Where Does $100 to the ASPCA Go?

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) works to ensure the safety and protection of animals through a variety of programs. With enormous public support – The ASPCA raises approximately $200 million annually – the ASPCA provides community outreach, public education, communication, and animal care services throughout the United States.

The ASPCA is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) which means the organization primarily relies on public financial support and therefore has to file and make publicly available an IRS Form 990 annually. This “form” is actually a tax return that provides detailed financial information on revenue, expenses, fundraising, executive compensation, assets, liabilities and more. In 2015, the 94-page ASPCA reported the following key pieces of information:

The organization has 1,053 employees of which 128 received more than $100,000 in compensation.

The ASPCA raised $207 million of which $183 million (88% of revenue) came from contributions, gifts, fundraising, and campaigns, $16 million (8% of revenue) from program service fees, and $8 million (4% of revenue) from investment income, royalties, sale of assets, and miscellaneous sources.

Expenses totaled $185 million (not including depreciation) and can be looked at two ways:  by four broad categories (program, management, fundraising, and grants) or by specific line item which provides more detail.

Expenses by Category (Program Management, Fundraising, Grants)

The $185 million in total expenses were categorized as follows:

• $121 million (58% of revenue):  Program Services
• $ 39 million (19% of revenue):  Fundraising
• $ 10 million (5% of revenue):  Management
• $ 15 million (7% of revenue):  Grants

As illustrated above, the ASPCA spent $185 million or 89% of the revenue raised.  Utilizing the above information, a $100 donation was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 58:  Program Services

-$ 19:  Fundraising

-$  5:  Management

-$ 82:  Subtotal of Program, Fundraising, and Management Expenses

$  18:  Amount Remaining

-$  7:  Grants

$ 11:  Amount Remaining – To Fund Balance

Expenses by Specific Line Item

The $185 million in expenses were categorized in the following specific line item categories:

• $ 74 million (36% of revenue):  Salaries, Compensation, Benefits, Pension, Payroll Taxes
• $ 32 million (15% of revenue):  Advertising and Promotion
• $ 28 million ($14% of revenue:  Operating Supplies, Vet and Medical Services, Repair and Maintenance, Transport
• $ 20 million (10% of revenue):  Office, IT, Occupancy, Insurance
• $  9 million (4% of revenue):  Other Expenses (no detail provided)
• $  4 million (2% of revenue):  Travel, Meetings,and Conferences
• $  3 million (1% of revenue):  Accounting, Lobbying, Legal, Fundraising, and Investment Fees
• $ 15 million (7% of revenue):  Grants

Utilizing the above information, a $100 donation was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 36:  Salaries, Compensation, Benefits, Pension, Payroll Taxes

-$ 15:  Advertising and Promotion

-$ 14:  Operating Supplies, Vet and Medical Services, Repair and Maintenance, and Transport

-$ 10:  Office, IT, Occupancy, Insurance

-$   4:  Other Expenses (no detail provided)

-$  2:  Travel, Meetings, and Conferences

–$  1:  Accounting, Lobbying, Legal, Fundraising, and Investment Fees

-$ 82: Subtotal of Expenses

$  18:  Amount Remaining

-$  7:  Grants

$ 11:  Amount Not Spent – To Fund Balance

More detailed information on executive compensation, fundraising, payments to outside contractors, grants, assets and liabilities are summarized as follows:

Executive Compensation

The 15 highest compensated employees are:

• $542,411:  Mathew Berdshaker, President and CEO (includes  $100,000 bonus)
• $345,520:  Elizabeth Estroff, SVP Communications
• $344,382:  Todd Hendricks, SVP Development and Marketing
• $324,464:  Jed Rogers, III, DVM, SVP Animal Health Services
• $323,979:  Louise A Murray, VP ASPCA Animal Hospital
• $315,778:  Julie Morries, SVP Community Outreach
• $313,871:  J’Mai Gayle, Director of Surgery
• $312,414:  Stephen J Musso, EVP Capital Projects
• $305,746:  Sarah Levin Goodstine, SVP Operations
• $275,656:  Nancy Perry, SVP Government Relations
• $268,723:  Randall Lockwood, SVP Forensic Sciences
• $264,950:  Stacy Wolf, SVP Anti-Cruelty
• $254,325:  Beverly Jones, SVP and CLO
• $251,197:  Johanna Richman, SVP and CFO
• $236,917:  Bert Troughton, SVP Strategy Management

As listed above, a total of $4.7 million was given in compensation to the 15 employees listed.

Fundraising

The ASPCA utilizes a variety of fundraising methods including events, internet, mail, e-mail, phone, and in-person solicitations along with solicitation of grants. The three highest paid organizations used for fundraising were:

• Donor Services Group:  raised $7.8 million, compensated $1.2 million (15%), netting the ASPCA $6.6 million
• Telefund:  raised $7.4 million and compensated  $724,953 (10%) , netting the ASPCA $6.7 million.
• Strategic Fundraising, Inc.:  raised $1.6 million and compensated $12,604 (1%), netting the ASPCA $1.6 million

The ASPCA also held 4 major fundraising events in which $2.6 million was raised of which $1.5 million were contributions. After deducting rental facility, food, beverage, entertainment, and other expenses (totaling nearly $900,000), the ASPCA netted about $200,000.

Payments to Outside Contractors

The five highest paid contractors were:

• $18.6 million:  Eagle-Com, Inc. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada for media broadcast
• $ 8.5 million:  True North, Inc. (New York, NY) for media placement
• $ 7.8 million:  Cigna (Hartford, CT) for health insurance (an average of $7,400 per employee)
• $ 3.8 million:  Patton Kiehl (Thornburg, VA) for data processing
• $3.4 million:  SMS Direct, Inc. (Manassas, VA) for printing services

Grants

The ASPCA awarded 1,077 grants in 2015 to animal welfare organizations in the United States, of which 274 were cash grants greater than $5,000 that were primarily made to assist in spay/neuter, anti-cruelty, relocation, safety net-surrender, equine, and live release programs.

Assets

The ASPCA reports total assets of $247 million dollars comprised of:

• $155 million:  Cash, Investments and Liquid Assets
• $ 51 million:  Land, Buildings, Improvements, and Equipment
• $ 20 million:  Pledges and Accounts Receivable
• $ 19 million:  Beneficial Interest in Trust
• $  2 million:  Prepaid Expenses

Liabilities

The ASPCA reports $33 million in total liabilities:

• $16 million:  Accounts and Grants Payable
• $17 million:  Deferred Rent, Annuity Obligations, Unfunded Pension Obligations, Loans Payable

Net Fund Assets

At the beginning of 2015, the ASPCA had $207 million in net fund assets. After raising $207 million in revenue and deducting $185 million in expenses, $8 million in unrealized losses on investments, and $7 million in other changes and depreciation, the organization had $214 million in net fund assets, most of which is highly liquid and unrestricted ($141 million).

To read the 2015 IRS Form 990, click here.