Humane Society Silicon Valley

“The 990 was provided to the board members for their review prior to filing.”

“Annually, the board members, officers and key employees are asked to complete and sign a "Conflict of Interest Policy & Reasonable Efforts" questionnaire. There is a conflict of interest policy, whistleblower policy and Code of Ethics and Conduct policy included in the Employee Handbook. Human Resources points them out as key policies in the Employee Handbook during orientation with all new employees. In the event of a conflict, procedures for addressing the conflict of interest are specified in the Organization's policy. They include discussion among the executive team and if needed, presentation to the Board of Directors, discussion by the Board, investigation of alternatives, other due diligence, and specific rules for making a decision on a course of action.”

“When compensation is modified, usually annually, the Board of Directors conducts a study of chief executive/president and chief financial employee compensation of other similar organizations meeting the following criteria: 1. each of the organizations listed is in the animal welfare industry and of similar size and responsibility for the president and chief financial employee of the organization; 2. each of the organizations is of long standing within their communities; 3. each is in California in large metropolitan communities where the cost of living is similar to HSSV's community; and 4. all of the organizations in California that meet criterias 1,2 and 3 are included. To help assure quality and independence, the study is prepared by staff and reviewed and approved by the Treasurer and Board Chair, prior to presentation to the entire Board of Directors.”

“HSSV lists governing documents and policies on the website and provides a form for anyone to request a copy. Audit reports, annual reports, and 990's are posted directly on its website.”

“Strategic Direction Humane Society Silicon Valley's strategic direction is continued commitment to community collaboration to increase the number of lives saved. Companion animals in the local community come first. The aims are to: - Achieve a save rate of 95% or greater. This includes continuing to save 100% of all healthy animals that come under the Organization's care. It also includes attaining the goal to save 100% of animals that can be healed through rehabilitation and medical or behavioral treatment. - Lead the community coalition in continuing to save 100% of healthy animals in Silicon Valley. The acceptance of the Maddie's Fund Lifesaving Award signifies the coalition's ongoing commitment to achieve this result annually and forever. The Organization also wants to inspire the coalition to reach for the same goal of saving 100% of animals that can be healed through rehabilitation and medical or behavioral treatment. - Become the first model shelter in the country to complete the Association of Shelter guidelines, and create and deploy the story around the life-saving impact of this initiative. Charity Navigator and GuideStar are key organizations that provide, on their websites, information on nonprofit organizations. The following information pertains to ratings and comparability to other nonprofits. The Organization's fundraising expenses, as a percentage of total functional expenses, and its fundraising efficiency (cost to raise $1) are higher than some other animal welfare organizations due to the additional costs necessary to fund the Comprehensive Campaign. The Organization's goal is to become a national model for saving the lives of companion animals that are capable of healing. The Comprehensive Campaign is needed to sustain and increase the Organization's mission impact through progressive and scalable programs. To achieve that goal, an investment in the Comprehensive Campaign is required. In addition, during the campaign, administrative positions spend more time fundraising and, therefore, a greater percentage of those salaries are allocated towards fundraising rather than administrative (management and general) expense. If those salaries were allocated towards administrative expense, the Organization's fundraising efficiency rating in Charity Navigator would increase positively. At the same time, the Organization's administrative expense would still maintain its excellent rating due to a very low percentage of total functional expenses spent on management even when those allocated salaries are reabsorbed into the administrative category. The above factors negatively affect the financial portion of Humane Society Silicon Valley's rating on Charity Navigator, a key nonprofit charity rating organization. However, the Organization's strengths are its program efficiency ratio and its accountability and transparency ratings. The Organization's program expenses are 76% of total expenses, which is considered excellent by Charity Navigator's ratings methodology. In addition, the Organization scored maximum points on the accountability and transparency factors of the rating.”

