SAFE Haven for Cats

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561916620
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Raleigh, NC, US
Phone
919.872.7233
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,810,441
Expenses
$2,245,473
Assets
$825,071
Liabilities
$5,661

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PATTI GODIN (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (TO 7/31/24))
  • KATHLEER WEINER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (8/1/24-3/31/25))
  • COLLEEN BRIDGER (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (BEG 4/14/25))

Highest reported compensation

  • TIFFANY KUTNER (VETERINARIAN): $137,928 total reported compensation
  • PATTI GODIN (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (TO 7/31/24)): $100,660 total reported compensation
  • KATHLEER WEINER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (8/1/24-3/31/25)): $50,556 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To save the lives of cats in the Triangle by providing a no-kill shelter, spay/neuter services, and community programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our safe care, low-cost spay/neuter clinic specializes in helping the public with pets, strays, and feral cats. The goal: to spay and neuter as many cats and kittens as we can every day, to reduce the euthanasia of healthy animals. This past year, the clinic performed 6,825 surgeries on cats from 38 counties in North Carolina, including the sterilization and vaccination of 1,589 feral/community cats. Safe haven helps other rescue groups and shelters to make sure more cats get sterilized before adoption. This past year, they sterilized 2,385 cats and kittens as a vital service to 19 rescue groups and humane societies. Several hundred cats who use the spay/neuter services of the clinic have never been to a veterinarian. Were it not for the availability of these services, many cats would go unneutered, and hundreds of homeless kittens would be born.as a "no kill" shelter, we believe in treating every medical condition we can. Uncontrolled cat population is the number one reason for euthanasia in our state. More than 63,800 animals have been spayed or neutered at our safe care clinic since 2001.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% 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: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -24%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.