Humane Society of Manatee County

“The board of directors and management receive a copy of the form 990 in draft form. Questions and comments from the board of directors and management are answered by the treasurer and any modifications resulting from this process are made to the draft form. The final version of the form is approved by the board.”

“The organization reviews any conflict of interests as they are noted. There were none in the 2015 fiscal year. Additionally, conflict of interest forms are completed annually by all board of directors.”

“To determine the compensation of the executive director, the executive committee considered form 990 of similar organizations in additional to a compensation survey. The board of directors approved the compensation package as determined by the executive committee with a unanimous vote.”

“The organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public upon request. Copies of recent forms 990 are available at www.guidestar.com.”

“The humane society of manatee county is committed to leading manatee county in fostering compassion and respect for animals through care, education and collaboration. We have operated a no-kill shelter since first opening in 1970 and average one thousand (1000) adoptions each year. Our goal is to end the killing of homeless pets in manatee county by preventing animals from entering shelters and by collaborating with other animal welfare agencies in our community. In addition our veterinary clinic provides high quality / low-to-moderate cost veterinary care for all dogs and cats in our community. We believe that all animals in our community deserve quality medical care including animals in financially challenged families. We are uniquely qualified to provide 360 degree services throughout the lifetime of an animal through adoption, education, veterinary services and pet retention programs. Spay / neuter humane society of manatee county is our community's only high volume spay & neuter clinic, more than 6000 surgeries were performed in 2016. Spay / neuter services are available to the public as well as community rescue groups. Grant funding plays an important role in our efforts to offer no cost / low cost surgeries for low income families. Close to two thousand (2000) of the surgeries performed in our clinic last year were offered free or were subsidized. Spaying and neutering animals is the humane solution to reduce the number of homeless animals and ending overcrowded shelters. Tnr humane society of manatee county through an alliance with manatee county animal services and gulf shore animal league (gsal) regularly spays and neuters feral / free roaming community cats. At the time of surgery all cats also receive vaccines for a healthier cat community as well as a healthier human community. After surgery the cats are transported back to the community where they were trapped by gsal. Through spaying and neutering and attrition the feral cat populations are controlled. Our community is a better place with a controlled animal population, quality care and ongoing public education. Adoptions humane society of manatee county is averaging close to one thousand (1000) adoptions a year and pet retention remains a priority. Our shelter adoption program called second chance adoptions, truly gives many animals a second chance. Many of the animals introduced into our shelter system are medically challenged or senior animals. Our staff works to provide the necessary care on an individualized basis for each animal in our facility. Our pet safety net program helps new adopters and other pet owners with a number of support programs. Our pet food pantry, animal behavioral trainer and low-to-moderate veterinary services are all programs offered to assist with pet retention. All animals adopted through our shelter are spayed or neutered, up to date on vaccines and micro-chipped.”

“The humane society of manatee county veterinary clinic provided services for more than ten thousand (10,000) cats and dogs in the last year. These services included spay / neuter surgeries, vaccines, micro-chips, heartworm prevention and treatment and wellness exams. Our medical team is led by our medical director, julie hollified dvm and includes a support staff of ten (10) including veterinary technicians, assistant veterinary technicians and client services staff.”

“Our second chance adoption program accepts owner surrenders, stray animals and also transfers in animals from the manatee county animal services shelter. We are able to provide high quality medical care when needed as well as providing daily care for the animals entering our shelter system. Our staff veterinarians provide care and monitoring of all animals in our shelter with weekly medical rounds and the shelter has a certified veterinary technician on staff. Staff and volunteers are trained frequently and work together to train and socialize the dogs to better prepare them for adoption. A dog trainer is at our shelter once a month to work with adopters who may be experiencing behavioral issues with their new canine family member.”

“There was no change to the audit oversight or selection process during the year.”