North Shore Animal League America

Legal name: North Shore Animal League America Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
111666852
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Port Washington, NY, US
Phone
(516) 883-7575
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$46,442,949
Expenses
$50,863,767
Assets
$61,529,733
Liabilities
$7,357,357

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • J JOHN STEVENSON (PRESIDENT/CE)

Highest reported compensation

  • J JOHN STEVENSON (PRESIDENT/CE): $522,262 total reported compensation
  • MARK VERDINO (SNR VP & CHI): $251,602 total reported compensation
  • JILL BURKHARDT (SNR VP OF DE): $251,464 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We are the world's largest and longest running no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pet rescue and adoption: north shore animal league america operates the largest "no kill" animal adoption center in the world. We are a world leader in setting best practices for adoption. We adopt dogs, cats, puppies and kittens from our port washinton, ny headquarters and facilitate tens of thousands of adoptions each year working with our network of over 2,000 shelter partners. The league conducts an international pet adoptathon where shelters across the world join us in staying open for 36 consecutive hours to adopt as many animals as possible and a tour for life where mobile units rescue and adopt animals from shelters. The league has adopted out over 1.2 million animals across the country since its inception in 1944. The mutt-i-grees initiative was implemented nationally by the league as a key element in increasing shelter pet adoptions in an effort to elevate mixed breed dogs to a higher status in the eyes of potential adopters. Our adopters are asked to add their newly adopted pet as well as any other shelter rescue pets that they have own to our mutt-i-grees registry. This included them as part of the mutt-i-grees community, which elevates the value of all mutt-i-grees (shelter and rescued animals) to reduce animal cruelty.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 80.9%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 17th 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: -9.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.21; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 92% of revenue deployed · 80.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $41.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $522K · 18 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $640K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.