Anybody Donate to the ASPCA?

I do a lot of TNR on my properties and I pay for it out of pocket.  (I'm a regional manager for a apartment management firm.)

I can afford it and I think it's the right thing to do.  It certainly alleviates a lot of suffering and that right there has sort of become my goal in life.

But I was also thinking about giving a small monthly gift of, say, twenty-five bucks to the ASPCA.

Is this ASPCA the best recipient though?

Does anyone know of a more worthy one?

Your local shelter would be a better recipient. The ASPCA does a lot of good work but they don't support local shelters. Everyone sees the heart-rending ads and gives their money to the big organizations like HSUS and ASPCA, and forget about their local shelters.

I donate to the local shelter where I adopted my girl and sometimes to a small rescue group in Texas who give a permanent home to senior kitties and kitties with disabilities which make it so they have a hard time getting adopted.

I also donate to a local rescue.  The ASPCA is a good organization but like any national organization more money goes to advertising and administrative functions then it does with a local rescue.  

I donate monthly to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah; the Connecticut Humane Society; ASPCA; HSUS. I also donate $100 annually for an elephant sanctuary in East Africa. As I find new places to help, I will donate to them also.

Willowy said:

Your local shelter would be a better recipient. The ASPCA does a lot of good work but they don't support local shelters. Everyone sees the heart-rending ads and gives their money to the big organizations like HSUS and ASPCA, and forget about their local shelters.

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I couldn't agree more!   We donate to our local shelters also, especially the ones where we adopted our animals.   

I also donate to the local shelters.

I donate to the rescue that we got Cocoabean from, and some others which I know are trustworthy.

I do send ASPCA money but not regularly by any means.

Local shelter, or find out if there is a local TNR chapter near you.  You may be able to locate one by asking on craigslist, or doing a search online.  Seems like a TNR program would be right in your line!

If your local shelter is run by the city, I think money is not as good an idea as items - food, pet beds, etc.  City shelters need to fight for budget funds and cash donations in some places throw off their funding.  All depends on the city.

I used to also donate to ASPCA, HSUS - back in the days before I had my own menagerie of rescues!  And as an attorney, I worked with the legal dept. at HSUS several times on pro bono work; they were always very helpful, supportive, willing to share all their research, and would step in and file an amicus brief in some cases.  So I never have had the negative view of HSUS which some have -- and I agree they do have reasons for their view.  Some of the ads really do seem deceptive, IMO.  It's just my experience that kept me donating to them.

Now that I have all these rescues, the only donating I do is when I clear out old sheets, bedding, comforters, rather than toss them I give them to the local shelter.

AbbysMom said:

I also donate to the local shelters.

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I would if I had one. Though I live in one of the poorest cities in America nobody really cares about all the stray cats here. Inertia, apathy, who knows. Closest shelter is on the other side of the CT River. We use them for all our rescues. Used to support them on a monthly basis, but they had my Looby Loo improperly spayed & it cost me $700 to remedy the situation. Decided to end the monthly donation for a while. When we use them for a rescue, I donate very generously still.

Personally, I would donate to your local shelter or rescue as you know where your money is going.

Primula said:

I would if I had one. Though I live in one of the poorest cities in America nobody really cares about all the stray cats here. Inertia, apathy, who knows. Closest shelter is on the other side of the CT River. We use them for all our rescues. Used to support them on a monthly basis, but they had my Looby Loo improperly spayed & it cost me $700 to remedy the situation. Decided to end the monthly donation for a while. When we use them for a rescue, I donate very generously still.

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Well I certainly can understand your position.  That's ashame, they should have remedied whatever was wrong.  (Off topic)

Here is the link to Alley Cat Allies, you can put in your city and state see if there is a TNR program locally:  https://www.alleycat.org/community-cat-care/

You can also use the charity navigator to learn about certain groups, once you have a name.  Some people use it to ensure a high percentage of their donation dollars go to the charitable works:  https://www.charitynavigator.org/

Best Friends sanctuary in Utah is a nice place.  I would like to visit there some day.

You could also search for a cat rescue / sanctuary in your area and once you find one online, read up and see if it is one you want to support.   I know when I was facing my 2 knee replacement surgeries last year, I had to make out a new Will, and my Attorney advised me to set out provisions for the care of my pets.  Fortunately she knew of one cat sanctuary in the area which would take in and care for my cats (the older ones were my concern) for the rest of their lives, and not just have the kitties PTS.  So there are various ways of looking for something in your area.  Good luck!

