The Humane Society of the United States is NOT your local animal shelter. In fact, it gives less than one-half of one percent of its $100 million budget to hands-on pet shelters.
It's always good to research any group before making a donation. Learning how your money will be spent goes a long way toward providing that peace of mind we seek when donating to a charity. To that end, users can explore HSUS relationships in detail by clicking on this interactive map. Some may be interested to explore these relationships further.
For example, the lobbying firm Hogan & Hartson lobbies/d Congress on behalf of many clients in addition to HSUS (which is a tax-exempt organization). Those clients include a number of farm related groups such as American Farmland Trust, International Dairy Foods Association, and National Chicken Council. There are many household name corporations including Wal-Mart, General Electric, Pepsi, American Express, Citibank, and Amway. Big auto is on the list as well with Ford Motor Company and General Motors. The insurance industry clients include Aflac, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, and Health Insurance Association of America. There are many clients from the pharmaceutical industry such as Bristol-Meyers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Graceway Pharmaceuticals, Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, PHRMA, and SmithKline Beecham. Other clients of interest include Monsanto Co and National Renderers Association.
According to HSUS' 2008 tax return (pdf - page 19), they spent over $4 million on lobbying activities for the year. In the 2008 "Annual Filing for Charitable Organizations", HSUS stated the following:
GENERAL PURPOSE FOR WHICH CONTRIBUTIONS WILL BE USEDI don't see anything about spending millions on lobbying in there but hey, I'm not a tax professional. Maybe this is A-OK.
Contributions are used to produce publications including educational materials, which are sent on a regular basis to members and the general public. The society investigates cruelty in the transportation, handling and sale of animals at pet shops, zoos, circuses and animal shelters. The Society also uses contributions for animals in the wild including wildlife refuges, predator control and people/wildlife problems.
Related Tidbit:
On February 16, a federal lawsuit was filed against HSUS (and others) by the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus under RICO. The lawsuit alleges the defendants are using such crimes as bribery and money laundering in an effort to "unjustly enrich themselves" while working to ban elephants in circuses.
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5 comments:
IRS rules allow nonprofits to engage in a certain amount of political activity. The big no-no is involvement in partisan campaigns for specific candidates. You can bet that HSUS has its own tax lawyers to ensure it is following the law
http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=179750,00.html
http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=163395,00.html
HSUS sucks, but probably not on these grounds.
As I say, I'm not a tax professional but the statement does seem lacking to me as far as what they use their donations for. A sizable portion of the general public thinks the donations are for shelter pets, which is due IMO to misleading fundraising tactics.
I like the advertisement. Good for Humane Watch.
As for the Vick/PETA thing, excuse me while I go puke.
Jesus, even the response on Wayne's blog is dishonest. "we happen to run the nation’s largest system of animal sanctuaries". How many dogs and cats d'ya have in them, Wayne? Misleading at best.
Watching the CCF and the HSUS duke it out is like watching a jailhouse knife fight; I'm left having no idea who to root for. Can't stand either of 'em. I feel dirty just reading about it.
oh yeah they suck for misleading fundraising tactics (as well as overall mendacity-- "largest system of animal sanctuaries" WTF???) and I hope they get nailed for that. But that's a diff. issue from whether they violate lobbying laws for nonprofits.
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