Only makes sense to exchange a pet that way, though. The sale of non-livestock animals is forbidden on Craigslist. The intent is, of course, to ensure that the scourge of the Earth known as pet breeders do not use it as free advertising to make a profit from animals.
However, it is perfectly acceptable to request a fee for the necessary veterinary costs associated with the animal you are rehoming. You’ll very often see ads like these.
Most shelters are listed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. An organization can be listed as a non-profit and still provide salaries, contracting fees and other compensation to its members, however. While the organization itself is not for profit, the administration may be profiting. Unfortunately, the largest organizations who receive the most donations are often the worst culprits.
The Anti-Cruelty Society (also known as the Illinois SPCA) based in Chicago paid over $3,000,000 in salaries in 2011. In donations alone ($3,982,051), they received enough income to cover all non-salary expenses ($3,848,660).
While paying salaries for staff in an organization as large as this is perfectly understandable, it becomes a point of profit when examining the tax statements. In 2011, the President and Vice President drew $166,000 and $89,000 in salaries, respectively, with $12,000 and $10,000 in estimated additional compensation (mostly in the form of retirement benefits).
To put it another way, a breeder who sells 100 puppies per year at the price of $500 is still making less than the head of the Anti-Cruelty society (by a factor of 3, without counting the cost of rearing them). And he’s making that money on his own dime, without charitable contributions from the public. Everyone who purchases a puppy from him knows that some of that money is going into his pocket.
Do the people donating to the Anti-Cruelty Society know that 7% of their donation is directly benefitting just two administrative officials?
This isn’t unique to Chicago. There are other humane organizations that report similar salaries. SPCA International, based in New York City, pays their director close to $100,000. 4 other employees make up the remaining of the $250,000 spent on salaries.
The San Diego Humane Society & SPCA is even worse.
None of this is intended to suggest that those working for a shelter should not be compensated. The information is presented to simply point out that some shelter workers do, in fact, profit from the animal trade. If breeders are evil for profiting from animals they raise, breed and care for from their own pockets, those drawing hefty salaries from donations, grants and the “rehoming” of animals should be viewed in the same light.
Not all shelters are like this. While researching Form 990s on local shelters, I found a number of organizations I would happily donate to (and one in particular I will probably be giving my extra dog supplies to). These organizations are made up of people who work an excess of 40 or even 60 hours per week for little to no compensation for the good of the animals. If you’re going to adopt a pet from a shelter, please use these websites to learn about their non-profit status and where the money is going first.
- GuideStar.org will allow you to search for a non-profit in the United States by name, city and state. It will provide you with their EIN. If the shelter is not a registered non-profit (most are, but some are not), you will not be able to view its financials. This doesn’t mean it isn’t a good shelter, it just means you’ll need to evaluate it in other ways.
- Use the EIN (without the dash) to search for the organization’s 990 filings on FoundationCenter’s 990 finder. You can also search by name or location here, but it is more efficient to use the EIN. The 990 form is extremely similar to the 1040 we all lovingly compile each year, and you will be able to get an overview of how needy the rescue is and how well it allocates funds for the good of the animals in its care.