Spokane Humane Society Backgrounder

Spokane Humane Society

6607 N. Havana St.
Spokane, WA 99217
(509) 467-5235

Who we are:
The Spokane Humane Society is a 501C3 nonprofit charity organization, founded in 1897, that
is dedicated to the welfare of companion animals. We provide care, shelter, and placement for
lost, neglected, and unwanted animals in the Spokane area.

Our Mission: The Spokane Humane Society is dedicated to working together to enrich
the lives of companion animals through Support, Education, Advocacy, and Love
(SEAL).

Our Vision: We are committed to creating a humane community in which animals are
treated with compassion and respect, resources are readily available to those who
require support for the animals in their lives. Engaging and educating the community
by reducing the intake of animals through spay and neuter programs and creating an
environment where the animals and organization thrive

Position Statements: The Spokane Humane Society has developed position

statements to express our view regarding how we believe non-human animals should
be treated. We support training animals with redirection and positive reinforcement to
shape desired behaviors. Additionally, we strongly support the spaying and neutering
of animals at an early age to control pet overpopulation as much as possible. For a
complete list of our position regarding a number of topics involving domestic
companion animals, please visit our website
http://www.spokanehumanesociety.org/about-us/position-statements/

Our Impact:
The Spokane Humane Society places between 2,500 and 3,500 animals annually through
adoption programs. We reach out to tens of thousands of people promoting the importance of
animal welfare and the need to control animal population through spay and neuter programs.
We also distribute more than 20,000 pounds of pet food each year to low-income families in
the Spokane community.

Our Services:

Adoption Center: Our adoption center is open 7 days a week. Monday Friday 11 a.m.
6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. 5 p.m. Prospective families are encouraged
to spend time with pets prior to adopting to see if they are a good match. The adoption
 center is a safe place for the animals to live with no time limits for being placed into
their permanent, loving home.

Veterinary Clinic: All animals in our shelter are spayed/neutered, micro-chipped, and
vaccinated prior to being adopted. Our veterinary clinic also provides low income pet
owners access to vaccinations, micro-chipping, and spay/neuter services. The clinic
also provides euthanasia and cremation services when your companions life comes to
an end.

Community Outreach: Local businesses host hundreds of off-site educational and

adoption events to find homes for our animals. These events increase community
awareness of our programs, services and the need for spay and neuter programs.

Educational Opportunities: The Spokane Humane Society also provides many

educational opportunities, such as classroom visits for a variety of shelter and pet
related topics, as well as summer camps for children, which teach children age 7 -9
responsibility and compassion for animals.

Our Funding and Tax Information:

The Spokane Humane Society is a 501C3 non-profit organization and is recognized as exempt
from federal income taxes. Seventy cents of every dollar we bring in comes from donations
and fund raising. The rest comes from our spay and neuter programs, end-of-life services, and
adoption fees. The Spokane Humane Society operates on a $1.6 million budget each year and
receives no funding from federal, state, or local taxes.

Ways to help:

Donations: The Spokane Humane Society sincerely appreciates every donation we are
given. There are many ways to donate including:

Cash: This is the simplest way to help out. Cash donations can be deductible for
up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income for the taxable year.

Securities: Gifting stocks to the Spokane Humane Society and using cash to buy
the same stock through your stock broker will give the donor the same income
tax deduction and have a new, higher basis in the stock.

Real Estate: Donors can transfer the deed of homes and farms to the Spokane
Humane Society and keep the right to use the property for their lifetime. Doing
so can avoid all capital gain taxes and remove the asset from taxable estate.
 Life Insurance: Naming the Spokane Humane Society as the beneficiary of a life
insurance policy will give the donor an income tax deduction equal to the lesser
of the cash value of the policy or total premiums paid.

Endowed Gift Giving: Endowments are named permanent funds for a purpose
chosen by the donor. The principle of this fund is to invest and grow over time
while resulting in quarterly or annual distributions used to support the
endowments purpose. Endowments are one of the most effective gifts for the
organization in the long-term.

Memorials and Honorariums: Giving a gift in honor or memory of a person or

animal both benefits the Spokane Human Society and is a tremendous honor.

Bricks and Paws: Donors may purchase bricks for the walkway or paw
prints for the walls of the shelter as special tributes to friends, family
members, or animals.