“The organization is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation that has operated continuously since 1929. The focus of the Organization is companion animal rescue and homelessness prevention. The Organization serves as a safety net for companion animals in Silicon Valley, sets a national example for innovation and seeks to transform human lives through deeper connections to animals. The impact achieved reflects the quality of the Organization and its people. Impact The Organization is driving significant, positive change for both companion animals and the people who care for and about them. The solutions are achieving groundbreaking results. Specifically, the Organization: - Saves 100% of all healthy animals in the Organization's care and has done so since 2006. In the year ended June 30, 2016, the Organization saved 90% of all animals that came through its doors, including many needing rehabilitation or extended treatment. This compares to the national average of 70% (for 2012, as reported on http:/www.maddiesfund.org/). Even more importantly, these results are being achieved while the overall community save rate continues to improve. - Provides rehabilitation and medical or behavioral treatment for nearly 3,600 (in calendar 2015) animals each year. These animals are just like pets many people already have in their homes today but they don't yet have the loving guardians they need to overcome common challenges. Given time, space, and tailored medical and behavioral attention, these animals can lead high-quality lives for years to come and provide profound enrichment to their future two-legged families. Currently, approximately 76% of the animals saved require this kind of care and treatment. - Finds and helps keep - loving homes for nearly 5,600 animals each year. This includes providing counseling and no cost pet food to keep over 215 pet animals in their homes (excluding managed colony cats), returning nearly 185 lost animals to their homes, transferring almost 525 animals, including wild life, to rescue groups and managed cat colonies, and facilitating adoptions for nearly 4,700 animals. Currently, nearly 72% of these adopted animals will receive foster care or kitten nursery care prior to being matched with their new families. - The Organization also provides "showcase" foster days for several animal rescue partners. By providing the use of the Organization's facilities to the same rescue groups at the same time each week, these groups are able to maintain a presence where potential adopters can routinely find them. This enables hundreds more animals to ultimately find homes each year. - Performs and influences nearly 8,520 spay/neuter surgeries each year. Potentially, these surgeries result in over 12,700 fewer animals being born each year. Over 1,340 of these annual surgeries are a result of the Organization's efforts to secure funds for the broader community. PetSmart Charities awarded Humane Society Silicon Valley a total of $309,000 to deploy and administer, utilizing two other local agencies, a pilot program to address Chihuahua overpopulation. These funds covered over four years of operations for approximately 5,160 Chihuahua and Chihuahua mix surgeries. A private donor awarded the Organization a total of $250,000 to expand this work to include free surgeries to all breeds in the targeted zip codes. The new funds supported 765 surgeries in the year ended June 30, 2016 and will support surgeries for a year and a half. - Provides education for 8,875 children, from pre kindergarten through 12th grade. These education programs enable social and emotional learning through interactions with animals. This includes economically disadvantaged children and at risk youth many with little prior exposure to animals. The Organization also works with local schools to provide carefully designed programs tailored to their students' unique needs, especially those who need support in building empathy, responsible decision maki”

“The organization Launched Mutual Rescue, which is a national initiative created by Humane Society Silicon Valley to change the conversation around animal welfare from "people OR animals" to "people AND animals." People all across the country have stories to tell about how shelter animals have changed their lives for the better and Mutual Rescue is bringing these stories to the world stage. Our first film, "Eric & Peety," was instantly a viral Internet sensation and has been viewed more than 50 million times across the globe. We believe that helping animals helps people. And yet, of the $373 billion in charitable donations made in the U.S. in 2015, less than 1% went to animal-related causes. We want to raise awareness that when you donate to a local animal shelter, you are helping to transform the lives of people in your community for the better through life-changing, human-animal relationships. A recent survey revealed that 71% of Americans believe their local humane society is a branch of The Humane Society of the United States. This is not the case, and one of the goals of Mutual Rescue is to help people understand the importance of giving directly to their local shelters to create the biggest impact in their local communities. Mutual Rescue emphasizes bringing local communities together to support both animals and humans. This ultimately means connecting millions of animals with millions of people to create the positive transformation of communities all across the country.”

