Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Kindness and Care for Animals
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
One of the first humane organizations in America—founded in 1868—the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has seen vast changes in society, the environment, and the roles of animals in our lives. Today the MSPCA continues to rescue, shelter, protect, heal, and advocate for many thousands of animals every year. We aim to address many problems that affect animals, including homelessness, illness, injury, neglect, cruelty, and behavior. We also seek to educate people about animal welfare, protect animals in danger from natural disasters and domestic violence, and assist those who need help financing veterinary care for their animals. The MSPCA’s strong and unwavering history of achievement has formed the foundation for what promises to be a future of even greater strides for both animals and people.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Program Overview
animal hospitals/veterinary care, animal shelters & adoption centers, humane law enforcement, education, advocacy, animal protection, spay/neuter assistance, wildlife programs, and more (See www.mspca.org for details on all programs & locations.)
MSPCA Animal Care & Adoption Centers
The MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Centers care for and adopt out thousands of homeless and unwanted animals each year. We shelter a wide variety of purebred and mixed-breed dogs and cats, as well as rabbits, guinea pigs, and many other small animals. Our Nevins Farm & Equine Center is a unique center for horses and other farm animals, including goats, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, and ducks.
Angell Animal Medical Center
Angell Animal Medical Center, now serving over 58,000 patients a year in a state-of-the-art facility, is still dedicated to providing companion animals with the highest standard of medical care for general wellness, emergency, and specialty needs, delivered with compassion by its experienced veterinarians and staff.
Advocacy
The MSPCA's legislative and public-policy work is essential in bringing about long-term change for animals. Our Advocacy Department, hand in hand with our network of Animal Action Team members, works to improve animal-protection laws and regulations, primarily at the state level in Massachusetts, and seeks to provide our supporters with the tools to become effective advocates on the many issues that impact animals in our communities.
Law Enforcement
The MSPCA has a full-time Law Enforcement Department consisting of highly-trained and professional police officers. These officers now attend a 20-24 week state-sponsored police training program, and are commissioned as special state police officers to investigate and enforce Massachusetts animal cruelty laws. Across the state these officers serve warrants, make arrests, and testify - all at no cost to taxpayers.
Spay/Neuter Assistance Program
Providing discounted spay/neuter surgery for low-income pet ownersSince 1986, the MSPCA, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA), has offered eligible pet owners a discount certificate accepted by nearly 200 veterinary hospitals and veterinary clinics throughout Massachusetts.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
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?
As stated in our mission, we seek to make this a more just and compassionate society -- both for animals and for people. We take in every homeless, neglected, or abused animal who needs our services and provide medical care and adoption services. We work to address pet overpopulation through our spay/neuter efforts. We strive to educate and inspire people through the work of our advocacy team and protect animals from cruelty and neglect through our law enforcement officers. In our hospitals, we seek to continually improve our medical practices for animals in conjunction with the practice of compassion for our clients.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The MSPCA has been serving animals' needs since 1868 and is the second oldest animal welfare organization in the United States. Program quality is our priority, and we have learned over the years how to stretch our resources to provide the very best care to animals. We are a private nonprofit, and receive no government funding. We work very hard to continue to deserve the support of our donors and to attract new ones. We have a robust fundraising program and are dedicated to sustaining and enhancing our programs and services. The MSPCA-Angell is uniquely suited to being "animal central" for Massachusetts animals because we comprise an animal welfare organization with sheltering, law enforcement, and advocacy services in concert with a world-class veterinary hospital. Since we were founded in 1868, we have an excellent reputation with the public, and pet owners and potential pet owners flock to our programs and services from all across Massachusetts.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Animals need us, and always will. It's true, however, that more and more animals are getting adopted. Through the implementation of progressive, innovative spay/neuter programs, we are seeing a significant decline in the number of kittens and adult cats coming into our centers. Fee-waived or fee-reduced adoption promotions also helped to pare down the adoption center population. But even with all of these efforts, homeless animals keep coming through our doors.
Angell Animal Medical Center would not be the incredible center of healing that it is now if management had not, since the very beginning, invested in keeping staff, equipment, methods, etc. up to date. Veterinary innovations and client service innovations are always a priority at Angell.
This is the work for which we were founded in 1868 by George T. Angell, and we certainly anticipate continuing the work and improving our approaches to it. We are invested in all the pieces of our mission statement, but perhaps especially
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Every year we make tremendous progress addressing homelessness, illness, and neglect for animals. Last year our hospitals treated more than 80,000 pets. Our shelters found homes for more than 7,000 animals. As a charitable organization, we spent almost $3 million on medical care for abused and homeless animals, as well as for animals whose owners needed assistance. Our Law Enforcement team investigated more than 1,700 complaints and participated in more than 600 advisory sessions with animal owners. Our Advocacy team worked to improve animal protection laws and regulations, sustained through our volunteer Animal Action Team members. In 2017, organization-wide, we sterilized 9,578 dogs, cats, and small animals. This monumental achievement was brought about at all four of our locations and through the efforts of our staff who work in our Shalit–Glazer Clinic, our adoption centers, Angell–Boston, and MSPCA–Angell West. Spay/neuter promotions and community efforts brought in hundreds of
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
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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.
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Board of directorsas of 05/30/2022
Ms. Judith Malone
Lindsay Cook
Community Volunteer
Sarah Monaco
Community Volunteer
Connie Noble
Community Volunteer
Barbara Schaye
Community Volunteer
Lori Sidman
Community Volunteer
Lynn Dayton
self employed
Judith Malone
Community Volunteer
Cheryl Forte
Community Volunteer
Patrick Planeta
Community Volunteer
Elissa Flynn Poppey
Community Volunteer
Karen Roses
Community Volunteer
Neal Litvack
President, MSPCA
Charlene Allen
Community Volunteer
Andrea Anastasio
Mass Mutual
Dale Bearden
Real-Time Interactive Media
Matthew Jordan
RMR Group
Traci Logan
NE College of Optometry
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? Yes
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
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/26/2022GuideStar 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 review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- 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 help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- 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.