The Arizona Animal Welfare League

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237149453
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6022736852
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,541,721
Expenses
$6,735,929
Assets
$24,130,117
Liabilities
$655,766

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALESSANDRA S NAVIDAD (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALESSANDRA S NAVIDAD (PRESIDENT/CEO): $190,490 total reported compensation
  • TIFFANY SMITH (MEDICAL DIRECTOR): $153,652 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of aawl/spca is to provide excellent care, protection, and loving compassion for the life of the animals entrusted to us and to take a leadership role in promoting humane values for the benefit of all animals and people. Aawl operationalizes this mission (see sch. O) the mission of aawl/spca is to provide excellent care, protection, and loving compassion for the life of the animals entrusted to us and to take a leadership role in promoting humane values for the benefit of all animals and people. Aawl operationalizes this mission by providing veterinary care, behavioral support, food and shelter for homeless dogs and cats. We spay, neuter, micro-chip and vaccinate all pets and then find them permanent, loving homes. We also offer a full-range of services for community members, including dog training, and pride ourselves in leveraging the time and talents of over 500 volunteers and 150 fosters who help us care for our animals and assist with all aspects of shelter operations.

What it reported doing in 2024

At any given time, approximately 140 cats and 190 dogsare receiving care at aawl saving upwards of 4,000 animals every year. The heart of our adoptions program is built on strategic partnerships with a network of rural and urban shelters across Arizona. We've built strong, lasting relationships with all our rescue partners and recognize the unique challenges each of them face, from limited capacity to a lack of resources for complex medical or behavioral care. Our in-house veterinary team ensures each dog and cat receives routine medical care, and as needed, specialized surgeries, to improve their health and quality of life. Our behavior team assesses each animal and develops a personalized behavior care plan, if needed. This helps the animal overcome any undesirable behaviors before adoption, increasing the success of finding a forever family.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.7%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 21.1%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.58; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.7% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $190K · 14 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.