The Anti-Cruelty Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 362179814
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3126448338
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Animal Protection and Welfare
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $15,413,078
- Expenses
- $16,460,550
- Assets
- $59,312,384
- Liabilities
- $1,735,568
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
25 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Darlene Duggan (President)
- Rhett Lindsay (Vice President Mission Advancement)
- Tracy Elliott (Former President)
Highest reported compensation
- Emily Swiniarski (Medical Director): $224,486 total reported compensation
- Darlene Duggan (President): $224,246 total reported compensation
- Tracy Elliott (Former President): $212,607 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Anti-Cruelty is a private, nonprofit organization which was established in 1899 and is chartered in Illinois. Anti-Cruelty builds a healthy and happy community where pets and people thrive together.
What it reported doing in 2024
Shelter Services: Founded in 1899, Anti-Cruelty is Chicago's oldest and largest, private, Open Door animal welfare organization. As an open admission facility we accept animals of all sizes, dispositions, and species, providing food, shelter, and care for animals in need; we rehome animals through transfer partners as well as through our same-day adoption program; we investigate reports of animal neglect, abuse, and injury through our humane investigations; we assist pet owners with behavior concerns and general pet care needs to prevent their relinquishment.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 78% 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: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6.8%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.6; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $12.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $224K · 25 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 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 17/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.