BBB Wise Giving Report for
Alley Cat Allies

BBB Wise Giving Report issued February 2008
BBB Wise Giving Report expires February 2010


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: Alley Cat Allies
Address: 7920 Norfolk Avenue, Suite 600
  Bethesda, MD 20814-2525
Phone: 240-482-1980
Web Address: www.alleycat.org
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1991, Delaware
Affiliates: none

Stated Purpose: "to advocate for non-lethal methods to reduce outdoor cat populations."

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

Alley Cat Allies (ACA) does not meet the following 2Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 4: Compensated Board Members - Not more than one or 10% (whichever is greater) directly or indirectly compensated person(s) serving as voting member(s) of the board. Compensated members shall not serve as the board's chair or treasurer.

  • ACA does not meet this Standard since the paid chief executive officer (CEO) also serves as the chair of the board.

Standard 12: Detailed Functional Breakdown of Expenses - Include in the financial statements a breakdown of expenses (e.g., salaries, travel, postage, etc.) that shows what portion of these expenses was allocated to program, fund raising, and administrative activities. If the charity has more than one major program category, the schedule should provide a breakdown for each category.

  • ACA does not meet this Standard because the detailed functional breakdown of expenses within the organization's financial statements only included one program service category. It did not include a detailed breakdown of expenses for each of its major program activities (i.e. public policy, direct care for animals, etc. )
Alley Cat Allies (ACA) meets the remaining 18Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

ACA promotes and provides education on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) a non-lethal method to reduce outdoor cat populations. TNR is a management plan in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns and rural areas are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Kittens and social cats are adopted into good homes. Healthy feral cats are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of volunteers. ACA is an educational organization which provides instructional materials to feral (outdoor) cat caregivers, veterinarians, animals control agencies and humane shelters, municipalities and public officials, and the general public. ACA consults directly with agencies and individuals developing non-lethal feral cat policies. Furthermore, ACA educates and serves people and feral cats in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam, in addition to 69 countries including Japan, Turkey, Israel, Romania, and the United Kingdom. Some ($790,411 or 22%) of ACA's program activities are conducted in conjunction with fund raising appeals.

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2007, ACA's program expenses were:

  
Program services 3,551,547
Total Program Expenses: $3,551,547
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Donna M. Wilcox, Executive Director
Compensation*:
$82,360

Chair of the Board: Donna M. Wilcox
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Executive Director of Alley Cat Allies

Board Size: 7

Paid Staff Size: 20

*August 1, 2005 - July 31, 2006 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, print advertisements, grant proposals, Internet appeals, planned giving, cause-related marketing, and CFC/workplace campaign.
Fund raising costs were 9% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $4,119,627, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
ACA incurred joint costs of $1,091,085 for informational materials and activities that included fund raising materials. Of those costs $790,411 was allocated to program expenses and $300,674 was allocated to fund raising expenses.
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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 ACA's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2007:

Source of Funds  
Contributions and donations 3,103,933
Legacies and bequests 708,229
Federated and non-federated campaigns 246,402
Net realized and unrealized losses on investments 159,398
Investment and royalty income 90,066
Grants and foundations 61,063
Rental income 59,225
Merchandise sales 56,946
Other income 40,149
Loss on disposition of assets -276
Costs of goods sold -31,825
Total Income $4,493,310


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Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 84%  Fund Raising: 8%  Administrative: 8% 

Total income   $4,493,310
  Program expenses $3,551,547
  Fund raising expenses 360,287
  Administrative expenses 325,785
 
Total expenses   $4,237,619
Income in Excess of Expenses   255,691
Beginning net assets   2,074,363
Ending net assets   2,330,054
Total liabilities   371,452
Total assets   $2,701,506


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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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