Wisconsin Humane Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
390810533
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4142646257
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,315,860
Expenses
$19,909,422
Assets
$42,419,346
Liabilities
$1,822,495

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALISON FOTSCH (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • MATT WITTE (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALISON FOTSCH (PRESIDENT & CEO): $228,186 total reported compensation
  • MIKE WAMSER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (THRU 04/25)): $177,655 total reported compensation
  • MATT WITTE (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS): $158,772 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 the Wisconsin humane society is to make a difference for animals and the people who love them.

What it reported doing in 2024

Sheltering and animal care - the client services department successfully placed 14,123 dogs, cats and small animals into loving homes. Through its comprehensive adoption program, the counselors work with families to match them with homeless companion animals. They provide follow up and support to new adopters. They also assist callers with information related to training and health issues for their companion animals. The behavior department provided behavior assessments for dogs and cats to determine eligibility for placement in the adoption program. They provided in person and online training in group classes and workshops. They also managed and supported behaviorally challenged dogs and cats through in shelter behavior modification and in home support programs. Our wildlife rehabilitation center is the largest center in the state in terms of annual admits and is one of the largest in the nation. We annually care for over 5,000 injured, sick and orphaned wild animals of about 150 different species. Our goal is to rescue, rehabilitate and return them to the wild.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.7%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 77.9%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 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: -8.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.13; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.7% of revenue deployed · 77.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $15.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $228K · 28 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $653K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.