Best Friends Animal Society

“Anne mejia, secretary and cyrus mejia, board member, are husband and wife. Gregory castle, co-founder/internal consultant and julie castle, ceo are husband and wife.”

“The 990 is prepared internally and reviewed by tanner llc, the chief financial/operating officer and the chair of the audit committee. The return is then made available to the whole board for review before being filed.”

“Upon being appointed, all board members, officers, and staff are required to sign an agreement that acknowledges acceptance of best friends' conflict of interest policy. This policy applies to all board members, directors, committee members and staff of best friends animal society. This policy requires that all affiliations with entities in which a financial interest is held be disclosed to the board. The senior financial management of best friends, including the coo and the director of finance, routinely monitor all transactions to ensure that any related party transactions are fully disclosed to the board at least annually and in the financial statements to ensure that the transactions comply with policy. This policy is currently under review by the board to provide greater structure; including requiring more frequent sign-off on policy,more reporting, and restrictions on participation by relevant board and staff in the dealing with the conflict.”

“The board reviewed and approved the compensation of the ceo after considering data from different sources, including compensation amounts of comparable positions at comparable organizations. The chief executive officer determines the compensation of the corporate officers, after considering data from different sources, including compensation amounts of comparable positions at comparable organizations. The ceo reviews those salaries with the board.”

“Copies of the form 990, form 990-t, and audited financial statements are available for public viewing on the best friends' website. Governing documents and the conflict of interest policy are available upon request, subject to approval of senior management.”

“Direct animal lifesaving: from our headquarters in kanab, utah, we run the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary, caring for up to 1,600 animals on any given day. In fiscal year 2024, lifesaving achievements at best friends animal sanctuary included: 2,682 new animals welcomed 1,566 pet adoptions 725 animals fostered 2,934 animals transported (including from partner organizations) 3,287 spay/neuter surgeries 40,295 visitors and 4,283 tours completed we also launched a mobile clinic serving the navajo nation, providing spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, and microchipping. From january through september 2024, the clinic treated 2,317 animals, helping meet the urgent need for veterinary care on the largest reservation in the u.s. Beyond the sanctuary, best friends operates lifesaving centers and programs in salt lake city, los angeles, houston, northwest arkansas, new york city, and along the east coast. In fiscal year 2024, we supported animals in these communities through adoptions, fostering, pet transports, spay/neuter services, and community cat programs. Highlights included: 15,406 new animals welcomed 16,282 pet adoptions 7,195 animals fostered 9,058 animals transported (including animals from partner organizations) 16,324 spay/neuter surgeries 1,958 community cats helped we also responded to natural disasters, including hurricanes helene and milton, by delivering supplies, covering veterinary costs, and moving 1,073 animals to safety.”

“Leading the no-kill movement: in fiscal year 2024, best friends collaborated with over 5,000 shelters, rescue groups, and other animal welfare organizations across all 50 states through the best friends network, which grew by a record 572 groups. Network partners received mentorship, training, grants, and other lifesaving resources. In total, we provided over $17 million in funding across 964 organizations. Best friends continued to maintain the nation's most comprehensive animal sheltering dataset, providing key insights and analytics from more than 10,000 shelters and rescue groups across the u.s. Tools like our pet lifesaving dashboard and shelter pet data alliance made this data accessible and transparent, helping shelters track trends, make informed decisions, and improve outcomes. Through our national shelter support programs, best friends worked with shelters nationwide to strengthen animal care, lifesaving programs, operations, shelter medicine, and community engagement. In 2024, our team held 91 training sessions, reaching 1,608 shelter staff members and volunteers. We also provided assessments, mentorship, grants, and on-the-ground support by embedding our staff directly in shelters. We also continued our academic partnership with southern utah university to expand education and career pathways in animal services. In fiscal year 2024, 251 individuals completed our certification or degree programs currently the only offerings of their kind in the u.s. The 2024 best friends national conference, held in orlando, brought together 1,483 animal welfare professionals and advocates from 47 states across the u.s. And four other countries to share knowledge and explore the latest in lifesaving strategies. Best friends launched bring love home, a national campaign encouraging pet adoption over purchasing. The campaign's psa premiered in times square and reached 143 million people, raising awareness and support for dogs and cats in shelters. On the legislative front, our team helped secure 40 advocacy wins across 17 states, addressing issues like breed-specific laws, puppy mills, and community cat policies. These efforts were backed by more than 125,000 grassroots advocates who sent messages to lawmakers, gathered over 9,400 petition signatures, and took more than 2,800 actions during national action week for animals. Additionally, 12,544 volunteers contributed 523,215 hours across all best friends programs in fiscal year 2024, helping to drive our mission forward. Together with our partners, advocates, volunteers, and supporters, best friends saved thousands of lives and made meaningful progress toward no-kill nationwide. We believe that by working together, we can save them all.”

“Best friends acheives some of its programmatic and fundraising goals in direct mail campaigns that include requests for contributions. The costs of conducting those campaigns included certain joint costs that are not directly attributable to the program, management and general, or the fundraising component of the activities. Those joint costs were allocated between program and fundraising. Best friends animal society, inc. Is committed to efficiency and transparency. We communicate with our donors and prospecitve donors by email, postal mail, phone and other means, both to request contributions to our cause and to educate the public about best friends animal society, inc. Programs, volunteer opportunities and events across the united states. These efforts help advance our mission to end the killing of shelter animals by 2025. As a result, in accordance with the financial accounting standards board (fasb) guidelines and internal revenue service (irs) guidance, best friends animal society, inc. Allocates a portion of our fundraising costs to program services. As a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal taxation, we ensure our donors' money is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

“Agency funds designated for other organizations subsidiary income -145,843. Other adjustments 34,090.”