“- Behavior - performs behavior assessments on all shelter guests to assist with matching individual animals (their needs and behaviors) with new human families. Behavior assessments are also used to determine when behavior modification programs are required so individuals will thrive in the Organization's care and improve their manners in preparation for adoption. The Organization's Behavior Department also trains and supports all of its dog, cat and rabbit volunteer socializers. Training includes offering several classes for volunteers to learn how to work with and train the Organization's shelter guests. Humane Society Silicon Valley's Behavior Department supports its Customer Care team by counseling potential adopters when an animal displays more challenging behaviors; it also offers post adoption and pre surrender behavioral counseling through its "Ask the Behavior and Training Team" service. The Organization's Behavior Department participates in behavioral screenings for its Members Only Dog Park. - Hospital and Triage - performs an initial health exam, vaccinations, microchipping, and if needed, long term medical care for all incoming adoptable shelter animals. Approximately 34,500 vaccination, deworming and parasite treatments and tests were given to shelter animals by the hospital and triage staff in the year ended June 30, 2016. - Medical Center Clinic - provides affordable medical services to the public, which include: spay and neuter surgeries, vaccinations, disease testing, heartworm medication, de worming, microchipping and other medical procedures. Nearly 6,400 pet owners were served in the public Medical Center Clinic during the year ended June 30, 2016. Approximately 8,310 dogs, cats and rabbits were spayed or neutered onsite or in the mobile clinic, including feral cats, and shelter animals. Approximately 5,700 microchips were administered to adopted public client animals, and over 15,700 vaccinations and tests were administered to public client animals, including homeless cats. The Medical Center Clinic participates in the County and donor funded TNR (Trap Neuter Return) program, which offers free surgeries, microchips and vaccines for homeless cats, and offers free or minimal cost pitbull spay and neuter surgeries for County residents. The Medical Center also participates in a targeted Chihuahua project, which offers free surgeries and rabies vaccines to residents in certain zip codes. - Homeless Cats - provides community awareness about the plight of 125,000 homeless cats in Santa Clara County. The Organization partnered with community volunteer groups and other shelters to address this issue. The Organization provides low cost trap neuter and release (TNR) services for Santa Clara County residents through the Medical Center Clinic. This program is funded by donor grants, the County of Santa Clara and the City of Sunnyvale. Nearly 2,000 homeless cats were spayed or neutered as part of this program and in partnership with Peninsula Fix Our Ferals. The feral cats were also given free microchips, parasite treatments and vaccines. The Organization has produced a DVD called "Cats Without a Home" which has aired numerous times on local television to raise awareness of the homeless cat issue in the community. The Organization also holds training classes to educate community members on how to participate in the TNR program to help homeless cats. - Free Chihuahua Spay and Neuter Surgeries - In an effort to decrease the numbers of unwanted chihuahua and chihuahua mix dogs in the Organization's shelters, members of the public that live in five targeted zip codes in Santa Clara County can receive free spay and neuter surgeries, free rabies vaccines, and discounted other services. These services are subsidized by PetSmart Charities. This program is funding an incremental 5,160 chihuahua and chihuahua mix surgeries over four years, at two agencies in the community. - Free Surgeries for All Breeds in Targeted Zip Codes -”

“- Education - offers a variety of programs for children and teens including Kind Kids Field Trips for elementary school students in Title I schools; a Compassion In Action and Animal Starz Volunteering program for pre-teens and teens; Paws for Parents, an after school program for elementary schools children ; Animal Care Workshops, an interactive workshop for grades 1-10 emphasizing community activism; Shelter Tours, for children and families; Summer Camp classes for campers grades 3-8; Girl Scouts Bronze Award and Silver Award workshops; and Birthday Parties, a fun, educational experience anyone aged 7 and up. For the year ended June 30, 2016, 8,875 pre-k through high school students attended these educational programs,with an average of 32 programs scheduled per month. - Pet Store - offers products and services designed to support the human animal bond. This includes offering products and educating pet guardians in nutrition, basic behavior and training tools, developmental toys, grooming, supplements and other products that reinforce a holistic approach to health care. The Pet Store also offers high quality snacks and bottled beverages, as a convenience to Animal Community Center visitors. - Members Only Dog Park - provides a fun and healthy off leash play environment for dogs and their people. Screening for friendly, social behavior toward people and other dogs occurs. Medical records are reviewed for current vaccinations and other preventative health measures. At June 30, 2016, the Organization's membership included 232 doggie members. - Dog Training - provides obedience training that focuses on developing the human canine bond with special attention on new adopters. Promotes a positive, force free philosophy to dog training and guardianship. Through classes, seminars and workshops Humane Society Silicon Valley educates the public on animal behavior, how animals learn, and ways to manage normal but undesirable behaviors. The classes, seminars and workshops are offered onsite at the Animal Community Center. During the year ended June 30, 2016, the Organization's Training Programs educated over 644 canines and their people, including approximately 23 shelter dogs on scholarship. - Trish King's Academy of Dog Behavior - an intensive, train-the-trainer academy for those who are interested in becoming professionals in the dog world or just want to learn more about dogs. Topics include dog handling, evaluating, learning theory, training techniques, and solving behavior problems. The training program is led by behavior expert Trish King. Trish, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, was the Director of Behavior and Training at the Marin Humane Society for 23years, is a past Board member and charter member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, is a Member of the American Humane Association Task Force for Humane Dog Training, and is the author of Parenting Your Dog. During the year ended June 30, 2016, the Academy of Dog Behavior served 148 students via 2 Foundational classes and 6 Advanced courses. - Grooming - services are available to the public and also give shelter animals, who may not otherwise have a chance to put their best "paw" forward, an opportunity to look and feel their best, thus enabling a quick placement in a forever home. 63 shelter dogs were groomed in the year ended June 30, 2016. - Grief Counseling - offers support group facilitated by a Licensed Marriage and Family Practitioner for people who have suffered a loss of a companion animal. - End of Life Services - provides endoflife and care of body services for pets owned by members of the public.”