YOUR Humane Society SPCA
Save a Life! Adopt - Donate - Volunteer!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Sumter County was historically rural and among the poorest of Florida's counties. In the last 20 years the rapid growth of The Villages community has changed Northern Sumter to a more urban area. Along with large numbers of retirees now in all income brackets, the county is home to mostly middle-class families and pockets of poverty. YOUR Humane Society SPCA works to serve all these areas regarding their animal related needs of pet adoption, education or public assistance. The main problem is one of homeless, neglected or abused animals. People allow intact pets to stray resulting in injuries, sickness and pet overpopulation. These animals usually go to the Sumter County Animal Services (SCAS) open admission facility. They recently announced their goal to reach a 90%+ Live Release Rate. We strive to find placement for every adoptable animal while providing our County with effective proven resources and programs in animal management to elevate the standard of animal welfare in Sumter.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
"The Big Fix" Spay/Neuter Voucher Program
In partnership with our neighboring nonprofit spay/neuter low cost veterinary clinic, Planned Pethood Cares, our vouchers are given to qualifying low income Sumter County residents for the free or low cost spaying/neutering of their dogs/cats. Donations from the public and grants keep our programs in operation.
A sliding-scale pricing helps more of Sumter's dogs and cats in lower income households. It includes an opportunity to receive a one-year Rabies vaccine at a discounted rate.
A college student, with a full-time student ID, may spay/neuter their pet(s) for free.
Feral/Community/Barn Cats qualify for free spay/neuter, with a maximum of ten cats per month per colony.
"Kibbles" Free Pet Food Pantry
Free dog and cat food is provided to qualifying low income Sumter County pet owners who cannot afford to buy pet food. These approved pets must be spayed/neutered and current on their Rabies vaccination as a condition for qualifying for the program. If needed, our "Big Fix" S/N Voucher program can help with this. Our organization believes no one should have to surrender their pet(s) as they are considered part of the family. These pets should not end up in a shelter when pet food and other resources are available. Donations from the public and grants keep our program in operation. We completed 2022 by dishing out meals to 227 dogs and cats in 73 Sumter County families.
Additionally, when available, we also offer clients other donated pet care supplies for free to assist in their pet's overall care and well-being. This may include brushes, bowls, leashes, toys, shampoo, litter boxes, etc.
"Pets for Veterans" Discounted Adoption Program
Our non-profit offers a $25 adoption fee discount to any active/retired military person towards any pet adoption. This is redeemed mainly by Sumter County residents but also available to any adopter.
"Seniors for Seniors" Discounted Adoption Program
Our non-profit offers a $25 adoption discount to any senior citizen, age 65 or older, adopting any senior pet, age seven or older. This is redeemed mainly by Sumter County residents but also available to any qualifying adopter.
Humane Education
Our volunteer educators provide educational literature and speaking engagements throughout our County to adults and children via clubs, libraries, schools, churches and social groups. Topics include responsible pet ownership, pet care and safety, disaster preparation, and career options with animals.
We are always looking to develop additional special community projects, particularly with youth, as it all starts with the children; to educate them on how to be responsible pet owners, kind and protective; teaching them “it’s not cool to be cruel” and reporting it when seeing something abusive or neglectful. We regularly speak to area clubs for adults who request guest speakers, discussing animal related topics and the vital work of our no-kill shelter which has been serving Sumter County for 40 years.
Where we work
Awards
Network Partner 2017
Best Friends Animal Society
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
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These are mostly cats and dogs but also include pet rabbits, pigs, birds, pocket pets, etc. rescued for each year referenced.
Number of animal adoptions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
"Seniors for Seniors" Discounted Adoption Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the total of animals adopted. Pets adopted under the "Seniors for Seniors" program are included as are pets adopted through our "Pets for Veterans" program.
Number of sheltered animals
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of out of state animal transports
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2016: This transfer reflects a transport of 33 total kittens and cats to a Northern state. 2017: This transfer reflects a transport of 11 total dogs to a Northern state.
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
Context Notes
All our shelter animals (species appropriate) are spayed or neutered prior to adoption. It does not include animals spayed or neutered under our "Big Fix" Program for low-income residents.
Number of animals spayed/neutered through our voucher program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
"The Big Fix" Spay/Neuter Voucher Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of animals spayed or neutered under our "Big Fix" Program for low-income residents. It does not include animals adopted through our shelter who are all spayed or neutered prior to adoption.
Number of animals fed for free through our pet food pantry
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
"Kibbles" Free Pet Food Pantry
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
Ideally, it is to eliminate neglect and abuse and for every animal to have a loving home. Many people will say that that is an impossible goal but it will never stop us from trying. Our plan is to make continuous improvements in the quality of life for any animals residing in Sumter County.
We remain true to our mission to protect animals daily:
Our mission is carried out through direct care for animals that are injured, abused, unwanted, or abandoned, securing homes for as many as possible; and through community assistance programs including spay/neuter services and pet food distribution as well as providing humane education and pet safety information to our community in order to reduce pet overpopulation and improve the quality of life for animals.
Each day we work to help as many animals as possible. These animals may be surrendered to us by owners or obtained from the County facility. We arrange private adoptions or, less often, transfers to another pre-approved no-kill shelter. We also hold strays until they are reunited with their owners or become available for adoption through us.
