Cats Meow

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
200704049
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Anacortes, WA, USA
Phone
3605889900
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$342,615
Expenses
$351,419
Assets
$438,423
Liabilities
$23,720

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michele Onorato (Executive Director)
  • Kimberly McDermott (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Michele Onorato (Executive Director): $68,440 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Cat's Meow is a cat adoption center in Anacortes, WA. We are dedicated to reducing the number of homeless cats on Fidalgo and Guemes Islands by providing proactive and effective animal welfare services for cats.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, the Cat's Meow admitted 85 cats and kittens and placed 61 cats and kittens in new homes. In addition, 3 cats were returned to their owners, 16 cats were released to feral colonies and 6 cats were euthanized or died due to terminal medical conditions. All cats and kittens adopted from the Cat's Meow are spayed or neutered and microchipped prior to adoption.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - 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: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.6%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $311K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $68K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.