There are currently 1,282 other animal charities in the U.S. with SPCA as part of their name, all separately incorporated, responsible for doing their own fundraising. We always have. Posting the ANIMALS 24-7 filing of IRS Form 990 in our leanest years was an embarrassment. We thank Ed Sayres for all he has contributed to this organization and the welfare of animals. More and more animal control agencies understand and embrace the idea that keeping pets safely at home and out of shelters is a primary goal. But trying to avoid donating toward advertising expense is a very naive and impractical idea in the first place, since every nonprofit organization needs to raise funds somehow, and even if an animal shelter, for example, does no advertising for fundraising purposes, it will still have to advertise animals for adoption. THANKFULLY, I DID MY RESEARCH. Fortunately, most U.S. non-profit animal shelters and spay/neuter clinics appear to have disregarded the ASPCA advice. Harold J. Hovel, author of Helping Animals Means Helping People: From Hunting & Poaching to Climate Change & Nuclear War (2017), is chair of the New York State Humane Association. Matthew Bershadker is president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the first animal welfare organization in America and a national leader in the . And at that, the ASPCA adoption transport program in May 2019 had a disaster still inadequately acknowledged, let alone addressed in a transparent manner. I HAD THE NEW YEARS RESOLUTION TO START DONATING AMONG OTHERS TO THE ASPCA. ), On April 16, 2020, for instance, ANIMALS 24-7 decried leaders, who despite leading the humane cause blindly in the wrong direction time and again, nonetheless take home more money per year than the total annual budget of your local humane society, and remain quite unabashed about asking for even more money through pop-up ads that obstruct just about every online search for anything pertaining to dogs, cats, or the words humane and SPCA.. Exactly! And it's on top of Bershadker . The ASPCA provides educational services for animal owners, animal health services, anti-cruelty campaigns, community outreach . There is some colossal confusion here. We dont like running deficits, even after squeezing and trimming all that we can. All rights reserved.The ASPCA is a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit organization. Am I the only person that knew this was a fraud group since 1965? Matthew E. Bershadker, better known by her family name Matthew E. Bershadker, is a popular American President and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). (See ASPCA and the Humane Alliance move toward merger. I also see a sustained commitment to relocating animals by ground and by air. Chief executive Matthew Bershadker took home $966,004 in pay for the year, including $856,673 from the ASPCA itself and $109,331 from ASPCA subsidiarieswhich most donors would consider an excellent annual income by itself. This cause should never be about earning top salaries and those folks can live well on much less than what they earn. I think you have been carefully following the Blue Cross of Indias work since at least the nineties and have visited our shelters more than once. The ASPCA loves me! When I inquire, gently, whether they gave money to the NW/SPCA or the ASPCA, they are always confused as to the differenceand dismayed, and sometimes angry, when I explain that none of any money they sent to the ASPCA has ever made its way to the shelter they are standing in.. (Incidentally, Cleveland Amorys Fund for Animals had donated most of the cost of our first large animal ambulance). "We have made significant strides on behalf of animals around the country, but there is much more to do. Mr. Bershadker has been instrumental in the creation of the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison, N.J., the first-ever facility dedicated strictly to providing behavioral rehabilitation to canine victims of cruelty, such as those confiscated from puppy mills and hoarding cases. I tried to call animal control or various places that are suppose to help wild life. Get them and read them please. The national and local orgs are different. We wish him the very best. Opinion contributor. They should all be equal. Matthew E. is a phenomenal celebrity influencer. The group is an advocacy organization that seeks to prevent cruelty toward animals. Call our 24-hour veterinary diagnostic and This was started by a man named Henry Bergh, who eventually went by the name of Matthew Bershadker. From the perspective of having been familiar with the salaries, credentials, and accomplishments of all of the top-paid executives in the history of the humane movement, ANIMALS 24-7 can say with confidence that only three of the top-paid 50 or so ever demonstrated themselves to be capable of earning in the private sector what they made by heading humane organizations and Matthew Bershadker was not among them. Discover who Matthew Bershadker is frequently seen with, and browse pictures of them together.. In our view, local veterinarians and local animal shelters and rescues are ideally working hand-in-hand, and we want to do everything we can to strengthen that relationship to benefit animals, families, and communities. They should at least spend all the revenue they take in. Shelter Medicine has also driven critical shelter strategy innovations, including expanded pet retention efforts, increased access to veterinary care, and new approaches to foster care, kitten nurseries, and community cat programs. What they pay their CEO is outrageous. Hes a shill for undisclosed big money interests (big ag? ", "I am thrilled to serve the ASPCA, its members and the many communities around the country where we play a vital role," stated Mr. Bershadker. (Beth Clifton collage). The importance of shelter medicine cant be understated. They never got a dime from me and never will. Alleging unfair and deceptive fundraising practices which harm local humane societies and SPCAs, the State Humane Association of California in May 2011 filed a consumer protection complaint against the ASPCA with the California Office of the Attorney General, then headed by current U.S. vice president Kamala Harris. Even an ex girlfriend of mine that