April 2024
The Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) are two of the country’s most prominent humane organizations. The two groups raised over $530 million in revenue in 2022 with ads featuring pets in need of donor financial support.
But just how much of that $530 million actually trickles down to local pet shelters? We looked at the most recently available (2022) tax documents for the two organizations and found that only a small fraction of their total budgets made it to pet shelters.
- The ASPCA raised $376 million in 2022, and had a $340 million budget. Less than 2% of that total actually made it to local pet shelters through financial grants.
- The ASPCA did not report financial grants to a single shelter in 23 states.
- The Humane Society of the United States raised $157 million in 2022 and spent $167 million dollars that year. Less than 1% of this made it to local pet shelters through financial grants.
- The Humane Society of the United States did not report a single financial grant to shelters in 32 states and Washington DC.
