Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Adoption
We make a lifetime commitment to each animal in our adoption program, striving to find each animal a loving home. We provide them with quality care for both their medical and behavioral health. Every animal receives spay/neuter surgery, vaccinations, microchip, warm beds, quality food and toys, exercise, training, and love.
Community Cat Program
To reduce cat overpopulation in our community, we provide free and reduced-cost spay/neuter surgeries to feral cats in Central Texas in this trap-neuter-return program. All cats served also receive vaccines and microchips. Since the program was launched in 2007, over 71,000 cats have been served. 2,053 cats were served in the program in 2020. AHS's Community Cat Program helps stabilize the free-roaming cat population, decreases the number of kittens born each year, and controls behaviors/stressors associated with mating.
Foster Care
AHS runs a foster care program in conjunction with our adoption program. AHS's Foster Care Coordinator works with volunteer foster families who assist in caring for animals too young to stay in the shelter, those recovering from surgery or other specialty/medical care, and those who are not behaviorally thriving in the shelter.
Disaster Response
We coordinate disaster responses to natural and human-made crises. During fires, hurricanes, hoarding situations, or other emergencies, our staff transports animals to our shelter to provide safety and medical care. In 2020, AHS served 281 animals during disaster response. AHS is the City of Austin's official disaster response partner and has MOUs with several other organizations across the state of Texas.
As part of our disaster response program, AHS has been responding to the ongoing pandemic through our Pet Food Pantry. Our aim is to serve those experiencing food insecurity by providing free pet food to those in need. We are keeping families with their beloved pets and out of shelters. Since the inception of the program in May of 2020, we have distributed 109,225 pounds of pet food to nearly 8,000 animals.
Humane Heroes
This STEM-based education program offers opportunities for youth to learn about animals. In 2020, 2,933 children participated in our Humane Heroes programming. AHS is the only shelter in Austin to offer educational programming for youth. We partner with dozens of schools, churches, daycares, and other educational organizations to deliver this program at no cost. Our aim is to teach positive animal-interaction skills and foster the next generation of animal welfare advocates.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of sheltered animals
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
Number of homeless animals vaccinated on-site
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number includes those animals vaccinated through both our adoption program and our Trap/Neuter/Return program.
Number of "community cats" spayed/neutered through our Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Cat Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of animals provided life-saving surgery and/or specialty care.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Adoption
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
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?
As the longest-standing no-kill, nonprofit pet adoption center in Austin, Texas, the Austin Humane Society is dedicated to: saving Austin's homeless cats and dogs; educating our community about responsible pet ownership; and reducing pet over-population. Our shelter offers comprehensive, humane, life-saving animal services, transforming the lives of animals and those who love them. AHS' approach to addressing animal homelessness includes both finding animals homes through adoption as well as preventing future homelessness through spay/neuter programs.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Since first opening in 1952, the Austin Humane Society (AHS) has gone through many phases, always growing and taking on new goals and responsibilities to meet the needs of the animals and people in our community. In the 1950s, the community came together to build what was then a state-of-the-art animal shelter. In the 1990s, the community came together once again to move AHS into our current building, where we've created an advanced space for the temporary shelter of homeless cats and dogs. We look to the future where through a capital campaign we can grow our organization to serve even more animals and host even more programs to spread our mission of compassion to all animals and people.
In 2021, AHS served over 11,000 animals and people through intake, community outreach and prevention. We continue to collaborate with ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States, and 100+ local and regional area shelters and groups. Considering Austin's tremendous growth and its constantly changing animal welfare landscape, AHS is prepared to make adjustments to our strategies to continue to maintain the strength and success of our programs. AHS will stand ready to serve animals and people in disaster situations.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
AHS has created a diverse, active, and sustainable fundraising strategy that promises significant growth in the coming years. Roughly half of our income depends on small-to-medium-sized gifts from individuals. We ask all participants of our feral cat program, as well as adopters and owners who surrender their pets, to donate to our organization. We send out direct mail donor mailings per year, direct mail acquisition mailings, and newsletters, and weekly emails to our donor base. Both our Director of Development & Marketing and Development Manager are focused on cultivating donor relationships.
AHS hosts two major fundraising events each year, in addition to over 50 third-party fundraisers. AHS staff regularly attend workplace giving events to solicit donations from employees of corporations and government agencies who are able to support AHS through a payroll donation.
AHS regularly applies for funding from private, family, and corporate foundations and will continue to seek a diversified stream of grant funding.
Our partnership with area animal shelters plays a huge role in the success of our organization. By partnering with other animal advocacy organizations focused on specific areas of need, we help provide a comprehensive safety net for at-risk dogs and cats, while addressing the larger problems that create animal homelessness and unnecessary euthanasia.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As stated previously, AHS has grown from 258 adoptions in 1953 to over 4,000 adoptions each year. The goal is to ensure that our dogs and cats not only find loving homes, but permanent ones. When an animal enters our Adoption Program, we make a commitment to provide them quality care for both their medical health as well as their behavioral needs. Each and every animal receives spay/neuter surgery, vaccinations, microchips, warm beds, quality food and toys, and exercise. Our adoption program has continued to grow over the years, just as our city has grown.
The AHS Community Cat Program provides free sterilization and vaccinations for feral cats. Our humane Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) approach provides ordinary citizens with a free trap rental, education on how to use the trap, free spay/neuter surgeries for feral cats by appointment, rabies vaccinations, ear-tipping, de-worming, and pain medication. The feral cats are then released back to the original trapper who returns them to their colony. The program has had a significant impact on our city-run animal shelter, the Austin Animal Center (AAC). Since the inception of the program in 2007, AHS has served over 74,000 free-roaming cats. We look forward to continuing this successful program and reaching out to more potential volunteer trappers who can help us expand the number of surgeries we perform.
AHS has 800 active volunteers who annually donate over 100,000 hours of volunteer time. Foster volunteers provide care in their homes for animals that are not yet ready for our Adoption Program, primarily young kittens and puppies. In addition, AHS provides humane education through dog obedience and puppy classes, workshops for school children, educational tours, pet loss support groups, and counseling and education through our adoption center. We have the experience and capacity to organize large scale emergency animal rescue operations including providing shelter and re-homing during times of crisis (i.e. animal hoarder rescues, puppy mill rescues and natural disasters.) Funding large-scale rescues is a challenge, yet we have learned to craft effective online fundraising campaigns and solicit media attention to raise money to save animals in need.
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.
Austin Humane Society
Board of directorsas of 2/17/2022
Chris Helling
Lancaster Helling, LLP
Chris Helling
No Affiliation
Steve Garven
No Affiliation
Lisa Kennedy
No Affiliation
Barbara Wilson
No Affiliation
Steve Waters
No Affiliation
Jill Holup
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? 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
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data