Where Does $100 to the ASPCA Go (2023)?

If you donated $100 to the ASPCA in 202 and want to know how your donation was spent, know:

• $57 went to pay staff, office-related expenses, travel and conferences.
• $28 went to pay advertising and promotion and fees for outside services, including professional fundraisers.
• $6 out of every $100 was spent on veterinary services, operating supplies, and grants to other non-profits whose mission is to help protect animals.
• $3 out of every $100 was spent on miscellaneous expenses leaving $4 unspent and allocated to the organization’s general fund (which had nearly $500 million at year-end).

The ASPCA is one of the most widely recognized non-profits focused on animal welfare in the country. Founded in 1866, the ASPCA has been around for more than 150 years.  As is the case with most non-profits, the issue isn’t whether the ASPCA does good things (they do) but  whether they could do more or better with the public support they receive (they could).

In the most general terms, the ASPCA raises about $400 million annually and has more than $550 million in net assets (yes, a half billion dollars). The organization has about 1,400 employees and counts compensation for these employees ($151 million) as its single largest expense.

The Form 990 (2023) submitted to the IRS reports the ASPCA raised $379 million (compared to $376 million in 2022 and $390 million in 2021), most of which ($338 million or 89%) came from contributions, gifts, and grants.

Expenses totaled $355 million (including $7 million in depreciation) leaving $24 million added to the general fund that had a year-end balance of $553 (compared to $488 million in 2022) primarily because of $39 million in unrealized gains on investments.

Expenses can be viewed two ways:  by broad general category (i.e. grants, program services, management and general expenses, and fundraising) or by specific line item categories (i.e. compensation, office-related, travel and conferences, fees for services, grants, etc). Each is beneficial with the latter approach providing more detail on how revenue was spent.

Expenses by Broad General Category

The $355 million (94% of revenue) in expenses were categorized as follows:

• $260 million (69% of revenue):  Program Services
• $ 70 million (18% of revenue):  Fundraising
• $ 18 million (5% of revenue):  Management and General Expenses
• $  7 million (2% of revenue):  Grants

As illustrated above, program services used 69% of revenue while fundraising, management, and general expenses used 18% of revenue. Grants – $7 million or just 2% of revenue – were to domestic animal welfare organizations. The ASPCA made  grants larger than $5,000 to 185 non-profit 501 (c) (3)’s and  5 to other organizations. In total, the ASPCA spent $94 out of every $100 on expenses with the remaining 6% allocated to the general fund.

Most grants were to other animal organizations who provide spay/neuter services, live release services, equine services, relocation services, anti-cruelty campaigns. The 12 largest grant recipients were:

• $750,000:  Animal Care Center of NYC, NYC, NY
• $200,000:  Dogs Playing For Life, of Longmont, CO
• $193,074:  Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society, of Menands, NY
• $150,000:  Fixnation, of LA, CA
• $150,000:  Mission Animal Hospital, of Eden Prairie, MN
• $145,549:  Animal Protective Foundation of Schenectady, NY
• $120,000:  Trustees of the University of PA, of Kennett Square, PA
• $117,500:  NY State Animal Protection Federation Education Fund, of Albany, NY
• $108,000:  SPCA of Texas, of Dallas, TX
• $100,000:  University of Tennessee, of Knoxville, TN
• $100,000:  Pets are Wonderful Support, of New York, NY
• $100,000:  Jefferson County SPCA, of Watertown, NY

Expenses by Specific Line Item Category

The $355 million in expenses (94% of revenue) were categorized as follows:

• $151 million (40% of revenue): Compensation
• $ 61 million (16% of revenue):  Advertising/Promotion (does not include fundraiser fees)
• $ 55 million (15% of revenue):  Office-Related Expenses
• $ 47 million (12% of revenue):  Fees for Services (non-employee)
• $ 16 million (4% of revenue):  Veterinary and Medical Services/Operating Supplies
• $ 11 million (3% of revenue):  Miscellaneous and Other Expenses
• $  7 million (2% of revenue):  Grants
• $  7 million (2% of revenue):  Travel and Conferences

Compensation is the largest expense for the ASPCA with $151 million in compensation provided to 1,432 employees, making the average compensation $105,000.  The most highly compensated employee was the President and CEO, Matt Bershadker who received $1,203,267.

