BBB Wise Giving Report for
Alley Cat Allies

BBB Wise Giving Report issued May 2012
BBB Wise Giving Report expires May 2014


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 transform and develop communities to protect and improve the lives of cats."

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Evaluation Conclusions

               

Alley Cat Allies (ACA) does not meet the following 5 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Standard 1: Oversight of Operations and Staff - Organizations shall have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity's operations and its staff. Indication of adequate oversight includes, but is not limited to, regularly scheduled appraisals of the CEO's performance, evidence of disbursement controls such as board approval of the budget, fund raising practices, establishment of a conflict of interest policy, and establishment of accounting procedures sufficient to safeguard charity finances.

ACA does not meet this Standard because its board of directors does not:

  • Review the performance of the chief executive officer at least once every two years.

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 because:

  • 2 members out of the 5 member board of directors (40%) are compensated directly. One of the compensated board members is the chair of the organization.

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.

ACA does not meet this Standard because:

  • The board of directors does not have a written policy stating that, at least every two years, an appraisal be done assessing the organization’s performance and effectiveness and determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Standard 14: Budget - Have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year, outlining projected expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration.

ACA does not meet this Standard because, when the organization provided budget information, it indicated that the budget:

  • Did not identify total projected fund raising expenses.
  • Did not identify total projected administrative expenses.
  • Did not breakdown expenses by major program categories (i.e. law and policy, education and awareness, etc.)

Standard 16: Annual Report - Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.

ACA does not meet this Standard because the 2011 annual report did not include:

  • Total expenses for each program in the same categories that appear in the organization’s financial statements.
In addition, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance requested but did not receive complete information on the organization’s finances and solicitation materials and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following 3 Standards for Charity Accountability: 8, 13, and 15.
ACA meets the remaining 12 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

               

Through advocacy campaigns, ACA works with grass-root rescue groups and individual caregivers to fight against feeding bans and other ordinances that endanger cats. The organization reports operating and maintaining a feral friends network of 2,000 individuals and organizations who are involved with issues relating to the management of feral cat colonies. ACA has also developed a network of veterinarians who are willing to neuter and treat feral cats, often at a discount and thus provide referral service for caregivers (many of whom are low or fixed income) with feral cats who require treatment. The organization publishes and distributes fact sheets on topics related to feral cats and it also publishes a quarterly newsletter, “Alley Cat Action.” Through ACA’s shelter and animal control program, the organization reaches out to shelters in order to promote nonlethal feral cat programs. ACA also helps shelters and animal control agencies to implement nonlethal feral cat control programs that strive to effectively solve the overpopulation crisis in a cost effective way. The organization reports that it offers free consultation to animal control agencies and humane societies across the United States in order to facilitate the implementation of trap-neuter-return method of feral cat population control. Some ($710,968 or 18%) of ACA's program activities are conducted in conjunction with fund raising appeals.

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2011, ACA's program expenses were:

  
Humane care and outreach 2,876,571
Education and awareness 766,162
Law and policy 293,438
Total Program Expenses: $3,936,171
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Governance

               

Chief Executive : Rebecca R. Robinson, President
Compensation*:
 $134,714

Highest Paid Executive: Donna M. Wilcox, Vice President
Compensation*: $139,650

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

Board Size: 5

Paid Staff Size: 30

*August 1, 2010 - July 31, 2011 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, and membership appeals.
Fund raising costs were 12% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $5,903,254, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
ACA incurred joint costs of $1,105,350 for informational materials and activities that included fund raising materials. Of those costs, $710,968 was allocated to program expenses and $394,382 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, 2011.

Source of Funds  
Contributions and donations 4,180,374
Legacies and bequests 1,414,806
Federated and nonfederated campaigns 288,784
Investment and royalty income 63,356
Merchandise sales 45,042
Grants and foundations 19,290
Other income 15,761
Net realized and unrealized losses on investments -927
Cost of goods sold -29,823
Total Income $5,996,663


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Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 77%  Fund Raising: 14%  Administrative: 9% 

Total income   $5,996,663
  Program expenses $3,936,171
  Fund raising expenses 722,887
  Administrative expenses 440,448
 
Total expenses   $5,099,506
Income in Excess of Expenses   897,157
Beginning net assets   3,767,613
Ending net assets   4,664,770
Total liabilities   332,159
Total assets   $4,996,929


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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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