YOUR Humane Society SPCA has always been a no-kill organization. Another goal of ours is to provide guidance and resources to our County's officials for the County facility to also achieve and maintain quality care and a 90%+ Live Release Rate. As a Best Friends Network Partner, we share their national goal of a no-kill nation by 2025, but strive to have our County achieve this progressive strategy of animal management sooner.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We reach our youth and adult community via speaking engagements at local clubs, groups, schools, special events, and social media platforms. We distribute educational literature regarding spay/neuter, animal cruelty prevention and hurricane preparedness for pets. We utilize professional membership resources when available, from Best Friends and FAAWO (Florida Association of Animal Welfare Organizations) to a long standing working relationship with FL DART (Disaster Animal Response and Transport).
We have operated a “Kibbles" Free Pet Food Pantry since 2002 to feed the pets of qualifying low-income residents so they do not have to give up a beloved family member. As part of this program, pets are required to be spayed/neutered and current on Rabies vaccinations. Currently, we are providing food for 69+ dogs and 48+ cats monthly.
We also operate “The Big Fix" Spay/Neuter Voucher program (sliding fee scale) for qualifying low-income residents to decrease the numbers of homeless pets and improve their health and well-being. 795 family pets were spayed/neutered in 2021 through our program. Spay/neuter is key towards eliminating the homeless pet problem.
We offer adoptable pets at our Lake Panasoffkee shelter and at local Petsense/PetSmart stores. Adoptable pets are presented at recreation centers in The Villages monthly and they attend many special events. Our adoptions include all vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery, microchipping and treatment for parasites. We have two discounted adoption programs, "Seniors for Seniors" and "Pets for Veterans" to help place senior pets and honor our veterans with the benefits of pet companionship.
Our dedicated volunteers and staff work with our resident dogs and cats to better socialize them, and give the dogs necessary basic skills. We turn to behavioral or specialized medical professionals for help as needed.
We partner with approved no-kill rescue organizations, locally and out of state, transferring as many animals as possible.
We also operate a fostering program. Animals that benefit most are mothers with newborns, animals recovering from injury/illness and animals that do not do well in a shelter environment. The foster home gives these animals the extra support they need to improve their adoption success.
We maintain a "Hope Fund" which was created to assist abused and neglected animals in emergencies or with critical care needs which exceed routine veterinary expenses. It was named for a newborn kitten that was observed being thrown from a moving vehicle and was saved by caring Sumter residents.
We voluntarily work with Sumter County Animal Services to address welfare issues and direct the County toward more progressive animal management practices.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
YOUR Humane Society SPCA is composed of a dedicated group of volunteers and a few paid staff who work hard daily to save and improve the lives of animals in our county. We operate a five-acre campus with separate quarantine areas for dogs and cats, kennels for adoptable dogs, the "Catty Shack" for adoptable cats, a Kitten Wonderland for younger kittens not yet ready to mingle with the older cats, volunteer/staff animal handling training sessions, barn/pasture to safely house livestock in need, and an agility play yard for daily dog exercise and training.
We have established a close working relationship with a local animal clinic that enables us to schedule numerous spay/neuter surgeries for adoptable animals as well as for members of the public in need through our voucher program. We are also able to schedule urgent and critical care needs with the vets while our own staff cares for the daily needs of the animals.
In addition to adoptions and transfers to other no-kill rescues, we engage in public education on animal related topics and offer free and low cost spay/neuter services as well as free pet food to low-income residents. We operate at capacity or near-capacity every day. Sometimes we operate at over-capacity, such as peak "kitten season."
Volunteers and Board members (also all volunteers) diligently work to raise critical funding for our community assistance programs, daily operational expenses and capital fund through special events, planned giving and grant writing.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
• YOUR Humane Society SPCA "Kibbles" Free Pet Food Pantry served more than 117 animals in 2021 which jumped to 225 animals in 73 families in 2022 due to the economic challenges.
• YOUR Humane Society SPCA "Big Fix" Spay/Neuter Voucher program provided 775 surgeries in 2021 and 583 in 2022 as the community seemed to still be impacted by COVID-19.
YOUR Humane Society SPCA has continued our commitment to work more with Sumter County Animal Services (SCAS) with the goal of improving both the conditions at their facility and the County's LRR. We invite them to participate in adoption and special community events where possible. Through a network of rescuers, transporters, volunteers and community efforts, thousands of animals have successfully been saved.
What's next:
Our shelter's office is an old modular classroom that, in addition to being a noisy work environment, no longer provides sufficient space for our growing administrative needs. In 2022, our Board of Directors invested in a modular building which will double our work space to better achieve our efficiency and increase gathering opportunities in classroom and meeting settings. We anticipate this structure to be in full use by the end of 2023.
Our most critical need at this time is for people with business, banking, building and fundraising experience to help us plan and build a larger shelter on our five-acre site.
Citizen, government and business support and involvement are key to achieving and maintaining a no-kill county of which we can all be justly proud. Maintaining positive working relationships with animal advocates, rescue groups and SCAS is critical to YOUR Humane Society SPCA's mission of protecting and saving animals in Sumter County.
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.
YOUR Humane Society SPCA
Board of directorsas of 03/04/2024
Ms. Hope Wilson
Hope Wilson
Grover Stewart
Doug Durkie
Gary Falconer
Board leadership practices
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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