ANIMAL REFUGE LEAGUE OF GREATER PORTLAND
A life-saving organization
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The mission of the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland nurtures the connection between people and pets to advance animal welfare and improve the quality of life in our community.
We address the person/pet relationship by offering a safety net for pet companions who may be at risk of losing their pet due to economic circumstance. We understand that pets can represent joy and hope for someone undergoing temporary hardship.
By offering healthy, altered and vaccinated pets for adoption we assist shelters across the nation by giving animals a second chance for a quality life of love with a human companion. We then provide resources to strengthen that bond so that pets can stay with their people.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Pet Adoption & Animal Welfare
Saving homeless pets, giving them medical care, food, shelter, and kindness until they are adopted into a new home.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of animals rehomed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Pet Adoption & Animal Welfare
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of animals rescued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of animal adoptions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of animals returned to their owner
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of dogs spayed or neutered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
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?
The ARLGP has three goals:
To nurture the connection between people and pets;
To advance animal welfare and save the lives of companion animals;
To improve the quality of life in our community through humane education
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The ARLGP is an open-admission shelter, accepting pets of all ages and with health issues that can be treated. All pets in our care receive medical attention to determine if any special diet or medication is required to keep the animal healthy. Any necessary surgeries are performed on site (beyond spay/neuter) to help the animal achieve a high quality of life. We then offer fostering for any surgical recovery, food, shelter and kindness. When the animal is ready, it can be placed on the adoption floor to find years of happiness with a new family.
We offer all community members who are pet companions resources for keeping their pets, including a pet pantry, Ani-Meals on Wheels to homebound pet owners, counseling, and pet behavior training classes. We welcome over 300 weekly volunteer members of the community to help the pets in our care. The ARLGP serves fourteen communities in Southern Maine to assist with stray and abandoned pets and help reunite as many as possible with their families.
To assist other shelters in the United States, we collaborate with rescue and transport groups in Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Puerto Rico, California, and elsewhere to help alleviate overcrowding in those shelters and bring pets to safety for adoption in Maine.
Our staff veterinarian performs over 1,500 spay/neuter surgeries annually on pets at the ARLGP, and nearly 500 for community pets in our modern surgical units. We offer low-cost vaccination clinics throughout the year so that community pet companions can participate in their pet's health even if they don't have a relationship with a veterinarian.
The ARLGP Humane Education program serves young people ages 3 to 18, and in 2017 had 8,000 students participate to learn kindness and compassion toward animals. This program includes camps, after school classes, story time for pre-school kids, in-school visits, field trips, and special programs for community groups such as scouts. Youngsters have their birthday parties at the shelter in order to celebrate with the animals they love, and to learn early philanthropy that connects generosity to their passions. Animals and children are a natural fit. Form lemonade stands to Girl Scout troops, kids are some of our biggest advocates and ambassadors.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland (ARLGP) finished a five-year capital campaign in 2016 to build a new, modern facility in Westbrook. With community advocacy and the new Arthur P. Girard adoption center, our capacity to meet our mission has increased dramatically. We are able to save lives, connect with pet companions, offer resources to community members, and serve as a destination shelter in New England.
Our staff now numbers 50, and we welcome over 400 weekly volunteers to keep pets in our care healthy and happy, and to exhibit best practices to all who visit the shelter.
The ARLGP's earned revenue and contributed revenue cover a budget of nearly $3 million, with 76% devoted to programs serving the community. Administration costs are 10% of our budget, and fundraising costs are 14% of our budget.
As we grow and serve more pet lovers throughout the region, we find ourselves fortunate to have the resources that other shelters may not have. We are able to help overcrowded shelters in Maine bring pets needing spay/neuter surgeries to the ARLGP, and then helping those pets be adopted by loving families.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The ARLGP met a huge goal in building a 26,000 square-foot new facility in 2016. The new shelter meant a new beginning for animal wellness in our community, and throughout New England. This was a community-centered five-year campaign, and embraced by community members who value the work of saving the lives of pets.
Our next immediate goals include re-purposing the old shelter to accommodate pets we receive from seizures and transports that may need time in isolation. Our goal for transport is to establish the ARLGP as a "hub" for pets traveling from other parts of the country. If 60 or 80 pets can stop here and have a respite in their journey, other shelters in Maine can drive to Westbrook to welcome six or eight pets at a time.
The other piece of this is to improve our collaborations with transport partners and funding partners to broaden the reach of our transport capacity. Pets stranded in Puerto Rico after the hurricanes needed planes to get them out, and we collaborated with ASPCA and HSUS as well as All Sato Rescue to charter a planeload of abandoned dogs and cats. Our future will have resources to be able to transport pets regularly and swiftly so that as many pets as possible can be safe and healthy and find a new life.
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 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 engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
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.
ANIMAL REFUGE LEAGUE OF GREATER PORTLAND
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2024
Nicholas Porto
Baker Newman Noyes
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? No
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
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/23/2023GuideStar 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.