SILVER2023

February Star Sanctuary Inc

aka February Star Sanctuary   |   Knoxville, MD   |  https://www.februarystarsanctuary.com

Mission

The mission of February Star Sanctuary is to rescue, rehabilitate and provide a permanent refuge for cats and horses in need. We help the community with outreach programs to help children develop compassion for rescue animals at an early age. Teaching our children to respect and protect even the smallest among us is one of the most important life lessons we can pass on. Children and animals are the most vulnerable members of society, with abuse on the rise for both groups. Our goal with this sanctuary is to give the unwanted a home and to teach children compassion. Building a generation of animal advocates, one child at a time.

Ruling year info

2015

Executive Director

Phyllis Smith

Main address

3910 Ausherman Rd

Knoxville, MD 21758 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

45-3941793

NTEE code info

Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (D01)

Animal Protection and Welfare (includes Humane Societies and SPCAs) (D20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

FSS is working to address the issues of animal abandonment and abuse, high numbers of animal intake and euthanasia, cat overpopulation, and improving the overall health and quality of life for cats and horses. In the US, approximately 3,400,000 cats are abandoned each year. Of those 3.4 million, 1.3 million are put to death. While others are adopted, many are left on the streets, contributing to community cat overpopulation. This overpopulation creates a vicious cycle of further cases of forced euthanasia and a decline in the overall health and quality of life for cats throughout the country. Horses are one of the four most commonly abused, neglected, or abandoned animals in the United States. There are over 200,000 “unwanted” horses per year - not including the thousands of unreported cases of neglect and abuse. While some of these horses are lucky enough to find a home with a rehabilitation or rescue organization, many of these horses are sent to slaughter simply for being unwanted.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Caring for Cats of the Homeless

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately ten percent of homeless people have at least one pet. In some areas of the country, the figure is as high as 24 percent. The majority of homeless shelters don't allow pets, leaving people to make a difficult decision between staying with their animal companion or seeking services or accommodations from a shelter. February Star Sanctuary understands the bond between owners and their pets and therefore is partnering with human service agencies to provide temporary shelter for cats of homeless individuals and families, and have them rest assured that their animals are being well taken care for.
February Star Sanctuary organizes the pickup of cats and brings them to our sanctuary. While cats are on-site, our staff and volunteers coordinate thorough wellness exams, provide preventative medicine to address acute and chronic medical issues, and deliver nutritious food. We are committed to providing these cats a temporary home until their owner has received necessary assistance and resources and/or is in a position to take their companion with them to an eligible shelter. In order to offer effective community outreach, there is no cost structure for participants in this program.

Population(s) Served
Families
Women and girls

February Star Sanctuary’s Trap-Neuter-Return program assists in the humane control of the growing community cat population in Frederick County, Maryland through spaying and neutering efforts, vaccine administration, FIV/FeLV testing, ear-tipping, and returning, rehoming, and/or sanctuary of community cats. Additionally, our TNR program includes an educational component which brings awareness to our organization and how others can assist in preventing cat overpopulation by providing tools to work toward a community-oriented solution, and instructing current and potential pet owners on responsible pet ownership. Overall, we seek to stabilize and decrease the stray and feral cat population through cost-effective strategies, see a decline in intake and euthanasia, and improve the overall health and quality of life for these vulnerable cats.

Population(s) Served
Adults

The core mission of February Star Sanctuary is to rescue, rehabilitate, and provide permanent refuge for horses and cats in need.Each year, we rescue over 100 cats and horses in need.

Population(s) Served
Adults

February Star Sanctuary prioritizes finding our cat and horse rescues a loving forever home. While many cats and horses are adopted through February Star Sanctuary, we are also a permanent refuge. Many cats and horses find a loving forever home and safe haven at February Star Sanctuary, with a skilled staff that provides rehabilitation, treatment, and the loving care they deserve.

