Best Friends Animal Society

Overview

Mission

To end the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters

What it reported doing in 2024

Initiatives, program cities, emergency response, network partners and other national outreach - see schedule o

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 88% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237147797
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Kanab, UT, USA
Phone
435-708-3387
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.3%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 76.2%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.9%; rating input score 92; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 63.6%; rating input score 64; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.11; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 7 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 80.3% of revenue deployed · 76.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $133.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $554K · 26 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 437 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 421 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Julianne Castle (Board Member/Chief Executive Officer): $553,886 total reported compensation
  • Stephen Howell (Chief Operating and Financial Officer): $501,936 total reported compensation
  • Susan Citro (Chief Experience Officer): $324,059 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.