Animal Equality

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472420444
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
4242506236
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,007,506
Expenses
$5,991,664
Assets
$3,149,410
Liabilities
$179,649

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sharon Maria Nunez Gough (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Oliver Davidson (Director): $124,955 total reported compensation
  • Sean Thomas (Director): $119,890 total reported compensation
  • Jose Antonio Valle Blanco (VP & Secreatary): $114,800 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Animal equality is an international organization working with society, governments, and companies to end cruelty to farmed animals.

What it reported doing in 2025

Communications - In 2025, Animal Equalitys Communications and Marketing team achieved strong results across earned media, digital engagement, plant-based outreach, and online fundraising. The team secured nearly 40 earned media mentions highlighting U.S. work, reaching an estimated 17 million people through national, international, and local coverage, including investigative footage aired on CBS and protest coverage by prominent local TV stations. Online fundraising continued to grow, with the number of gifts increasing 129% compared to 2023 and online donation revenue rising 77% over two years. Retention efforts also improved, reducing cancellations by 15% from the first half to the second half of the year and preserving recurring revenue through a new monthly-donor portal, gratitude-focused retargeting ads, enhanced email automation, and post-cancellation recovery messaging. Paid social campaigns generated more than 500,000 online actions, a 49% year-over-year increase. The team also strengthened Animal Equalitys digital programs. Love Veg, the Plant based initiative, saw major growth, reaching 85,000 users, 2x the 2024 audience, and launched an improved, searchable recipe database. Specialized advertising brought in an average of 2,000 new leads per month. In the second half of the year, the team expanded Love Vegs reach by testing display advertising with Community Boost through StackAdapt, placing ads across reputable media and lifestyle websites such as Food Network, The Kitchn, BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, CNN, Vogue, and Southern Living.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 73% for direct work, and 27% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.5%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 11th 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: 0.3%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.5% of revenue deployed · 83.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $125K · 7 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $119K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.