MOUNTAIN HUMANE
Savings animals and changing lives
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?
Adoptions, Foster, and Volunteer
Our most popular programs, the one that puts the most smiles on faces, are our Foster, Adoption, and animal interactive Volunteer opportunities. Through these programs, we provide animals with temporary reprieve from the shelter, pre and post-adoption counseling to help facilitate a healthier transition and community involvement/engagement.
Subsidized and Free Community Spay/Neuter Clinics
This program addressing the underlying cause of pet overpopulation in our community, the spay/neuter clinics, partnered with community outreach and education, are the most effective way of decreasing unwanted dog and cat litters and reducing animal homelessness. After 10+ years in operation, we are seeing a dramatic reduction in overpopulations of animals finding their way into shelters.
Paws for Hunger Pet Food Bank
Our partnership with The Hunger Coalition, Paws for Hunger prevents animal homelessness by providing pet food to families facing economic crisis who might otherwise not be able to feed or keep their beloved pets. Almost 30,000 lbs. of pet food have been distributed since its inception.
Behavior Training
The Behavior Team wears hats inside and outside the shelter walls. Providing behavior modification support to our in-house population, while also providing adopters and the general public training classes, behavior counseling, private training sessions, and even pre-adoption consults to help ensure successful adoptions.
Licensing/ Microchipping
Legislation around the old “dog license” has changed. The ordinance intended to keep our community safe from Rabies, is now doing so using a microchip to track compliance rather than the old dog license. This provides the community the same rabies compliance safety mechanisms with an added pet reuniting feature that can be recognized worldwide.
Intake
Every animal that comes into MH, whether it is to stay, or just receive one of our many services, passes through our Intake desk. Impounds brought in by Animal Control or a member of the public, animal surrenders and requests, as well as all of our animal transfers from underserved shelters are recorded, serviced and processed here. One of the newest roles for this team is surrender prevention or surrender deferment where a myriad of services are offered to pet owners in an effort to help them keep their pet and avoid surrender.
Veterinary Services
Our Veterinary clinic has grown beyond processing homeless animals in preparation for adoption, and offering basic no & low-cost spay/neuter services and vaccinations. MH’s clinic is now a FULL service veterinary clinic providing basic services along with comprehensive exams, diagnostics, dentals and extractions, mass removals, laceration and abscess treatments, and more.
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 animal adoptions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Adoptions, Foster, and Volunteer
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of volunteer hours donated
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Adoptions, Foster, and Volunteer
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of volunteers
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 receiving subsidized or free spay/neuter services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Subsidized and Free Community Spay/Neuter Clinics
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Average number of days of shelter stay for animals
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Adoptions, Foster, and Volunteer
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Decreasing
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?
1. Create a culture of generosity and appreciation where everyone--staff, board, volunteers, donors, and service recipients--feels that they are a vital part of the team. Ensure sufficient resources for current operations while creating financial strategies that will ensure long-term sustainability.
2. Continue to develop and steward a compelling organizational vision to build relationships to secure dedicated staff and volunteers, committed and enthusiastic board members, and strongly aligned donor relationships that result in optimized philanthropic engagement.
3. Continue to develop a more effective and cohesive board; enlist new members with leadership skills, commitment, and community standing to strengthen the organization.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Goal 1:
-Implement a thorough "moves management" major donor program and engage all board members in execution.
-Ensure the success of the annual gala by engaging all board members in an appropriate supporting role.
-Review current fundraising events/efforts, and their impact, including measurable financial and mission-related outcomes.
Goal 2:
-Educate board members through new board member orientation weekly board reports to ensure the ability to act as informed ambassadors.
-Our Programs management staff will develop individual department goals annually to ensure continued effectiveness and leadership in each area of service we provide the community.
-Engage in appropriate advocacy efforts.
-Grow our free community spay/neuter services to reach underserved populations in our community and neighboring areas.
Goal 3:
-Organizational leadership and board members will all hone their 30-second "why" (why you are passionate about the organization) stories to help engage new community members and networking circles.
-Strengthen the organization's committee structure to engage new community members and groom them for possible board leadership.
-Create an annual marketing and communication plan to broaden and grow our base of supporters and potential adopters through print and social media.
Goal 4:
-Engage board members in utilizing community connections to reach new audiences.
-Bring fundraising consultants to train board members in fundraising skills.
-Solidify and grow existing stewardship efforts by recruiting board members to make thank-you calls to all new donors, major donors, and others identified by staff.
-Review program efficiencies with staff as part of the annual budgeting process to ensure organizational resources are being spent to maximum effect toward the mission.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our team of 11 board members, 5 director team members, 10 dedicated program staff, and over 200 volunteers are staying current with contemporary animal welfare best practices through relationships with the University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine, Best Friends, and ASPCA. We are also an active member of the Idaho Shelter Coalition supporting the no-kill Idaho initiative for 2025.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
One of the Shelter's biggest accomplishments is the Free Community Spay/Neuter program where anyone in Blaine County can bring their pet to the Shelter for a free spay/neuter surgery. This has not only keeps unwanted animals from finding their way into shelters but also keeps animals in our community healthier and free from disease. Since the program started 14 years ago, we have performed over 10,000 spay/neuter surgeries and over 20,000 vaccinations for qualifying pet owners in Blaine County.
Thanks to the drop in local stray populations, the Shelter has been able to open it's doors to regional shelters as a "relief valve" for when they become too full. This has resulted in many more lives being saved as pets who would have faced euthanasia due to lack of space are given a second opportunity here in the Wood River Valley.
Another program that has seen huge success is the Paws for Hunger partnership with The Hunger Coalition. One of the barriers for families living on a limited income is being able to afford food for their beloved pets. Instead of animals being surrendered due to lack of funds, the Paws for Hunger program distributes pet food to families in need. This keeps more animals in happy homes.
Every animal adopted from the Shelter goes home with a microchip, license (for dogs), collar, and an identification tag when they are adopted. The Shelter also acts as a lost and found for local pets. Through our Lost and Found Network.
What's next...Animal welfare is making a shift from sheltering and caring for animals in the confines of brink and motor to providing human-animal services. Of these services pet retention programs, robust foster programs, community engagement, and animal fast-tracking through shelters will be the main focus for our organization and the national organizations we partner with.
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 strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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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 take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, 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
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
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.
MOUNTAIN HUMANE
Board of directorsas of 03/04/2024
Sally Onetto
No Affiliation
Term: 2019 - 2026
Maggie Sturdevant
Deborah Mello
Linda Potter
Sally Onetto
Vikrie Cutler
Katie Franklin
Matt Wellner
Christine Brumback
Micki Chapin
Corry Clayville
Kristin Hovencamp
Stephanie Booth
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? 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
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
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/30/2020GuideStar 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 disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- 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.