Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Every year, across the nation, hundreds of thousands of cats and dogs are surrendered to a shelter for a variety of reasons, or abandoned and left to survive on their own because the owners no longer want them, cannot afford to keep them, or merely tire of them. Connecticut and the Greater New Haven area are no exception. Many animals that are surrendered to a shelter are at risk of being euthanized, whether they are healthy or ill. The Animal Haven is a no-kill shelter that works tirelessly to rescue, rehabilitate, and socialize these unwanted cats and dogs, and find loving, permanent homes for them. We also offer life-long sanctuary to those animals that we take in that are unadoptable.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Pet Entry Program
The Animal Haven is a private, no-kill shelter to which members of the community can surrender cats and dogs, or bring abandoned animals they have found, knowing that they will be well cared for until a new, loving home can be found for them. People from the Greater New Haven area and beyond surrendered many of the 221 animals that entered the shelter in 2021. It is our policy to spay or neuter all animals if they have not been sterilized, and we do not euthanize animals except in rare instances of medical necessity.
Adoption Program
After taking in animals and tending to their medical needs, The Animal Haven next seeks to find each cat and dog a permanent, loving new home. The Animal Haven staff and volunteers spend time with each animal in order to understand his or her personality and needs so that the staff can recommend the dog or cat that would be the best fit for any particular person or family. We also make careful assessments of the potential adopters, to ensure that they will adhere to our policies regarding responsible pet ownership. With these careful vetting processes, we increase the chances that the animals and adopters will be “friends for life."
Where we work
Awards
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of animals rescued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Pet Entry Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2021 totals include 191 cats and 30 dogs; 2020 totals include 251 cats and 36 dogs; 2019 totals include 261 cats and 59 dogs
Number of animal adoptions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Families
Related Program
Adoption Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2021 total includes 190 cats and 30 dogs; 2020 total includes 227 cats and 37 dogs; 2019 total includes 266 cats and 62 dogs.
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of grants received
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Families
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of Facebook followers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Families
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
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn 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 Animal Haven aims to reduce the number of homeless cats and dogs in the Greater New Haven area and beyond by providing them with humane refuge and the veterinary care they need and then adopt them out to loving, permanent homes. We also aim to lower the incidence of new births of homeless and unwanted dogs and cats by practicing a mandatory spay/neuter policy for all animals we take in.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
• We treat every animal we take in humanely, and provide them with the medical attention they need. The animals receive a complete examination and health assessment by a veterinarian and are vaccinated against disease. Ongoing problems are monitored and addressed.
• We practice a no-kill philosophy, prohibiting euthanasia except when it is in the best interest of a sick or dying animal or required by law.
• We adhere to an adoption policy that maximizes the success of placement into permanent homes: we do not do same-day adoptions, we require references, we do vet checks, and we conduct home visits as resources allow. We strive to find the best match for each animal and each adopter. The Animal Haven staff gets to know the personality of each animal, which helps us successfully match the dogs and cats with potential adopters.
• We practice a mandatory spay and neuter policy to assist in reducing the population of unwanted cats and dogs.
• Staff and some volunteers foster our youngest kittens at home, bottle-feeding them until they are old enough to eat on their own.
• We never give up on an animal. If cats or dogs are not adoptable for any reason, they will live with us at the shelter for the rest of their lives.
• We honor the human/animal bond. The staff and volunteers work with the cats and dogs to reinforce positive interactions and strengthen their bond with humans. We also seek to strengthen this bond by ensuring as much as possible that every adoption is successful. To do this, when necessary, we make home visits to help an animal acclimate to his or her new environment and provide training to help a dog adjust to life in a new home.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
• A staff of one full-time shelter manager and six part-time kennel assistants, as well as a part-time development manager and part-time bookkeeper.
• A large volunteer force, including volunteers who foster animals, those who walk the dogs, and those who do a significant share of the administrative work of the shelter.
• An expanded and renovated facility, including a 1600-square-foot cat wing; a state-of-the-art HVAC system; isolation rooms for sick animals so we can prevent the spread of disease; upgraded kennels for dogs; a renovated kitchen and laundry area; and tile or epoxy floors throughout the facility that make it easier to clean and sanitize the shelter. Our facility also includes a meet-and-greet room for people when they are considering adopting an animal.
• We have a close working relationship with the Guilford Animal Medical Center, which provides veterinarian services to the shelter’s animals, including, but not limited to, physical examinations, medical testing, spaying/neutering, and other surgeries as needed. They refer us to specialists when necessary.
• We are located on a wooded, seven-acre parcel of land in North Haven where volunteers and staff can take the dogs on long, peaceful walks.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In the past year, we completed a five-year strategic plan and have recruited a new board member. We are in our third year of work with a fundraising consultant who has performed an internal assessment of the shelter’s fundraising activities and written a development plan, including a major gifts plan. We are well into the process of implementing the development plan. We have hired an independent contractor to work as our development manager, substantially revamped our donor database (DonorPerfect) so that it is better tailored to our needs, and began marketing the recently created Animal Haven Legacy Society, which already has 15 members who have informed us that they have left bequests to the shelter in their estate plans. We were awarded a grant from the Wiederhold Foundation to install a backup generator on the shelter property to ensure that we do not lack power to heat or cool the shelter during a power outage. Finally, despite the continuing epidemic, we were able to take in 191 cats and 30 dogs last year, and adopt out 190 cats and 30 dogs into loving, permanent homes.
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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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
The Animal Haven’s target population includes the people who are interested in adopting a companion animal, the people who need to surrender a dog or cat, those who are in need of finding shelter for an animal they have found or rescued, the shelter's donors, and of course, the homeless and abandoned dogs and cats in the Greater New Haven area and beyond.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
regular outreach to donors and adopters by telephone and email,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
In response to negative feedback we received from a few donors regarding our gift acknowledgement process, and to help us increase the shelter's fundraising, in October 2021 we hired a part-time Development Manager. Rather than rely on 7 or 8 volunteers to enter all data regarding donations and to acknowledge these gifts, we now have centralized these functions, along with many other duties related to development, in the Development Manager role. Because of several negative comments we received from the public regarding difficulty using our website, in December 2021, we completely revamped and improved the website to make it much more user-friendly and to enable the public to easily fill out and submit online adoption applications, surrender forms, and volunteer applications.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
In preparing the shelter's five-year strategic plan, we asked our donors for their ideas regarding what would make the shelter outstanding in their view. This feedback was considered by the board in preparing the strategic plan for 2022-2027 and also is being used to inform the vision and long-term aspirations for the shelter.
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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 act on the feedback we receive,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,
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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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.
The Animal Haven, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 03/03/2022
Linda Marino
retired attorney
Term: 2022 - 2022
Jeffrey O'Donnell
retired CPA
Arnold Cary
retired veterinarian
Maria Carofano
pharmaceutical data services
Courtney McCarroll
Yale University's fundraising and development office
Christie Lambert
former Senior Director of Finance for McKesson
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 ? Not applicable -
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? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data