Programs and results
What we aim to solve
There is a severe problem of abandoned and homeless dogs in every State. Many dogs are dumped by owners when the owner(s) can't or doesn't want to spend the money necessary to provide food and water, proper or even basic veterinarian care for healthy, ill, injured and senior dogs and also many shelters need to euthanize dogs who are ill, old or because the shelter needs the space or doesn't have funds for sick and injured dogs. We address these problems by taking the dogs into our Rescue (including those that are blind, tripods, or bipeds) , provide basic and necessary and often expensive medicine (example heartworm treatment) and surgeries, place them in loving foster homes for healing and care, and then find permanent homes that will care and love the dogs. We match the dog and its needs and personality to the family/home.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Phoenix Fund
To provide funding for dogs that are not in perfect health. The Phoenix Fund provides financial support to the foster/owner for the continuing medical needs of the dog to allow the dog to be placed in the best home possible.
Seniors Owning Seniors Adoption Program
Seniors Owning Seniors (SOS) matches senior adopters (70+) with senior dogs (7+). This program is designed for seniors that have experience owning Dobermans but may no longer be able to afford the expense of owning a senior dog on a fixed income. The SOS program takes care of the cost of medications, prescription foods, heartworm prevention, and annual vet visits. Additional expenses may be submitted to be considered for reimbursement. SOS benefits both the adopters and the dogs, as they will provide companionship, love, and caregiving to each other!
Our senior dogs may face many of the same medical situations as their senior owners. At some point, they will likely require ongoing medications, prescription foods, and possibly surgical procedures. These medical needs can get expensive. Doberman Underground is dedicated to giving our senior dogs the best quality of life for their remaining years. Your donations will allow us to cover the medical expenses these dogs will incur.
Where we work
External reviews

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?
Our goals are:
1. Rescue abandoned dogs, including owner surrenders and shelter dogs who will soon be euthanized;
2. Provide all medical care to nurse the dog, when needed, back to health;
3, As needed, spay and neuter dogs who come into our Rescue;
4. Find permanent loving homes for the dogs; and
5. Annually increase the number of dogs rescued
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Strategies for making this happen:
1. Increase fundraising;
2. Further increase social media presence;
3. Grow our volunteer base;
4. Increase number of shelters and other animal rescues who know about us to increase our network; and
5. Increase number of potential and approved adopters
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We are capable of meeting our goals because:
1. Annually we have increased - number of supporters -amount of donations and - number of adoptions;
2. Our volunteer base has consistently grown allowing us to save more dogs and care for more dogs; and
3. The number of adopters and potential adopters has increased annually; and
4. Continue to increase our social media presence
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The number of dogs we save annually and find permanent homes for has increased substantially. We've saved more dog lives, grown our volunteer base, and increased the amount of donations. What's next is to increase dogs taken into our Rescue, provide medical care, and raise more funds so we can save more abandoned dogs.
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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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
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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 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 share the feedback we received with the people we serve
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve
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
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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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.
DOBERMAN UNDERGROUND
Board of directorsas of 05/29/2023
Lucinda Landis
Gwenn Bamer-Flynn
Debbie Smole
Nancy Unsold
Meredith Hawk
Betty McClard
Gail Willis
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? 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? 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
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data