- Know Where Humane Society Donations Go

On April 1, 2010 Charity Navigator, a watchdog organization that reviews how charities use contributions collected, downgraded The Humane Society of the US (HSUS) from a four-star rating to three.

HSUS lobbies extensively against livestock farmers and launches public relations campaigns that are anything but agriculture-friendly. However, non-farmers may believe their HSUS charitable dollars support shelters for abandoned pets.

If you or someone you know contributes to HSUS here are few things to know:

By its own admission, dollars to HSUS do not support local animal shelters. Givers who want to provide care for abandoned pets should give directly to the nearest shelter. Share this link with your friends.
A respected oversight group reports, in 2009, HSUS used less of its income for programs and more for running its own organization. Click here.
HSUS attracts a lot of money through telemarketing. Unfortunately, most of that income stays with telemarketing companies and very little goes to the work of HSUS. Go to this State of New York site and type in Humane Society of the United States. http://bartlett.oag.state.ny.us/pfc/index.jsp (The link below describes methods the State of New York used to rate how much telemarketers return to charities. www.charitiesnys.com/pdfs/2009_Pennies.pdf)
The Better Business Bureau also helps givers decide which charities to support. Here’s a helpful link to their report on the HSUS: www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/animal-protection/humane-society-of-the-united-states-in-washington-dc-3129

Finally, here’s someone who watches HSUS ‘round the clock. Go to this site for the latest in one man’s quest to tell what’s really happening in this giant nonprofit. http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/less_than_one-half_of_one_percent/