Karma Cat Rescue Society

Legal name: KARMA CAT & ZEN DOG RESCUE SOCIETY DBA Karma Cat Rescue Society

Overview

Mission

Provide a safe and peaceful haven for homeless, abandoned, or abused animals, and help decrease the number of cats being destroyed in kill shelters through adoption, trap-neuter-return (TNR), and education programs. In 2010, sisters Christie and Michelle Arlotta formed Karma Cat + Zen Dog Rescue Society; an organization that puts a positive light on animal rescue efforts. They knew that they wanted to change the fate of homeless, abandoned, or abused animals, while offering them a safe and peaceful haven during the transition. In 2023, we re-evaluated our strengths along with community needs and rebranded ourselves Karma Cat Rescue Society so we can fully focus on what we do best: cats! Through the help of our leadership and animal care volunteers, board members, donations, and grants, we are able to operate our adoption, trap-neuter-return, and education programs to further our...

What it reported doing in 2025

Outreach Assistance and Education Services. marketing, program materials, assisted animal care (providing medical/food), 1000+ people reached and several local families assisted to keep their pets.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 100% of its reported program work directly.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
272141815
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2022–2025
Website reviewed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2012
Headquarters
Milltown, NJ, United States
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and the website clearly identifies leaders and governance practices. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.4%; rating input score 48
  • Program expense ratio: 48.8%; rating input score 49

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Public monitoring controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public policy transparency: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public financial transparency: 0 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Impact reporting controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Public governance controls: 3 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 75
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.8%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 1.07; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -13.7% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 48.4% of revenue deployed · 48.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 5 filed program accomplishments · $81K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 annual filings from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.