter.  And Ann you are right, shame on them!!!!  But please do continue to give to your locL SHELTERS THEY ARE IN GREAT NEED.  One of my babies passed right before Christmas and he would only eat Merrick Grammys Pot Pie, my others are on special diets and can not eat that, but i have not been able to bring myself to empty his shelf yet and bring the food over.  I will, I just need a little time.

I have seen first hand the efforts the HSUS puts into helping animal shelters and areas without shelters. I worked with a regional director in a small town that had a terrible animal hoarder. They paid for the cleanup and personally helped in the cleanup process. Our local shelter has used many of there resources to operate our shelter and hold seminars for operation issues.

Please People; don’t let this stop you from helping your Local Humane Society! I do not just mail my money off to any branch of the Humane Society. We have a local Humane Society in Greenville NC and those people donate their time and are doing all they can to save animals. I donate to them directly; giving money when I can, giving dog and or cat food, litter when I can.
Please something like this makes all the small local branches of the Humane Society look bad and they are NOT!

This is eye-opening. You just helped me answer a nagging question. Wish I had found you sooner.

are you kidding about this????  I send them money all the time and I am on a fixed income.  That really sucks.
I guess I am not sending anymore. I will just give it to our local shelter
thanks for letting us know

This is so sad. Most of those animals desperately need that money to help with everything. Food, medical care, animal dishes, leashes and collars,etc.
It is real hard to read something like this when I am trying so hard to get the non profit organization for animal rescue and preservation up and off the ground! It makes me soo mad!
It is so hard for us “little guys” to get going and things like this is why!!
Thank you for sharing this!
Linda

HumaneWatch is unfortunately correct about the national Humane Society; it is primarily a lobbying group and has no affiliation with local Humane Societies in your communities.

I am a volunteer at my local Humane Society, which is the largest animal shelter in King County, WA (Seattle area), and is a no-kill facility, saving and adopting out thousands of animals each year, and working collaboratively with other area shelters to protect our pets. Seattle Humane Society has stepped in when King County Animal Services had animal-care issues, and we have taken in hundreds of animals rescued from some awful puppy mills.

Please, support your local Humane Societies; they are not affiliated with the national HS and work tirelessly to rescue and care for unwanted, neglected, and injured animals.

P.S. While I appreciate HumaneWatch getting the word out about the national Humane Society’s fund-raising tactics, I would encourage you to do a better job of clarifying that local Humane Societies are not affiliated and deserve everyone’s support.

From some of the comments posted here, it’s clear that people associate the two, and this does a disservice to the local shelters, potentially depriving them of much-needed funds for animal rescue and care.

I have received numerous statements from HS recently on how they are helping animals in Japan.
Any word on this?

Our local shelter is supported by our community and they struggle to stay afloat while working their hearts out.  All of my donations go local and we have several.  I learned the hard way from working with MADD many years ago…the bulk of local donations goes up in smoke when a large association like that is .....but this information….. takes it to another level.  I will def spread the word!!

I had a very bad experience with one humane shelter. It was run by kids that did not know what they were doing and it was very dirty. Sadly my little Lucy, the cat I adopted from then, got a fatal illness it caught from that shelter and I had to put her down.

I have been very angry with them but this news is eye opening for me and I now have a clearer Idea why it was so bad there.

Thank you so much for this information.  I think I’ll just go to my local shelters and pounds and get pics and use my own money to try and place these poor animals.  At least that way, there will be no middle man that has to be paid or get an exorbitant pension!!  This is just plain SICK!

What about the ASPCA are they legit

THIS IS TERRIBLE!!!!  This makes it extremely difficult for legitimate organizations like ours that really need the money to get the help we need!!!! We have a hard enough time getting the funding we are in desperate need of and then you read something like this, it is discouraging!! I am not giving up though!!!! Our organization, second chance ranch, out of Fort Bragg, California, we just started last July. Our local animal shelter shut down and our community had no-one to turn to and nowhere to go for help!!!! So, I decided to do something about that and started second chance ranch for animal rescue and preservation to help out our community!!! Now we have to fight harder in our already depleted economy for these funds!!! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Linda Mitchell
Second Chance Ranch
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

There are many wonderful volunteer run rescues in your city that can really use your money to do some good.  These rescues rely on donations to supply the animals under their care with vet care, food, litter, toys and etc.  For most rescues donations and adoption fees are their only sources of income and without them they cannot survive.  Stores like Petsmart and Petvalu work with these organizations and will help put you intouch with them so that you can make your donation.  Maybe you are able to volunteer and help them out too.

This is the exact reason I give directly to local shelters and rescues…

I really don’t think that’s bad, almost all of that, if not all was helping animals, which is exactly what they said they were going to do, I don’t see the issue here.

That fighting is just messed up! The people that watch that are MESSED UP! Go get ‘em!!

This is what makes it hard for small organizations like ours who are actually trying to help the animals and our community not pocket the money ourselves!!!!! 

        I am having a hard time just keeping us going, getting funding is hard, and these guys do this and make it where it is ten times harder!! This is so wrong!!

        All those commercials we see that make us cry…Save the animals…And the money is not going to the animals????!!!!

Linda Mitchell
Second Chance Ranch
Fort Bragg, CA
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Greatnonprofits.org

Thanks for this information. It’s quite interesting.

I would like to point out, however that contrary to popular belief, the HSUS is *NOT* an umbrella group for other humane societies in the US. They operate their own shelter in Washington D.C. As far as I know, they are not affiliated with any other “Humane Society of <fill-in-the-blank>”. I have always felt that they exploited this belief, but they don’t actually say anywhere that they are affiliated or that they give any of your contributions to other local shelters. Their attitude is more of “we can’t help it if people believe that.”

