Better Business Bureau Report for
Animal Welfare League

Better Business Bureau Report issued January 2011
Better Business Bureau Report expires January 2013


Does not meet one or more standards
This charity does not meet one or more of the 20 standards for Charity Accountability. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: Animal Welfare League
Address: 10305 SOUTHWEST HIGHWAY
  CHICAGO RIDGE, IL 60415
Phone: 708-636-8586
773-667-0088
Web Address: WWW.ANIMALWELFARELEAGUE.COM
Also known as:AWL
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Better Business Bureau Comments

Formerly known as:ILLINOIS CITIZENS ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE

Year, State Incorporated: 1935, Illinois
Affiliates: None
Stated Purpose: Prevent cruelty to animals. Provide quality homes for animals through our adoption program. Promote respect and compassion for all creatures through humane education. Provide shelter and care for homeless and unwanted animals. Reduce pet overpopulation through our low cost spay/neuter clinic. Provide veterinary care for low-income pet owners. Relieve the suffering of all animals.

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

Animal Welfare League does not meet the following 4 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Standard 6: Board Policy on Effectiveness - Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Animal Welfare League does not meet this Standard because:

  • Its effectiveness assessment policy does not specify that this assessment will take place at least once every two years.

Standard 7: Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness - Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.

Animal Welfare League does not meet this Standard because:

  • It did not produce a written report outlining the results of its most recent effectiveness assessment.

Standard 17: Web Site Disclosures - Include on any charity websites that solicit contributions, the same information that is recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990.

Animal Welfare League does not meet this Standard because the organization's website, WWW.ANIMALWELFARELEAGUE.COM, does not include all of the recommended information for those charity websites that solicit for donations. Specifically, it does not include:

  • A roster of the board of directors.
  • Total income.
  • Total program expenses.
  • Total fund raising expenses.
  • Total administrative expenses.
  • End of year net assets.
  • Electronic access to the organization’s most recent IRS Form 990.

Standard 19: Cause Related Marketing - Clearly disclose how the charity benefits from the sale of products or services (i.e., cause-related marketing) that state or imply that a charity will benefit from a consumer sale or transaction. Such promotions should disclose, at the point of solicitation: (a) the actual or anticipated portion of the purchase price that will benefit the charity (e.g., 5 cents will be contributed to abc charity for every xyz company product sold), (b) the duration of the campaign (e.g., the month of October), (c) any maximum or guaranteed minimum contribution amount (e.g., up to a maximum of $200,000).

Animal Welfare League does not meet this Standard because, in the past year the organization participated in promotion(s) for the sale of consumer good(s) or service(s) that indicate(s) that the organization will benefit from these purchase(s). The promotion(s), however, did not specify:

  • The actual or anticipated amount of the purchase price that will benefit the organization.
In addition, the BBB of Chicago & Northern Illinois requested but did not receive complete information on the organization’s governance and oversight and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following 2Standards for Charity Accountability: 1 and 4.
Animal Welfare League meets the remaining 14 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

The Animal Welfare League was founded in 1935 by compassionate humanitarians to “relieve the suffering among animals.” Today, the League operates two shelters in the Chicago area. Our facilities care for more than 20,000 homeless and abandoned animals each year. Our founding shelter, located on Wabash Avenue in Chicago, receives unwanted and stray animals in an extremely impoverished area of the City. The shelter also conducts cruelty investigations, rescues animals and picks up stray animals in the community. Our state-of-the-art facility in Chicago Ridge is a full-service shelter open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to receive stray animals. This shelter can house more than 600 animals, including dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, ferrets, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, wild and farm animals. Both facilities accept all species of animals who come through its doors. In accordance with our mission, no animal is ever refused. The League believes that all animals deserve a second chance at life with caring and compassionate owners.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, Animal Welfare League's program expenses were:

  
Other 3,011,164
Animal Care Supplies & Main 1,071,395
Supplies 243,016
Utilities 150,823
Repairs & Maint 93,644
Insurance 36,735
Employee Train/Recruit 34,744
Total Program Expenses: $4,641,521
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Governance

              

Chief Executive :
Compensation*:
$65,000

Chair of the Board: Linda Estrada
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: President

Board Size: 8

Paid Staff Size: 99

*Compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.
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Fund Raising

              

Method(s) Used:

direct mail, invitations to fund raising events, print advertisements, grant proposals, internet, planned giving arrangements, cause-related marketing, membership
Fund raising costs were 10% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $822,081, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
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Tax Status

              

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
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Financial

              

The following information is based on Animal Welfare League's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009.

Source of Funds  
Service Income 3,147,060
Contributions/Grants 527,274
Investment Income 364,252
Donated Supplies 243,016
Other 49,607
Special Events 39,791
Donated Services 12,000
Total Income $4,383,000


chart



Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 88%  Fund Raising: 2%  Administrative: 10% 

Total income   $4,383,000
  Program expenses $4,641,521
  Fund raising expenses 79,237
  Administrative expenses 510,923
 
Total expenses   $5,231,681
Expenses in Excess of Income   (848,681)
Beginning net assets   13,585,633
Other Changes in Net Assets (186,358)
Ending net assets   12,550,594
Total liabilities   445,642
Total assets   $12,996,236


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An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

This report is not to be used for fund raising or promotional purposes.

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