The Anti-Cruelty Society
Compassion in Action
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Anti-Cruelty Society believes that companion animals provide people with joy, offers recognized health benefits and unconditional love and it is our goal to find a home for every adaptable companion animal in need. The Society offers a variety of programs and services to build a community of caring by helping pets and educating people including the following: Cat and dog adoptions, spay/neuter clinic, humane education, cruelty investigation and rescue, free behavior hotline, rehabilitation and treatment centers, pet loss group sessions, a foster program, pet first aid and CPR classes, and other pet-related workshops. Working together with other organizations and the public raises awareness about the needs of animals and how we can work together to promote responsible pet ownership and help prevent cruelty, abuse, and neglect. One of the key challenges facing our community is access to care in underserved areas and we are offering safety net services to meet these needs.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Adoption
The Anti-Cruelty Society offers an extensive adoption program with more than 5400 adoptions annually. The Society offers adoptions through nine adoption locations serving the Chicago area.
Spay and Neuter Clinic
The Anti-Cruelty Society offers affordable spay and neuter services. This service is offered to a any dog or cat through easy to use scheduling system at anticruelty.org/spayneuter
Community Programs
The Anti-Cruelty Society offers a variety of programs, classes and animal engagement opportunities for all age groups. All animal lovers are welcome to participate in programs such as Kids Who Care, Teens Who Care, After School Advocates and Friends Who Care. The Anti-Cruelty Society also offers opportunites for groups and corporate entities to spend time learning about the work of the Society and making crafts to support the animals.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Society of Animal Welfare Administrators 2016
External reviews
Photos
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
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Adoption
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Anti-Cruelty Society offers adoptions of dogs, cats and small animals at two primary locations. The pandemic led to fewer adoptions due to COVID-19 resrictions.
Number of animals spayed and neutered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Spay and Neuter Clinic
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The Anti-Cruelty Society offers affordable spay/neuter services to provide access to the general public for this important service although services were limited due to the pandemic.
Average number of animals spayed and neutered per day
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
Holding steady
Context Notes
Service for 2020 was significantly impacted due to the pandemic.
Number of full-time staff members per animal
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Programs
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Anti-Cruelty Society has 121 full time staff but the work of the Society is supported by a limited volunteer core who gave 67,035 hours which is the equivalent to 34 FTEs.
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 Anti-Cruelty Society has been on the forefront of animal welfare and humane education since it was founded in 1899. Its focus is to provide the following:
• Compassionate care for any animal in need
• An attempt to find a home for every healthy or rehabilitatable dog and cat
• Intervention to prevent cruelty to animals
• Community education on animal issues to inspire compassion and respect; and
• Low or no cost spaying or neutering
The Anti-Cruelty Society's mission is to build a community of caring by helping pets and educating people. We are an open admission shelter committed to caring for all animals and not turn away any animal in need. There are no time limits placed on any animal in its care and the Society operates under the belief that no healthy or rehabilitatable pet should be euthanized. The Society offers access to low or no cost spaying or neutering and it relies on its education programs to promote responsible pet ownership.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Anti-Cruelty Society is committed to finding a home for every adoptable and treatable cat and dog that comes through our doors by providing an open door for any animal in need. The Society rescues animals from cruelty and neglect while advising and educating pet owners and potential pet owners about how to care for animals. A free behavior hotline provides advice and guidance with animal related issues . The Society also offers spay/neuter surgeries at a low or no cost while also providing education on compassion and respect for all living beings. Additional key strategies include providing much needed veterinary care for those animals whose owners would otherwise not be able to afford proper care or providing temporary housing for animals whose owners involved with crisis situations. The Anti-Cruelty is also committed to working with other organizations to take in animals who need help.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In 2020, the number of services offered were limited due to the pandemic. Despite the interuption in services, the Society spayed or neutered over 5,400 animals through its spay/neuter clinic that provides affordable services to the general public. Through the Society's adoption program, 4,200 cats, dogs, kittens and puppies found their forever homes in 2020 and over 1,400 were sent to foster care, furthering the Society's goal to place every adoptable and rehabilitatable animal in Chicago into a loving home. The Society's humane investigators responded to cruelty and abuse complaints offering education to pet owners or removing the animal if the situation was life threatening.
The Society offers an extensive community outreach through work with community organizations and schools. While the number of participants was limited, programming reverted to virtual programs, classes, and outreach. The Society has a staff of 121 employees, 800 fosters, and over 600 volunteers who support the work of The Anti-Cruelty Society by working 365 days a year to accomplish strategic goals set by the Board of Directors and CEO of The Anti-Cruelty Society.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The Anti-Cruelty Society was founded in 1899 and it has found homes for hundreds of thousands of animals, spayed/neutered close to 150,000 animals, educated over 260,000 children and adults, provided advice to 25,000 humans, and responded to 100,000 complaints of cruelty and neglect. In addition to providing charity veterinary care to thousands of animals that would otherwise not have received the much-needed care, the Society has helped thousands of humans work through the loss of their beloved pet through a free group pet loss and grief sessions, free dog wellness fairs and opened our doors to any animal in need, no matter their condition or breed. In 2020, the Society also provided over 600,000 free pet meals to help keep people and their pets together through the Friends Who Care program for seniors, and monthly pop up pet-food pantries. The Anti-Cruelty Society has a commitment to helping animals find peace, comfort and happiness and the chance to find a forever home. This ongoing need keeps The Anti-Cruelty Society committed to continuing its good work.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
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 make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our 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.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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 Anti-Cruelty Society
Board of directorsas of 02/08/2022
Ms. Jane Luiso
Elliott Otis
No Affiliation
Barbara Provus
No Affiliation
Sheldon Rubin
Veterinarian Consultant
Freeman Wood
Mercer Sentinel Group
Daniel Jaffee
Oil-Dri Corporation of America
Steven H. Klein
Swanson, Martin and Bell, LLP
Steve Shanker
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Jane Eberle
American Medical Association
Jane Luiso
retired
Amanda Scott Willard
Brand Consultant
Shane Folley
KPMG
Judi Spaletto
KPMG
Shannon Greely
Scotsdale Animal Clinic
Barbara McLucas
No affiliation
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
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
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/22/2021GuideStar 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 review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- 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 employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- 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 have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- 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.