Foundation for Animal Care and Education (FACE)
Saving Pets and Helping Families
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Problem: Economic Euthanasia Each year, many animals are brought to their veterinarian with life-threatening conditions. Sadly, many owners cannot afford the critical care their beloved pets need to survive. They are left with one choice—euthanasia. According to CPI reports, 15.7% of San Diegans fall below poverty level and 33% of San Diegans do not earn enough to cover basic expenses. When faced with a sudden and costly medical emergency, many are faced with the difficult decision of euthanasia simply due to cost of treatment.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Save-a-Life Program
FACE provides financial grants to over 170 partner veterinary hospitals for pet owners who cannot afford the cost of their pets' critical or emergency veterinary care. Grants are awarded only for patients with immediately life threatening conditions with a good prognosis if treated. Additionally, pet owners must provide proof of financial hardship and partner hospitals must provide a 25% discount. FACE responds to complete grant applications within an hour in an effort to ensure that ill or injured animals are tended to as quickly as possible.
Humane Education Program
FACE hosts several educational, animal-focused classes for youth in the San Diego community. Classes cover topics such as basic animal care, interpreting animal behaviors and cues, the importance of spay and neuter, how to safely approach a dog (where students get to "meet and greet” a trained therapy dog), and even careers in various animal fields, which includes a tour of the 3-story, 26,000 sq. ft. Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Sorrento Valley. FACE is thrilled to offer these classes as a free service to the community with the hope to inspire a sense of interest and compassion for animals in our local youth.
Community Outreach Program
FACE serves San Diego's very low-income and homeless pet owners by providing resources for veterinary assistance, free veterinary exams and pet supplies at quarterly clinics.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of pets assisted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Save-a-Life Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
FACE's Save-A-Life saves pets from economic euthanasia by providing grants to assist with the cost of emergency and critical veterinary care for pets with life-threatening conditions.
Number of veterinary partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Save-a-Life Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
FACE's veterinary hospital partners generously discount their services by 25% for FACE cases, allowing us to leverage our funding to save even more lives.
Number of other pet owners assisted (inquiries and referrals to other resources)
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Save-a-Life Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
If a pet owner does not qualify for assistance from FACE, we provide them with a list of referrals for other organizations and/or veterinary hospitals that may be able to assist them.
Number of students reached through humane education
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth
Related Program
Humane Education Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
FACE’s Humane Education program cultivates awareness toward the ethical treatment of animals and helps at-risk youth see the similarities between themselves and the animals who share our world.
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?
FACE's Save A Life Program was created to address the tragedy of economic euthanasia. What started out as a beautiful vision to stop the surrender and euthanasia of beloved family pets has become a supportive center where families in crisis can get a helping hand to save their pets' lives. FACE grantees are typically low-income families, senior citizens, veterans, military families, students, disabled individuals, or hard-working families and individuals who struggle to survive paycheck to paycheck. With a tagline of “Saving Pets and Helping Families," FACE's work is just as important for the animals we save as it is for the families who are spared the heartbreak of losing their best friend. Our goal is to save as many lives as possible within our community, giving pets a second change at life and helping families avoid the heartbreak of "economic euthanasia." Our goal is also to educate the public (including youth) about responsible pet ownership and the importance of preventative care for their pets.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Foundation is working to expand its donor base so that it can provide more financial grants for veterinary procedures. FACE is striving to partner with more veterinary hospitals in order to increase its exposure in the community and to reach more in-need pet owners. In 2021, FACE would like to grant $876,000 to assist at least 380 more family pets. FACE also hopes to continue expanding our Humane Education Program, which aims to get our local youth involved in animal welfare, as well as our Community Outreach Program which focuses on providing very low income families with needed pet supplies and resources.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
FACE has been supported through grassroots fundraising and by several larger organizations both nationally and locally, including the Petco Foundation. We also have worked with over 180 veterinary hospitals in San Diego County.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have accomplished our granting goals for money given and lives saved for the past several years, but we still have a lot of work to do. So many people are not aware of our existence, and there are many veterinary hospitals in the area that have not yet worked with FACE.
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.
Foundation for Animal Care and Education (FACE)
Board of directorsas of 08/15/2022
Dr. Keith Richter
Ethos Veterinary
Term: 2018 -
Amber Yoo
SKY Facial Plastic Surgery
Term: 2022 -
Keith Richter
Retired Veterinary Specialist
Cini Gannon-Robb
Community Volunteer
John Hart
Ethos Veterinary Health
Dori Slater-Vance
Retired Veterinarian
Wendy Khentigan
Wendy A. Khentigan, MD
Tammy Stevenson
Ethos Veterinary Health
Jarrett Bostwick
Spearhead Capital, LLC
Amber Yoo
SKY Facial Plastic Surgery
Stephanie Coolidge
FACE Foundation
Arash Sarlati
La Jolla Veterinary Hospital
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
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data