Cage Sponsors: Annual cage sponsors provide vital support for the homeless
animals being temporarily housed at the shelter. Sponsoring kennels are only
$100 per year, which is less than 28 cents a day. Personalized plaques are placed
on the dog or cat kennel being sponsored and can be in the name of a donor,
company, family member, or cherished pet.

Volunteering: The Spokane Humane Society also welcomes volunteers with open
arms. Those over the age of 16 years are welcome to volunteer in any position and
children over the age of 10 are encouraged to come volunteer with the accompaniment
of a parent. Options for service include K-9 Crew (walking, grooming, and playing with
dogs), Feline Friends (playing and cuddling with the cats), and assisting at the front
desk and in our veterinary clinic. We are so grateful for our volunteers that help care for
our animals nearly 30,000 hours each year.

Fostering: People can also help out by fostering and providing a temporary home for
cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies while they are in the process of being adopted.

Our Events:
The Spokane Humane Society participates in a number of fundraising events each year. We
have two main events each year: The Furr Ball and Parade of Paws. We also participate in a
number of smaller events throughout the month to raise money, awareness, and strive to find
life-long homes for companion animals.

Parade of Paws: The Parade of Paws is a 2 or 4 mile walk to benefit the Spokane
Humane Society. There is no entrance fee for this event, but walkers are encouraged to
 fundraise and receive a t-shirt for doing so. Virtual Walking is also an option for those
who cannot be there but still want to be a part of the event.

Furr Ball: The Furr Ball is an annual event of ours. Last year, we raised over $120,000
from the Furr Ball alone. The Furr Ball consists of a reception with a silent auction and
cocktail hour, followed by a dinner, live auction and dancing.

Our Board of Directors:

Our Board of Directors shares a common objective to create the best possible organization to
meet the needs of our communitys unwanted and abandoned companion animals

Responsibilities and Duties of our Board:

1. Determine and support the mission and goals of the Spokane Humane Society
2. Select and support the Executive Director and assess his or her performance.
3. Ensure effective organizational planning.
4. Ensure adequate resources/raise money.
5. Exercise fiduciary responsibility and oversight of Society assets.
6. Determine, monitor and strengthen the organizations programs and services.
7. Enhance the organizations public standing by advocating its mission and goals to the
community.
8. Ensure legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability.
9. Recruit and orient new board members and assess board performance.

Our Executive Director: Dave Richardson has been our Executive Director for the past 10
years. Since working with us, he has stabilized the shelters finances, increased our animal save
rate to 98 percent, and completely eliminated euthanasia as a means of managing our shelters
population.

Richardson grew up in Kalamath Falls, Oregon, in a family that always had animals. He
spent two semesters at Central Oregon Community College before joining the Air Force
for 12 years. After his time in the Air Force, he decided to take a change of direction and
make a difference. He began working for the Red Cross, went on to be the CEO for the
Red Cross in the state of Wyoming and stayed with the company for 12 years. When
Richardson left Wyoming for Spokane, he began working for Second Harvest food bank
before coming to the Spokane Humane Society.

Richardson has accomplished many things during his time with the Humane Society.
The euthanasia rate was around 35 percent, due to overcrowding in the shelter, when
he came on board with us. He solved this problem by cutting staff and creating money-
saving mechanisms.

Currently, Richardson lives in Spokane with four cats, three dogs, three birds, and four
foster kittens that are bottle-fed every few hours. He claims that he has the best job. If
 Im having a bad day, I turn off my computer, grab a leash and go for a walk. It doesnt
get any better than that

Our Shelter Statistics (2015 year):

The Spokane Humane society has been in operation for 118 years
We took in and provided care for 3,166 companion animals
2,650 pets found loving homes
The shelter had an outstanding save-rate of 98.6 percent

Our Sponsors and Partners:

We are proudly partnered with Pool World, Petco Foundation, Fairwood Animal Hospital,
Petsmart Charities, STCU, and the Yuppy Puppy LLC. The Spokane Humane Society also
thanks Great Floors, SCAFCO, Fairwood Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery Center, STCU,
Umpqua Bank, The Davenport Hotel, Pool World, Wittkopf, and Cheney Vet for their
Sponsorship.