PLATINUM2023

Chesapeake Rescue Alliance

Providing homes, medical care, and love to animals in need

Mechanicsville, MD   |  https://chesapeakerescue.org

Mission

As a foster–based non-profit, Chesapeake Rescue Alliance protects animals in the Chesapeake Bay area and beyond. We connect animals in need to safe homes and facilitate their access to quality veterinary care. The rescue also provides foster, adoption, mandatory spay/neuter, trap-neuter-return, education and outreach services to support the well-being of animals within the community at-large. This organization emphasizes transparency and integrity while providing educational resources to support the humane treatment of animals.

Notes from the nonprofit

We are eternally grateful to those community members who continue to support our work to improve the lives of animals in the Chesapeake Bay area. You make our mission possible. Disclaimer: A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request by calling Chesapeake Rescue Alliance, Inc. at 202-240-2882 or sending mail to 29781 Grant Cir Mechanicsville, MD 20659 USA. Documents and information submitted to the state of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the office of the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401 for the cost of copying and postage.

Ruling year info

2022

Co-Founder & President

Cora Meyers

Main address

29781 Grant Cir

Mechanicsville, MD 20659 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

88-3066542

NTEE code info

Animal Protection and Welfare (includes Humane Societies and SPCAs) (D20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Approximately 6.3 million animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Each year, approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized (390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats). Further, 96,000 cats and dogs enter Maryland shelters yearly, while 45,000 cats and dogs die in Maryland shelters every year as overwhelmed shelters across the state are unable to keep up with demand. Thus, data clearly suggests that additional need exists to address the Chesapeake homeless animal population which are not suitably met by the existing local rescues. Thus, CRA has emerged as a robust and efficient animal rescue based in St. Mary’s County to better serve the needs of animals within the greater Chesapeake area.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Animal Fostering & Adoption

CRA facilitates the fostering and adoption of various homeless animals in the Chesapeake area. These animals may come from shelters, other rescues, owner surrenders, be strays, or other sources. After the org’s initial intake of the animal, the animal is placed into an available foster home, provided any necessary veterinary care, and listed for adoption. Animals stay with their initial foster until an acceptable applicant has been identified and approved. After adoption, the animal is brought to their new home, opening back up a slot in that foster home to help another animal in need.

Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups
Adults
Families
Widows and widowers
Economically disadvantaged people

TNR involves the trapping of stray animals, often in local cat colonies, and transportation of animals to and from a veterinary clinic for examination, vaccinations, spay/neuter and ear tipping. Spay/neuter programs can decrease the number of homeless animals entering shelters, the number of calls to Animal Control, the number of community animals euthanized, the negative impact on the natural wildlife population that ferals can present, risks to animals health and wellbeing, risks to human health (e.g., toxoplasmosis, rabies, etc.), and financial hardship for some animal caretakers. Further, spay and neuter brings behavioral benefits that can protect a pet from being relinquished to a shelter or roaming away from home. Reaching underserved populations is the most effective way to decrease state euthanasia rates and reduce costs of euthanizing homeless pets, making accessibility of vet care, information and TNR another fundamental pillar of CRA’s work.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Families
Widows and widowers

Most community citizens are unaware of how many animals are euthanized annually or even of proper animal care and handling procedures. Research suggests knowledge of these facts enhances animal treatment, community giving to nonprofits and engagement with the animal community. As such, educational campaigns can work to increase rates of adoption and fostering within a community and also act to improve the quality of life for existing pets or stray animals. Further, enhanced awareness of lost animals within the community can increase the likelihood of animals being reunited with owners, enhancing their safety and wellbeing as well. Thus, development and dissemination education makes up a core component of CRA’s infrastructure. Education resources may take the form of one-on-one consultations, public talks, virtual/in-person training, videos, informative infographics and flyers, etc. which are often dissemination via social media, at events or through email campaigns.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Families
Economically disadvantaged people
Ethnic and racial groups

CRA is entirely made up of volunteers working out of various locations across the Chesapeake Bay Area. At its core, CRA is a community-based people organization which strongly values passion, teamwork, volunteer wellbeing and healthy communication between all volunteers. We seek to foster this culture by routinely assessing how volunteers are feeling and performing, rotating positions routinely and providing training as needed. This facilitates cross-training of skills, allowing each volunteer to develop both an understanding of all roles available as well as fluency in multiple positions. This distributes power and minimize risk for the organization,while also allowing all volunteers to gain exposure to multiple roles to ensure teammates can continuously engage and contribute in a way they find personally fulfilling.

Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups
Adults
Families
Widows and widowers
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

Mabel's Orphaned Angel Rescue 2022

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of donors retained

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Total dollars received in contributions

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

501c3 status received in late 2022, precluding large fundraising campaign execution and resulting in limited donations in 2022.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our organization is focused on educating the community regarding pressing issues facing local animals and on taking actions which improve animal welfare while supporting the well-being of all volunteers. This organization emphasizes operating with a high level of transparency and integrity at all times to facilitate the efficient use of all donated time, funds and resources. We also embrace guidance derived from business intelligence to enhance operational decision-making to grow and further maximize our impact.

We meet our organizational goals by connect animals in need to safe homes and quality veterinary care while engaging volunteers and educating the community regarding the humane treatment of animals. Further, we utilize a comprehensive volunteer mentorship and retention program to ensure high levels of engagement and volunteer satisfaction. This enhances our ability to effectively meet the needs of the community.

While multiple rescues serve the Chesapeake community, issues with efficiency, transparency, reliability, and safety persist (e.g., providing appropriate vetting of fosters and adopters exist, as well as limitations with respect to veterinary care). Further, issues of volunteer retention additionally restrict the impact these organizations are able to make with community funds. CRA seeks to mitigate these issues through embracing nonprofit best practices, leveraging business intelligence data to inform organizational decision-making, performing ongoing assessment of volunteer wellbeing and community perception of nonprofit, providing training and mentorship as needed, and regular consultation with highly-skilled subject matter experts throughout the entire lifecycle of the nonprofit.

We have a small but dedicated team of volunteers at CRA, each with many years of animal rescue experience, working every day to execute our mission. We also work with community partners and subject matter experts to ensure we are able to maximize our contribution and the quality of work produced to best support the local animal population. CRA actively recruits and trains new volunteers on a regular basis to maintain and scale operations.

We have developed multiple programs to comprehensively address the needs of the local animal population with a multifaceted approach. We have also worked to recruit skilled leadership to effectively execute our mission, leveraging diverse backgrounds, experiences and skill sets as they relate to animal rescue in this geographic area. Further, CRA has established extensive policies, procedures and training materials to clearly communicate the mission, goals, and processes to facilitate efficient onboarding and daily operation. We have also developed active fostering, adoption, and Trap-Neuter-Return programs to support the wellbeing of cats within the local community. In our short time in operation, we have cared for approximately 40 animals and plan to care for many more during the upcoming months and years

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • 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

  • 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 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

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback

Financials

Chesapeake Rescue Alliance
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

Chesapeake Rescue Alliance

Board of directors
as of 06/01/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Cora Meyers

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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? Yes
  • 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? 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? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 6/1/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/28/2022

GuideStar 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

Data
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • 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 have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • 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.