Pups Without Borders

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
854373524
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Van Nuys, CA, USA
Phone
2135137672
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,373,261
Expenses
$1,078,708
Assets
$374,241
Liabilities
$58

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LIESL JACKSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KRISTEN KAMSLER (PRESIDENT)
  • SARAH SEMLEAR (VICE-PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • EVE BANUELOS (BOARD MEMBER): $73,346 total reported compensation
  • JOANNA DODSON (DIR OF OPERATIONS): $73,331 total reported compensation
  • LIESL JACKSON (VICE PRESIDENT): $66,088 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Pups Without Borders is a 501(c)(3) dog rescue established in March of 2020 when the world was at the peak of chaos. While we rescue dogs of all ages, we specialize in rescuing pregnant and nursing mothers who have been abandoned or are in need of medical help. We provide them a space to give birth, care for their puppies, and recover from a spay in order to help control the pet population with responsible alteration.

What it reported doing in 2025

In January, we supported 200+ families and their pets during the devastating Los Angeles fires, ensuring they had supplies and stability when they needed it most. We also helped 150+ dogs and cats receive spay/neuter services through our community clinics, reducing suffering and preventing future homelessness. 476 dogs rescued 26 dogs received life saving surgeries 422 spay and neuter surgeries We took in 10 pregnant dogs, and had 41 puppies born in our care

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% 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

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 59
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.3%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 21.4%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 78.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.3% of revenue deployed · 90.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $979K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $73K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.