Erie Area Rabbit Society and Rescue (EARS)

Legal name: Erie Area Rabbit Society & Rescue (Ears) Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464647610
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Erie, PA, USA
Phone
(814) 838-9732
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$207,705
Expenses
$100,621
Assets
$1,092,803
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KELLIE CLARK (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • KELLIE CLARK (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID MCGARVEY (VICE PRESIDE)
  • SHANNON ROGERS (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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

EARS is the only rabbit-exclusive shelter in the Erie area. We rescue abandoned and surrendered bunnies. We provide them with a good diet, exercise, vet care, spay/neuter, safety, and love. We provide education on proper bunny care, and adopt to good indoor forever homes. Erie Area Rabbit Society & Rescue (EARS) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the welfare of rabbits. Rabbits are the third most surrendered pet yet most shelters lack the knowledges and/or resources to adequately care for them. Since 2013, EARS has cared for hundreds of domestic rabbits from various backgrounds including surrenders, hoarding situations, cruelty cases, those abandoned outside even left behind in homes when people have moved away. Our shelter is committed to providing the proper care, including medical and spay/neuter, as well as the loving attention that these rabbits need while they...

What it reported doing in 2025

Adoption services: 38 rabbits were adopted in 2025. There were 78 rabbits in the organization's care at 12/31/25. All rabbits are spayed/neutered prior to adoption and vaccinated against rhdv. The rabbits receive veterinary care as medical needs dictate. Generalized care is provided by local veterinarians, while specialized care requires travelling to out-of- state exotic veterinarians. We also provide bunny sitting services as space allows and routine spa days are scheduled to brush and trim nails of adopted rabbits. Ongoing public outreach includes trips to local schools, senior centers, rehabilitation centers, and other community programs to educate the public on the proper care of rabbits.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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 total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.7%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 95.3%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,646.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 98; 98th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 51.6%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.86; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 52.7% of revenue deployed · 95.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $96K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.