Their website says that they are “advocating for sensible public policies, investigating cruelty and working to enforce existing laws, educating the public about animal issues, joining with corporations on behalf of animal-friendly policies, and conducting hands-on programs that make ours a more humane world.” So perhaps it’s not surprising that they don’t actually give money to many other shelters. They seem more like a lobbying group. They run a lot of commercials and campaigns to save the seals and horses, and other non pet-related animal issues.

I also want to add a plug for Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/) which shows that HSUS spends almost 20% of its revenue on fund-raising. That’s pretty high. I generally don’t donate to any organization that puts more than 10% of my donation back into trying to get me to donate more.

The HSUS was one of my top charities I donate(d) to, but after reading the info contained on this site, I am rethinking this. Maybe there is a better place my money could go. I already donate monthly to my local animal shelter and the ASPCA. I can see how they spend alot of money on fundraising. I get alot of stuff from them all the time and have wondered if that takes away from the money for the animals. I wonder if I can call and have them stop sending me stuff?

It always bothered me how they offer the FREE gifts if you join the membership program…I would have preferred the money be spent on the animals needs and not the bags, tshirts, or calendars, watches, christmas cards and winter gloves…oh and let’s not forget the blankets my dogs get every year…my goodness. I kept wondering about the letters they send saying how bad they need my money ...yet I kept getting all of this stuff over the past 12 years. Makes a person wonder?

Thank you so much for the valuable info. I will not donate to this phony organization.  I felt bad donating, it was a waste of money. 
From now on I will donate directly to the animal shelters and toss out all the letters from Wayne asking for donations.  Please keep up the good work and keep us animal advocates informed.

It is Organizations like this that make it so very hard for little Organizations like ours to get the funding we so desperately need for the animals and NOT THE PEOPLES POCKETS AND PLACKS!! My God, What are they trying to do?? Make it impossible for honest hardworking people to get earnest help anymore??
We are a small nonprofit organization for animal rescue and preservation and these Huge Organizations are making it so difficult for people to trust anyone anymore!! Heaven Help Us!!
Linda Mitchell
Second Chance Ranch
http://secondchanceranch.WebStarts.com

Wayne Pacelli should be replaced/recalled.  He is a poor excuse for someone supposed to care for the animals, he only cares about HIMSELF! Shame on you, Wayne.  He’s even busy promoting his books.

I am absolutely appalled!!! Never again will I make a donation
to this so-called CHARITY!
Humane society of the United States, SHAME ON YOU!!!

Unbelievable!! They give other charities a bad name! Any reparable charities that actually help shelter animals?

Jackie,
I phoned ASPCA and asked them to stop sending calendars, wrapping paper, stamps, etc. etc.  The fellow said okay, but I have continued to receive other mail soliciting money.  I give each year.  Something I have pondered, however, is that ASPCA’s rescues online always show the same people and this makes me wonder if most of the work is done in one part of the US??  It sure makes it difficult that we are lied to on so many fronts…this makes it hard to believe anyone!  Of one thing I am sure…when the president of the Humane Society speaks up in a positive way regarding Michael Vic, I know it is time to withdraw monetary support from that organization.  I am going to support locally so I can see with my own eyes what is being done for our voiceless friends.

I never donate to anything because I don’t know what they do with the money. I usually will buy what is needed instead or help someone myself before I donate. Think of all the Walk America funds and Cancer Walk funds. It goes on for years. What have they accomplished with all the money they’ve raised?

If I get one I get 10 letters in as many days or less asking for donations as a sweepstakes scam.  They constantly tell you have won a small prize and send you a few dog or cat post cards to send to a friend and nothing else.  I am an animal person, especially dogs and horses.  Why do they run a sweepstakes offering 10 - 20 thousand dollars when that money could be given right to a local humane society?  It seems that all of the charities are doing the same thing and I think it stinks. I agree, if you want to help the animals do it local.

This report makes me sick. The county Humane Societies around the US struggle to raise funds for decent facilities, donations to tend to as many animal needs as possible and to find staff to care for the animals daily (in addition to volunteers). Some shelters struggle to keep their regular care staff due to the fact that it’s hard, stressful work and very low pay. The staff is there because they have a love and a passion for it, but many (who are willing to do the work) have to leave because they can’t survive on $8/hr at part-time. Shelters are so tight that they can not offer a better hourly wage or afford full-time care when the shelter capacity needs it. It’s disturbing that so little of what the HSUS accumulates, actually makes it to the facilities that lovingly care for the
needs of these creatures. They need to be held accountable for this. The goal is to aid sick, homeless and abused animals. Why is executive staff Being paid the amount they are? What good does it do when the “wealth” isn’t passed on to actually care for the animals themselves? In a time where we are trying to bring to light the importance of humane care for animals, what message is this sending to the public? It’s time for someone to “clean house” and hold the people who claim to be doing this for the benefit of animals responsible for their decisions. The people who are in this for the right reasons will have no problem, but the people who are running this system into the ground will stick out like dog doo on the kitchen floor.

I consistently send them donations.  Thanks for the information. I appreciate it and will stop further monies to them.

To the Researcher:

If everyone did more researching as you apparently did we would all be better off, hmmmm except those greedy bast_rds. 

You would make a good Investigator. Thanks so very much for taking the time to do this.

I want to donate monthly and searched “What Organizations give most to the Animals” Your blog is what came up. If anyone knows the organization that gives most to the animals please let me know.

Hugs to the Animals. They have nothing to prove, no ego. Supremest beings on the Earth, in my opinion