Claws and Paws 4 a Cause
Legal name: Claws and Paws for a Cause
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 463215443
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Knoxville, TN, USA
- Phone
- 865-385-0780
- Rating
- 63
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Religion Related N.E.C.
- Affiliation
- Religious (unspecified)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $491,073
- Expenses
- $554,325
- Assets
- $0
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ASHLEY BARNES (PRESIDENT)
- THOMAS SCARBROUGH (VICE PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- ASHLEY BARNES (PRESIDENT)
- THOMAS SCARBROUGH (VICE PRESIDENT)
- GAIL BROWN (SECRETARY)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Claws and Paws 4 a Cause is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of homeless animals by providing high-quality, low-cost spay and neuter services and vaccinations for the community, local rescue groups, and shelters. Claws and Paws 4 a Cause is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of homeless animals. Many of the animals we help care for are looking for loving homes, giving families the opportunity to welcome a healthy, well-cared-for companion into their lives. because we do take in strays and pull animals from other shelters and rescues. Claws and Paws 4 a Cause also provides high-quality, low-cost spay and neuter services and vaccinations to our community, local rescue groups, and shelters.
What it reported doing in 2024
We work with rescue groups by altering dogs, cats, puppies and kittens they have rescued before they find them their forever homes. Thus in doing this we are also helping shelters reduce the stress of being overpopulated as well as reducing the number of euthanasias
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 0
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 91.3%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: Limited
- Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -12.9%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 23.2% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 22.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $63K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 16 of 17 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.