Friends of the Animal Shelter of St Joseph Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Friends of the animal shelter of st. Joseph, inc. (fotas) continues its mission to support the st. Joseph animal shelter by funding medical care for animals in need and by assisting in increasing adoption rates for those animals determined to be adoptable. Our collective goal remains to help the shelter maintain a no kill status, defined as a 90% or higher live release rate. In this effort, fotas contributed $89,516 in grants to the shelter for adoption specials to reduce the cost to potential adopters. This helped save 701 animals in 2024. Through continued collaboration between fotas and the st. Joseph animal shelter, notable progress was seen in lifesaving outcomes, particularly for dogs. In 2024, the shelter achieved a 96% live release rate for dogsan improvement from 90% in 2023. This increase is attributed in part to efforts that reduced owner relinquishments by providing alternatives and resources for rehoming. Cat outcomes, however, continue to be challenged by rising intake numbers. The live release rate for cats was 88% in 2023 and 87% in 2024. Despite only a slight decrease, the shelter faced a 59% increase in cat intake and a 70% increase in kitten intake in 2024, resulting in a 66% overall increase in feline intake. Obviously medical care has to be supplied to all the animals that enter the shelter regardless of adoptability. In 2024 fotas continued their support of this necessary service by providing $72,931 of reduced cost veterinary care, other than spay/neuter services. We continue to educate the public through signage, social media posts, weekly tv pet previews, and our own pet previews regarding the need to spay and neuter your pets. We are in our second year of growing our spay it forward program offering free spay and neuter services to individuals who cannot afford spay/neuter costs for their pets. In 2024 we provided $5,406 of grants in the form of spay/neuter veterinarian services for 81 pets under this program. Finally, in february, 2024, we sold the building we had originally acquired for the renovation of a new st joseph shelter. We would use these proceeds, along with our capital campaign funds, to donate to a new shelter being built by the city of st joseph starting in 2025. Further explanation is contained in schedule n, part iii regarding the history behind this event and its current status. We continue to be fully committed to our mission and the goals thereinwe will always be there for the shelter and saving the animals that enter its door.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 54.4%; rating input score 54
• Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
• Fundraising efficiency: $9.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 5.7%; rating input score 6; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• 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: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
  • 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: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 60.6%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.61; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 24.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings