A CBS News report last week chided the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) for its fundraising expenses and top executive salary and for misleading donors.
The oldest animal charity in the U.S. raised $280 million in 2019. On its website, ASPCA claims that 77 percent of its fundraising income supports the group’s mission which is to protect and care for animals in need through relocation, advocacy, training, legislative and veterinary services.
CBS’s review of ASPCA tax records for 2019 revealed how funds were disbursed. For every $19 per month donation to the group, about $8 (42 percent) was allocated to hands-on help; $7 (37 percent) to “public education and policy” (including telemarketing and direct mailings); $3.50 (18 percent) to other fundraising and $.50 (about 3 percent) for management/salaries.
Since their debut more than a decade ago, ASPCA’s heart-wrenching TV ads have tripled revenue and doubled staff. Between 2008 and 2019, ASPCA raised about $2 billion. About $146 million (7 percent) was handed out as grants/assistance while $421 million (21 percent) was spent on fundraising. In 2019, ASPCA CEO Matt Bershadker made $840K, more than the CEO of the Red Cross, an organization 10 times the size of ASPCA.
“The big question is: Is there a big disconnect between what donors are putting money into and what that money is being invested in,” asked Brian Mittendorf, professor of non-profit accounting at Ohio State University.
Adding to the confusion is the popular misconception that local SPCAs are affiliated with the national ASPCA and are therefore funded by it. The SPCA was founded in England in 1824 to protect carriage horses from cruelty. It is considered a humane society. SPCA has since established chapters internationally (including the U.S.), expanded its mission to include companion animals and subsists on government and private funding. The ASPCA was founded in New York City in 1866 to stem animal cruelty in the U.S. It is considered a welfare organization and operates via private funding. Local SPCAs are highly critical of ASPCA for not doing enough to dispel the myth that they are an umbrella organization.
“It’s frustrating . . . that the bulk of our staff time is spent trying to explain the difference between national and local,” said Jo Sullivan, former Executive VP of the ASPCA who is now Executive Director for SPCA Houston. “We need our donors and the people in our community to know where their money is going.”
Gary Rogers, Nassau County, NY, SPCA Board President was more blunt: “I don’t know how they can put their head on a pillow at night . . . We receive no money from them at all.”
CBS reached out to more than two dozen local SPCAs across the U.S. A few reportedly received grants from ASPCA for a few thousand dollars, each in response to applications they submitted.
In our December 15, 2019, blog, Rescue Legacy compared three major U.S. pet charities based on metrics outlined by the watchdog group, Charity Navigator (CN). At the time, ASPCA rated a 5/10 for fundraising efficiency. Its current rating on this metric is unchanged. However, the group rates poorly at 2.5/10 for fundraising expenses.
CN gave ASPCA a 97/100 rating for accountability and transparency, though the CBS report questions the group’s integrity. ASPCA officials declined to comment on CBS’s investigation but cited their own 2017 survey claiming that 84 percent of ASPCA donors also donated to a local animal charity. However, the survey did not ask whether people understood that local organizations with SPCA in their name were not affiliated in any way with the national ASPCA.
Sullivan said that, as an animal lover, one must ask oneself, “Do the animals in my community get my donor dollars or my volunteer time and is it going to change what I want it to change in my community.”