Counting the Contributions: Benchmarking for Your Organization and Your State
Submitted on Apr 08, 2008 (Original item from 2006)
Advocacy Strategies | Companion Animals | General Animal Protection | Animal Advocacy | Charitable Contributions and Volunteering | Data and Statistics | Pet Adoption, Rescue or Shelters
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Short Description:
Shelter statistics show that 13.5 million dogs and cats were euthanized in shelters in 1973, compared with 3-4 million in 2007. Tax and financial data on individual nonprofits and state population totals were used to calculate a per-capita donation figure, used here as benchmarks to assess the level of support for animal protection in each state.
Abstract:
This analysis presents several benchmarks related to the animal sector. Of the 50 states, the most successful in terms of donations per capita are Massachusetts ($9.06), Vermont ($7.28), Colorado ($6.10), and Montana ($5.90).
States with animal welfare-related donations falling below $2 per capita include Alabama ($1.48), Arkansas ($1.56), Georgia ($1.83), Idaho ($1.26), Kentucky ($1.55), Louisiana ($1.39), Mississippi ($1.13), Nevada ($1.18), North Carolina ($1.81), North Dakota ($1.84), Oklahoma ($1.94), South Dakota ($1.75), and Tennessee ($1.67).
The average number of shelters per resident is 1.13 shelters but there are many states which fall above this average, including Arkansas (3.49), Maine (3.86), Montana (3.21), Vermont (7.54), and Wyoming (5.50).
Nationally, shelters raise an average of $4.33 per person, although this drops to $3.48 per year when national groups are excluded. This report concludes that a community of 100,000 people should be donating about $433,000 per year to animal causes to keep up with the national average.
This figure would no doubt be affected by the median household income in a given community and support for animal protection over the years. Competition from other groups in the area might also reduce an organization’s income. Nonetheless, the $4.33 per capita figure provides a useful baseline for shelter managers to examine their performance in raising funds.
[Note: Some points excerpted directly from report]
Spot Check Number:
683
Sponsor:
Animal Sheltering
Animal Type:
Dogs, Cats, Companion Animals
Record Type:
Journal Article
Geographic Region:
United States National
Population Descriptors:
Animal shelters
Year Conducted:
2006
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