Having worked at a nonprofit before I strongly encourage donating supplies instead of funds whenever possible. When you donate funds a percentage will automatically go towards administrator costs and paychecks. Not to say ASPCA is one of them, but some of the groups get a ridiculous amount towards overhead. But if you donate supplies then 100% gets used for actual needs. Often times some of the things you might donate could be things they can't buy outright themselves or are harder to get budget approval to buy. For larger donations you can attach specific clauses regarding what the money is to be used for but those can be worked around.

Talk with the local rescue or shelter and find out what supplies they can take or use. Some foster parents have Amazon wish lists set up too so they can support their fostering without relying on supplies from the rescue they work with.

Because it bears repeating; always talk to them before donating supplies. There are sometime strict limits on specifics they have to use. For example someone once donated juice to the after school program I worked with. But we could only serve the kids 100% fruit juice with under a certain amount of sugar. The juice donated didn't qualify so all the instructors got to take home juice. Even though we couldn't actually use it we couldn't turn away the donation without making the donor feel bad (which could limit further donations from that person) so the next time we were more specific in requests.

The rescue that I donate to keeps a list of needed supplies on their website.  I do both supplies and donate money.  It's a bit a of drive so sometimes it is easier to donate money on their website.  It's about time for their 'kitten shower' which they have every spring.

Denice said:

The rescue that I donate to keeps a list of needed supplies on their website.  I do both supplies and donate money.  It's a bit a of drive so sometimes it is easier to donate money on their website.  It's about time for their 'kitten shower' which they have every spring.

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I would talk to the rescue and ask if they can set up an Amazon wishlist that links to their site. Then you can order online and it is delivered to them directly. Less driving for you and probably more supplies for them.

Freedom said:

Here is the link to Alley Cat Allies, you can put in your city and state see if there is a TNR program locally:  https://www.alleycat.org/community-cat-care/

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The shelter I mentioned across the river does our TNR. Don't know what we'd do without them. The elderly lady we work with is a GENIUS at trapping cats. No other way to describe her.

I've been trying to find a local shelter that will help me with TNR with my 5 ferals. I found two but they won't even acknowledge my emails. I offer to pay all expensives and make a good size donation but they don't seem to care.  I don't know what to do. I cannot do it myself and I have no one to help me. I've been giving to the local Humane Society I guess I could ask them if they know of anybody that does TNR. I don't have much faith in them. I would like to find a place that I could trust and put in my will because I do want to help the animals.

Muffin

Have you used the link on the website for Ally Cat Allies, or  is that how you found the 2 groups you mentioned?

Here is the link:  https://www.alleycat.org/our-work/feral-friends-network/feral-friends-network-connect/

I volunteered w/ a TNR group for a short time.  I have to say, the hardest part was getting in touch with them initially.  Sorry you have encountered the same issue.

Freedom said:

 
Have you used the link on the website for Ally Cat Allies, or  is that how you found the 2 groups you mentioned?

Here is the link:  https://www.alleycat.org/our-work/feral-friends-network/feral-friends-network-connect/

I volunteered w/ a TNR group for a short time.  I have to say, the hardest part was getting in touch with them initially.  Sorry you have encountered the same issue.

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I have not tried Ally Cat Allies but I will. Years ago I tried to get help from them but didn't have much luck. They told me where I could take my cats and where to buy my traps but I had to do everything myself. I can't do that anymore. They are right across the river from me. I'm in Maryland and they are in Virginia.

I'll ask them and the Human Society if they know of anybody I could get to help me. I asked my vet but they did not know of anybody. Maybe I'll ask all the vets in my area.

Thanks for your reply,

Muffy 

I don't remember which is which, but I do remember reading a review on both the HSUS and the ASPCA and one directly ran only one shelter and the other didn't directly run any.  Everyone's right, donating to the local shelter will probably help more.  The ASPCA and the HSUS are basically lobby groups fighting for better animal laws, so they do good work, but the local shelter might be able to extend the time euthanasia must take place if they have some more food.  However money can be helpful too so that the shelter can expand by putting in more cages and things like an indoor dog walking area, pay for veterinary care above and beyond what the local vets donate, buy whatever is needed that item donations didn't cover that month, things like that.