Population(s) Served
Adults

February Star Sanctuary has a variety of community outreach programs structured to correspond with our pillar programs. Community outreach programs include educational seminars at community centers, sanctuary tours, social media and physical marketing, and participation at an array of trade shows year-round.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Adults

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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
Related Program

Animal Rescue

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of sheltered animals

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Community Outreach

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

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
Related Program

Trap-Neuter-Return Program

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The purpose of February Star Sanctuary is to rescue, rehabilitate, and provide permanent refuge to cats and horses in need, while creating valuable and engaging learning experiences for the community in order to:

- Decrease animal abandonment and abuse
- Lower animal intake and euthanasia
- Decrease cat overpopulation
- Improve the overall health and quality of life for cats and horses
- Educate our community on animal welfare practices
- Encourage and support responsible pet ownership

Animal Rescue: Animal rescue is at the core of February Star Sanctuary's mission. We prioritize animal intakes in order to assist animals in need to our capacity.

Cat & Horse Adoption: February Star Sanctuary seeks to find the perfect forever home for animals that come into our care, through social media outreach, marketing, and word-of-mouth.

Animal Sanctuary: While many cats and horses are adopted through February Star Sanctuary, we are also a permanent refuge. Many cats and horses find a loving forever home and safe haven at February Star Sanctuary, with a skilled staff that provides rehabilitation, treatment, and the loving care they deserve.

Trap-Neuter-Return: February Star Sanctuary’s Trap-Neuter-Return program assists in the humane control of the growing community cat population in Frederick County, Maryland through spaying and neutering efforts, vaccine administration, FIV/FeLV testing, ear-tipping, and returning, re-homing, and/or sanctuary of community cats.

Caring for Cats of the Homeless: February Star Sanctuary understands the bond between owners and their pets. FSS is partnered with human service agencies in order to provide temporary shelter for cats of homeless individuals and families for up to one year. While cats are on-site, our staff and volunteers coordinate thorough wellness exams, provide preventative medicine to address acute and chronic medical issues, and deliver nutritious food.

Community Outreach: February Star Sanctuary has a variety of community outreach programs structured to correspond with our pillar programs. Community outreach programs include educational seminars at community centers, sanctuary tours, social media and physical marketing, and participation at an array of trade shows year-round.

February Star Sanctuary is housed on a 124-acre farm, complete with three barns - including one large bank barn - and pastures with run-in’s. We temporarily house our TNR program participants in an on-site, customized trailer. Additionally, a customized 1,260 square-foot home aligned with the February Star Sanctuary property houses the animal participants in our Caring for Cats of the Homeless program. FSS currently has six board members, one full-time volunteer (40+ hrs/wk), one part-time volunteer (25+ hrs/wk), sixteen active part-time volunteers, and five fosters. Together, this team of dedicated volunteers provide daily care and rehabilitation to our animal residents, transport new and existing residents, perform TNR activities, and partake in community outreach coordination and programming.

February Star Sanctuary was created in 2015, and has since blossomed into a key player in animal rescue in Frederick County, Maryland. FSS’s reach extends through the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Initially, FSS was solely focused on animal rescue, adoption, and sanctuary. As the organization has developed, programming has expanded to foster care, rehabilitation, TNR for community cats, and extensive community outreach programming. In 2020, we began our flagship Caring for Cats of the Homeless program, which provides temporary shelter and care for the cats of individuals experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence, in coordination with local human service agencies and shelters. In the future, we seek to expand our reach in our current programming and grow to have a greater capacity to further achieve our mission.

From 2015 to 2022:
• 588 cats came into our care
• 351 cats went to loving homes
• 43 cats were temporarily fostered in the Caring for Cats of the Homeless program
• 193 TNR surgeries
• 46 adult cats received foster care (special needs: medical or behavioral)
• 130 kittens received foster care
• 114 horses came into our care
• 69 horses went to loving homes
• 20 volunteers opened their homes to foster
• 29 responsible pet care programs
• 10+ education programs at expos

Financials

February Star Sanctuary Inc
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build 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.

February Star Sanctuary Inc

Board of directors
as of 04/26/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mrs June Gilland

Phyllis Smith

February Star Sanctuary

David Smith

H. Susie Coddington, Ph.D.

Coddington Learning Company

Sharon Kranzler

Dr. Amy Parrish

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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? Not applicable
  • 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? Not applicable
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/27/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person with a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 04/05/2021

GuideStar 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

Data
  • 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 disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • 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 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.