Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity Inc
Inclusion Equals Lifesaving
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?
Implicit Bias Research
CARE will work with Harvard's Project Implicit to measure implicit bias in the Animal Welfare field. The respondents will consist of all professions inside an animal shelter or rescue or foundation that donates to a shelter or rescue. All positions will be studied, including Board Members, Volunteers and Staff.
CARE Centers: Workforce Development
Community Wisdom, Community Solutions.
CARE Centers are ‘centered’ in the community and led by community members. Proximate Leaders are SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS on the challenges facing their communities. Their solutions are often structured around insights only found through lived experiences. When given the opportunity to lead, Proximate Leaders are far more capable of finding sustainable solutions for their community of friends, love ones, and neighbors than any outreach effort from an outside organization. CARE is assisting these community leaders with the long awaited support they need through grants, legal assistance and augmentation of skills. Because of the generosity of donors like you, CARE is helping to start several New 501c3 Organizations or support existing ones. We know there is community wisdom and rather than work from the shelter down, CARE is working from the community Up. This methodology is Preventative and Sustainable.
Assessing Racial Disparities in America’s Pet and Animal Welfare Organizations (AWOs)
CARE's Research and Development Team, in partnership with The University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) College of Social Work, will be conducting a groundbreaking study to assess racial disparities in animal welfare organizations across the United States. The will result in a comprehensive report about how different policies and practices within the animal welfare industry in 4 communities contribute to disparate impacts felt by pet owners of different racial and ethnic groups. This report will help toinform discussions within the industryin their efforts to reduce disparities across racial and ethnic groups.
Economic Impact Analysis of the American Pet Industry & American Animal Welfare Industry
CARE seeks to analyze the economic impact of both the Animal Welfare and Pet Industry with the intention of measuring the field’s impact on BIPOC Americans. CARE is also interested in solutions like economic pathways into these industries for BIPOC Americans and their organizations.
Environmental Justice
Black Indigenous and People of Color [BIPOC] AND their pets are on the frontlines of Global Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Rising Sea Levels. Millions are paying a price for policies they have little control over. CARE is determined to advocate for people of color and their pets facing Environmental Injustice. Following CARE’s Human and Animal Well-being framework, we’ve begun implementing vital Environmental Justice and Policy work in Kentucky. Unlike other organizations working within the Environmental Justice space, CARE centralizes people and their pet family in the work we do. We look forward to gaining lessons from Kentucky that will insight future projects around the country.
REDI: Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Training
REDI works outside the traditional framework of DE&I. Often DE&I is performative, done to look as though diversity is the goal. For this reason, DE&I initiatives seldom last long, rarely transfer power to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [BIPOC], or create systemic and equitable shifts within the organizations that innate them.
Thanks to Maddie’s Fund and Petsmart Charities, CARE is able to offer coursework that helps students look critically at our current and historical failures as it pertains to Racial Equity. CARE seeks to put committed organizations and individuals on a path to greater truth and understanding, and eventually to Action.
Narratives
CARE’s Narrative Division produces stories that celebrate diverse companion humans and their pets. Take a look at the stories we tell, and re-tell. Stories shape our vision of the world and often frame our perceptions and biases. People of Color, People without homes, Seniors, and other marginalized groups do heroic things every day for animals but are rarely elevated or celebrated. CARE is broadening the narrative because the stories we tell matter in the battle to clear our shelters.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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.
Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity Inc
Board of directorsas of 04/06/2023
Catherine Small
Purina
Term: 2024 - 2022
Kara Beverly
Johns Hopkins University
Amy Mills
Emancipet
Shafonda Davis
Animal Protection Society of Durham/Durham County Animal Shelter
Zach Skow
Marley's Mutts
Janet Reich Elsbach
Author and Professor
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
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/29/2022GuideStar 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 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 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.
- 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 help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- 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.