OPEN DOOR ANIMAL SANCTUARY
Our Mission is to provide homeless cats and dogs with the highest quality of life and a second chance to find a forever family.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
An estimated 20,000 cats and dogs are euthanized every year in the St. Louis area. Open Door is a no-kill shelter. We do not euthanize animals due to lack of space. We only euthanize animals in rare case of terminal illness, pain and suffering that cannot be mitigated, or extreme aggression. This means we are at many times full. However, we receive an average of 57 admission calls per day. For many open admission shelters, euthanasia rates are more than 50% of the number they take in with some as high as 90%. The difficult decision of which animals may be adopted the fastest vs. others dictates who will live and who will die at these shelters. Our community needs additional funding and resources to rescue and house unwanted dogs and cats in order to allow for more adoptions, increased funding for low cost spay/neuter programs, stronger legislation to curb for-profit breeders, and increased community education to encourage responsible pet ownership.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Low Cost Spay/Neuter
We offer a low cost spay/neuter program for qualifying individuals. Our program is intended to help those who cannot afford traditional costs associated with spay/neuter surgery. By addressing the pet overpopulation crisis at its source, we hope to reduce the number of companion animals entering shelters each year.
Adoptions
Open Door Animal Sanctuary cares for nearly 400 cats and dogs every day. We work hard to place as many of these animals as possible into loving, forever homes. Individuals wishing to adopt from ODAS will complete an adoption form and a staff member will complete a home visit to ensure the adopter is a suitable match for the animal they are adopting. All animals are spayed or neutered, micro chipped, and up to date on vaccinations before leaving the shelter.
Trap/Neuter/Release
The program's purpose is to reduce the number of feral cats in Jefferson County Missouri, which will ultimately reduce the number of feral cats euthanized each year. Female and male adult feral cats are trapped in areas that are inflicted with overpopulation issues, spayed or neutered at our facility, and released back into their environment.
Food Bank Distribution
We provide pet food to qualifying individuals on a monthly basis.
Seniors for Seniors
This program places cats (over 10 years of age) and dogs (over 8 years of age) with senior citizens that are interested in providing a loving home for our senior animals. ODAS provides food and wellness care for the remainder of the fostered pet's life.
Where we work
External reviews
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Open Door serves the greater St. Louis Community within a 100 mile radius of our location in House Springs, MO. We serve more than 1,000 families annually with our adoption program, more than 1,000 families with our pet food pantry, and more than 1,000 families with our low cost spay/neuter/vaccination clinic. Open Door strives to accomplish the following annual goals:
1) Rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome dogs and cats in need at the capacity of full shelter operation
2) Spay/neuter every animal that is intact that enters the shelter prior to putting them up for adoption
3) Operate a low cost spay/neuter/vaccination program for low income area residents in need
4) Operate an emergency pet food pantry for low income families in need
5) Provide outreach activities as requested by the community and in targeted areas
6) Maintain a large, active group of volunteers to assist staff in animal care, outreach, and other roles to reduce costs
7) Increase public awareness within our service area
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
1) Operate our Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Rehoming (Adoption) program 365 days a year with a goal of 1,100+ animals taken in and adopted out annually.
2) Perform spay/neuter services for our residents a minimum of 2 days per week prior to them being offered for adoption.
3) Offer and operate a low-cost spay/neuter clinic weekly on Tuesdays, provide dog and cat food as available on a walk in basis provide a low cost preventative medication program, and offer T.N.R. services in targeted communities as funding allows.
4) Plan a minimum of one monthly group and two individual volunteer trainings to train 200 new volunteers annually, send a minimum of one email to volunteers weekly, thank volunteers in person daily, and send annual thank you mailing.
5) Provide outreach activities as requested by the community and in targeted areas and work to increase public awareness within a 100 mile radius of Open Door’s location.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Founded in 1975, Open Door's mission is to provide homeless cats and dogs with the highest quality of life and a second chance to find a forever family. Over the last 43 years, Open Door has grown from a grassroots organization with a few determined volunteers taking care of rescued dogs and cats in their homes, to the largest no-kill shelter in the Greater St. Louis area, serving a 100 mile radius around its location in House Springs, MO. Open Door provides food, shelter, and love to nearly 400 animals each day while working to find them permanent homes. Many of the cats and dogs we take in have never experienced human affection and learning to trust takes time. But, they have a home at Open Door as long as it takes for them to get adopted. Open Door rescues and adopts out nearly 1,200 cats and dogs to loving homes each year. Additionally, we work to solve pet overpopulation by offering a low cost spay/neuter program, a pet food pantry, and a T.N.R. program (Trap, Neuter, Return).
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our organization produced the following results in 2017:
669 cats were admitted to the shelter
552 dogs were admitted to the shelter
629 cats were adopted into homes
521 dogs were adopted into homes
313 Open Door cats were spayed/neutered
313 Open Door dogs were spayed/neutered
661 owned cats were spayed/neutered via our low cost spay/neuter program
117 owned dogs were spayed/neutered via our low cost spay/neuter program
200 community cats were served with our T.N.R. (trap, neuter, return) program
40 pets were served with our Seniors for Seniors program
approximately 2,920 owned pets with our low cost preventative program
approximately 1,100 owned pets were served with our food pantry program
269 were served with our volunteer training program
approximately 5,000 persons were served with our community outreach program.
In 2018, we are continuing to offer our full range of programming with similar goals/objectives working to meet our mission.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
OPEN DOOR ANIMAL SANCTUARY
Board of directorsas of 10/05/2023
Brian Stevens
Company B BBQ, Owner
Term: 2019 - 2025
Sherry Wood
Jane Geiler
Teresa Bippen
Edward Jones
David Wood
Edward Jones
Ryan Kanatzar
State Farm
Wendy Borowsky
Retired
Cathy McCredie
Vicky Crist
R Towne
Victoria Conell
R Towne
Kristi Cozart
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/05/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.