Spay-Neuter Assistance Program Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
760608925
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7138623863
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,177,264
Expenses
$5,215,481
Assets
$1,169,591
Liabilities
$887,345

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Norman W Ritchie (President)
  • Karel Olguin DMV (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Karel Olguin DMV (Executive Director): $162,694 total reported compensation
  • Lauren Dosal DMV (Lead Veterinarian): $141,931 total reported compensation
  • Megan Geiger (Veterinarian): $121,578 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 prevent the suffering and death of companion animals and to enrich the human-animal bond by providing excellent, accessible, and affordable spay/neuter and veterinary care.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Spay-Neuter Assistance Program accomplishes its mission through its programs: The Solution Begins Here, which provides low-cost spay/neuter services; Caring for our Companions, which provides low-cost wellness services; and Empowering People & Pets, which offers subsidized services. See Schedule O for program accomplishments.THE SOLUTION BEGINS HERE (Low-Cost Spay/Neuter) In FY 2025, 23,946 dogs and cats were spayed/neutered through SNAP's publicly offered low-cost spay/neuter program, The Solution Begins Here. These animals represent about 10,000 families whose lives were improved by making spaying/neutering accessible and affordable for their companion animals. Removing hormonal behaviors in these animals has helped improve the human-animal bond, a bond that numerous studies have shown provides tremendous emotional, mental, and physical health benefits for human caregivers.Besides curbing pet overpopulation and preventing the suffering and death of millions of unwanted puppies and kittens, these services have positively impacted public welfare. Public health is improved by reducing the threat and incidence of rabies spread by dogs and decreasing the number of dog bites (disproportionately caused by un-neutered male dogs). Reducing the number of stray animals roaming neighborhoods and the number of carcasses in our landfills creates a safer, cleaner environment.Municipalities and taxpayers have saved money by reducing the number of animals picked up off the streets, impounded, and euthanized in animal control facilities and shelters (nationwide, these expenses are estimated to be as high as $2 billion annually). Reducing the killing of healthy, adoptable dogs and cats has improved community livability standards and public sentiment.CARING FOR OUR COMPANIONS (Low-Cost Wellness) - In FY 2025, 7,170 animals received veterinary care through SNAP's low-cost veterinary wellness program, Caring for Our Companions. SNAP's wellness services include wellness examination, Feline Leukemia & heartworm testing; Rabies, Bordetella, Distemper, Parvo, Canine Influenza, and Feline Leukemia vaccinations & boosters; parasite treatment & prevention; and micro-chipping. In addition to improving the health and well-being of the animals who receive care at SNAP, by making these services accessible and affordable, SNAP is building stronger, happier, and healthier families and providing a public health benefit to our communities.EMPOWERING PEOPLE & PETS (Subsidized Services) - In FY 2025, Empowering People & Pets SNAP's program to provide partially or fully-subsidized spay/neuter and veterinary wellness care to the companion animals of income-qualifying clients provided spay/neuter surgeries and rabies vaccinations for 1,435 dogs and cats. Studies have shown a direct correlation between the likelihood of companion animals being spayed/neutered and family income. Therefore, subsidizing these services for clients who live below the poverty level is striking at the very root of the problem of animal homelessness, abandonment, shelter intake, and euthanasia. The clients (who qualify based on participation in government assistance programs) have been empowered by the opportunity to provide a previously unattainable level of care for their pets, while contributing to the solution of animal overpopulation charitable funding for the program allowed SNAP to subsidize these services.In addition to the immediate financial benefit of free services, these clients could avoid the compounded expenses of future generations of unwanted puppies and kittens. Allowing pets a chance to live their lives free from hormonal urges, preventable diseases, reproductive cancers, and the discomfort and dangers of giving birth. Removing hormonal behaviors in these companion animals has helped improve the human-animal bond. Numerous studies have shown tremendous emotional, mental, and physical health benefits for human caregivers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 84% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: 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: -0.7%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.76; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.5% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $163K · 11 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $205K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.