CAPE ANN ANIMAL AID ASSOCIATION INC
Adopt Your Best Friend
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Cape Ann Animal Aid seeks to find loving homes for homeless dogs and cats. While animal adoption is becoming a more popular option, there are many animals that still face life as an unwanted stray, find themselves on a euthanasia list in an over-crowded facility, or end up abandoned or neglected. In addition, spay/neuter practices are more common in some areas of the country than others, resulting in pet-overpopulation and the birth of unwanted, often orphaned animals.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Adoption of Dogs and Cats
Cape Ann Animal Aid is dedicated to the placement of homeless dogs and cats into loving homes.
Food For Pets Program
Cape Ann Animal Aid donates surplus cat and dog food and pet supplies to partner organizations that distribute the items to families in need within the community, helping to ensure that they are able to keep their animal companions.
Spay Mama Program
Through this program, our shelter will cover the cost of a spay surgery for cats and dogs that have recently given birth. The mother and her offspring are fixed and the mother is returned to the owner while the offspring is adopted out through the shelter.
Super Seniors Cat Adoption Program
In an effort to help senior cats find homes faster, Cape Ann Animal Aid waives the adoption fee for all cats six years or older.
Community Outreach Program
We are dedicated to providing opportunities for the public to learn more about shelter animals and the work of the CAAA. We periodically host school groups, Scout troops, and other community groups at the shelter to educate and strengthen the human-animal bond at every age.
Where we work
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of animal adoptions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Adoption of Dogs and Cats
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of animals spayed and neutered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Holding steady
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?
Cape Ann Animal Aid is a no-kill organization, meaning no animal is ever euthanized due to age, space, or length of stay. We take in local cats and dogs via owner surrender or from local overburdened animal control agencies, humane societies, and rescue groups. Due to effective spay and neuter in New England, we are also able to take in and find homes for animals from other areas of the country and beyond that are struggling with animal overpopulation issues. Through these practices, we put every single cat and dog condo space to important use. Each animal is provided with routine and special veterinary care. Families looking to adopt a dog or cat can come to Cape Ann Animal Aid and meet an array of animals, ranging in age, breed mix, and background. Every animal deserves a second chance at happiness and love. It is Cape Ann Animal Aid's goal to make adopting an animal a rewarding, pleasant, and memorable experience.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
In addition to maintaining excellent relationships with local and out-of-state rescue groups, Cape Ann Animal Aid, is devoted to the animals in our care. The idea is not only to provide shelter and food for homeless animals, but to engage all of their senses, providing enrichment for all shelter animals and engaging our community of volunteers to be team players in animal care practices. From interactive food bowls and toys, to off-site day trips and classical music, there is an established program for shelter animal enrichment in place. The result is happy, well-adjusted animals and successful adoptions. Not only do we provide routine and special needs veterinary care to the animals in our shelter, but all animals are spayed/neutered prior to adoption. While this is an added financial burden on the organization, it is the most pro-active approach to curbing pet overpopulation, and we are proud to make this step a priority.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Cape Ann Animal Aid maintains a positive presence in the local community and maintains good working relationships with multiple local veterinarians and rescue groups. With a dedicated Board of Directors, knowledgeable Executive Director and passionate team members, the organization is well-known for it's adoption program success. The growing body of volunteers and community supporters allow the organization to continue setting and achieving goals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 1964, the late Ruth Spoor and a group of animal lovers created the CAAA as a rescue group for the many cats and dogs often abandoned by summer residents. Over the years, our organization grew from a few donated cages in an empty garage to occupying a 1,200 sq foot building at 260 Main Street to our present 7,500 sq foot facility at 4 Paws Lane, the Christopher Cutler Rich Animal Shelter. In June of 2017, we celebrated 5 years in our new home. Through such times of tremendous growth, the organization has maintained a steady increase in adoption rates, seeing 90% growth in adoptions from 2011 to 2016. The Volunteer Program and Community Outreach efforts also continue to grow. In 2017, a new Volunteer Program was rolled out to include more intensive training for all existing and new volunteers and defined job descriptions. The organization has taken action to improve the well-being of all animals in our care, establishing an Enrichment protocol for all animals and securing veterinary care for special needs animals to include surgeries, special diets, medications etc. In 2014, review of data showed that cats over the age of six were spending an average of 46 days waiting for adoption. We created the Super Seniors Cat Adoption Program, waiving the fee for cats over the age of six, and saw immediate results. By 2018, the average number of days waiting for adoption dropped had dropped to 16 days! In late 2017, Cape Ann Animal Aid was able to operate for many months at nearly 50% over average capacity to accommodate animals rescued from hurricane-devastated regions including St. Croix, Puerto Rico, Texas, and Turks and Caicos. 2018 brought Cape Ann Animal Aid's highest adoption numbers to date: 1,535 animals were placed into loving homes! Looking to the future, we're in the early planning stages to construct a veterinary suite in our existing building that will allow us to provide routine and special medical care (and spay/neuter surgeries) in house. This will significantly improve length of stay for most animals, moving them from the arrival to adoption stage much faster and allowing us to save more animals!
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
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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.
CAPE ANN ANIMAL AID ASSOCIATION INC
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2024
Kate Glidden
Deborah Eliason
Laura O'Neill
Tessa Browne
Susan Krupanski
Cindy Dunn
Kate Glidden
Marissa Goodwin
Cristopher Peterson
Emily Neish
Elizabeth Etrie
Midori Williams
Lindsy Owens
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? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/12/2021GuideStar 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 use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- 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.