works for UNICEF should be ashamed, but there is no shame ?? This article about a chief executive from the United States is a stub. But during that same time period it spent nearly three times that, at least $421 million, on fundraising., According to the nonprofits tax returns, the ASPCA took in nearly $280 million in 2019, Axelrod detailed. Rick Berman at Animal Watch has campaigned against HSUS on these grounds for years. Dori Dolgin. I formerly worked at a premier no-kill animal refuge. I was paid $8.50 an hour to start. Only two more people asked about it after we reluctantly pulled the plug on the project. And did not get one reply or even a person on the phone. In America, as Eric Hoffer put it, it is the destiny of every great cause to begin as a movement, become a business, and eventually degenerate into a racket. You might also have seen our IRS Form 990 filings, posted annually. He is a 12-year veteran of the nation's first animal welfare organization, serving most recently as senior vice president of the ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Group, the division responsible for programs and initiatives that confront animal cruelty and suffering on all levels across the country. His compensation from ASPCA subsidiaries alone in 2020, the year the COVID-19 crisis hit, killing a million Americans, putting many millions out of work and bankrupting hundreds of thousands, was more than the top salary paid by the majority of U.S. humane societies and animal care-and-control agencies. Later, as the audience expanded enough to sustain independent media covering the rising animal advocacy cause in breadth and depth, I served as news editor of one of the periodicals that helped to bring it all together into a movement. ASPCApro: Tell us about the role of veterinarians at the ASPCA and in the larger animal welfare field. The ASPCA has $22 million stashed in Europe and the Carribean. Bermuda, and Ireland. Ten thousand dollars. So ironic: https://tedxsantabarbara.com/2020/matthew-bershadker-pets-poverty-and-the-pandemic/ Who shot pregnant harbor seals? I see animal cruelty non stop here it breaks my heart. It is heartbreaking. Your best bet to get some help with your local egrets would be International Bird Rescue, headquartered in Cordelia, California. "We need our donors and the people in our community to know where their money is going.". I work hard for my money and expect for it to go where it supposed to go and not in some fat CEOs pocket. Even after taking a pay cut of $91,975, which happens to be more than the top salary paid by most local humane societies around the U.S., ANIMALS 24-7 noted, Bershadker remained the highest paid person in the history of the humane movement, by a considerable margin.. I BELIEVE IN WELL PAID EXECUTIVES. We do need to have national and global organizations, but they need to operate ethically and effectively and reconsider their top-heavy and overpaid management. If youre going to attack someones salary you should cite why they arent qualified to receive it. That is $26 million profit while they are asking people to donate $19.00 per month to help them save animals. The nation-shocking expos that followed, researched by CBS reporters Megan Towey and Rachel Bailey, was partially informed by information shared by ANIMALS 24-7, and reported many times, over decades, with frequent updates. Originally the term SPCA specifically meant a humane society with limited law enforcement powers, but few such humane societies exist in the 21st century, and none are anywhere near Grand Junction, Colorado. Text STOP to opt-out, HELP for more info. I called their phone number and and reported animal abuse to dogs in my area. A housing crisis resulting from the pandemic is also a significant threat to animals. That increase in interest and activity is very good news for shelters, animals, and communities. By moving homeless animals from places of low demand to locations with high demand, we reduce the overcrowding that can lead to tragic and unnecessary outcomes. Maybe the compensation numbers are a little high.. Perhaps thats why they increased their fund raising so much; but it may mean that a large portion of it actually went to the media for advertising. . The founder, however, paid herself $72,000 a year, plus $36,000 a year to rent her property. This is an expos (and appeal) that Beth & I really did not want to have to write, but one of our faithful & reliable donors of $8.00 per month persuaded us that we had to because donors like her, for the most part, are paying not only for the existence of ANIMALS 24-7, but for the existence of the entire animal protection & advocacy cause. How can he sleep at night knowing that money could go to others or the animals! On January 10, 2019, ANIMALS 24-7 discovered from the ASPCA filing of IRS Form 990, and promptly pointed out, that Bershadker took home $804,372 in pay for 2017, including a bonus of $276,000, and received benefits of $47,859, for total compensation of $852,231more than any two other animal welfare executives in one year ever. ANIMALS 24-7 first exposed Richard Berman and his constellation of organizations representing animal use industries in 2002. YUCK! According to its own 2017 survey, ASPCAsaid 84% of its donors also donated to a local animal charity. But by now the animal cause is hundreds of times larger, served by a wealth and multitude of electronic mediaand the more, the better. For further details on this frustrating and disillusioning experience, see https://www.animals24-7.org/2015/08/29/how-to-be-great-at-doing-good-why-results-are-what-count-and-how-smart-charity-can-change-the-world/. Unbelievable that some of these folks make more money than the President of the United States. The HSUS has $47 million in the Cayman Islands. The ASPCA was established in 1866 by diplomat and animal welfare activist Henry Bergh in New York, where the organization still has its headquarters and offers the majority of its hands-on animal services, including sheltering, assisting with abuse investigations and spay/neuter surgeries. https://www.animals24-7.org/2015/08/29/how-to-be-great-at-doing-good-why-results-are-what-count-and-how-smart-charity-can-change-the-world/. 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