Advertising and Promotion is the third largest expense at $56 million (and does not include fees paid to professional fundraisers). Office-related exposes totaled $55 million.  $39 million was spent on fees for services with 138 organizations receiving more than $100,000 in compensation.  The five largest recipients were reported to be:

• $29 million:  Eagle-Com, Inc, of Toronto, Canada for “donor acquisition”
• $18 million:  Laughlin Constable, Inc, of Milwaukee, WI for “donor acquisition”
• $18 million:  Ascenta Group, of NY, NY for “donor engagement”
• $ 8  million:  Goggle, of San Francisco, CA for  “donor acquisition”
• $ 5 million:  SMS Direct, of Manassas, VA for “donor acquisition”

As illustrated above, the ASPCA spent $78 million (or 21% of total revenue) on “donor acquisition” or “donor engagement”  (which are fundraising expenses) with the cost of the 5 most highly compensated independent organizations exceeding total fundraising expenses ($70 million) reported on the Form 990 which indicates total fundraising expenses are underreported on the Form 990.

Using the above information, every $100 in revenue was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 40:  Compensation

-$ 16:  Advertising and Promotion

-$ 15:  Office-Related Expenses

-$ 12:  Fees for Services

-$  2:  Travel and Conferences

-$  3:  Miscellaneous Expenses

-$ 88:  Subtotal: Compensation, Advertising, Office, Fees for Services, Travel and Misc

  $ 12:  Revenue Remaining

-$  2:  Grants

-$  4:  Veterinary Services and Operating Supplies

-$  6: Subtotal:  Grants and Veterinary Services and Operating Supplies

 $  6:  Revenue Remaining:  To General Fund

As illustrated above, $57 out of every $100 was used to compensate employees, pay office-related expenses, travel and conferences.  An additional $28 was used to pay for advertising and promotion and fees for outside services.  $6 out of every $100 went towards grants and veterinary services and operating supplies.  The ASPCA spent more on advertising and promotion ($16 out of every $100) than on grants, veterinary services, and operating supplies ($6 out of every $100). And, the ASPCA in 2023 spent less on grants/veterinary services and operating supplies ($23 million) than they put ($24 million) in the general fund (which already had more than $500 million in net assets).

A Note on Fundraisers

The ASPCA raises funds by mail, e-mail, internet, and phone solicitations. In addition, the organization also uses in-person solicitation, solicits for grants (non-gov’t and gov’t), and holds special fundraising events. The 5 highest paid fundraisers in 2023 were reported to be:

• SD&A Teleservices raised $11 million, retained $1.4 million, netting the ASPCA $9.6 million
• Ascenta Group raised $15.9 million, was paid $18.4 million, costing the ASPCA $2.5 million
• New Canvassing Experience raised $2.9 million and was paid $3.2 million, costing the ASPCA $300,000
• Knewsales Group, Inc. raised $4.6 million, was paid $4.9 million, costing the ASPCA $300,000
• 3Sixty, of Brooklyn NY raised $2.6 million, was paid $2.9 million, costing the ASPCA $300,000

In summary, the five (5) most highly compensated fundraisers raised $37 million but were compensated $31 million, netting the ASPCA $6 million.

If you want your donation to go further, DO NOT respond to telemarketers; give directly to an organization, but you may also want to ask yourself if the ASPCA is spending enough on animal welfare?

In addition, it is important to note the ASPCA has $550 million in net assets yet the organization spends less than $23 million annually on veterinary services, medical supplies, and grants.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2023) for the ASPCA, click here.