Shelter Outreach Services

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
061697719
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Ithaca, NY, USA
Phone
6075928892
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,799,112
Expenses
$1,269,600
Assets
$1,639,619
Liabilities
$52,847

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRIAN COLLINS (PRESIDENT)
  • LESLIE APPEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LESLIE APPEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $221,300 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN COLLINS (PRESIDENT): $5,400 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTY CABLE (DIRECTOR): $240 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide low cost spay and neuter services to animals of low income families and homeless animals

What it reported doing in 2024

Sos sterilized over 14,500 animals in 2024. The animals sterilized were animals in need including shelter dogs and cats, barn cats, feral cats, dogs and cats from rescue groups and dogs and cats from families of low income. Sos provided access to veterinary care for these animal populations who would otherwise not have received veterinary services. In august 2018, sos expanded its services and now has the ability to have two teams on the road on any given day, allowing sos to meet the need and requests for high quality high volume spay neuter in our region. Sos is now able to hold 40-45 clinics per month as needed (up from 30 clinics per month). Sos is a model program on a national level and serves a large regional area in nys. Sos provides service for 10+ counties in the finger lakes, central ny and southern tier regions and beyond. Sos also has a teaching collaboration with the cornell university college of veterinary medicine, where the veterinary students join sos to gain hands-on surgical experience and experience with hqhvsn and shelter medicine. Since program inception in 2003, sos has sterilized more than 228,000 animals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 63% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 71
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $25.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th 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: 29.4%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.29; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $221K · 5 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 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: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.