[Sandra-A1]

Passing on this IMPORTANT information!:

Now days you have got to carefully investigate horse rescues (and this goes for other species, too!).

Some things to do:
-Talk to the rescue – and ask questions.
• Why are you involved in rescue?
• What are your rescue goals?
• What is your biggest rescue success?
• How many grants have you applied for? What grants have you been awarded?
• How do you fund the rescue?
• How much time do you spend with the horses daily?
• Where do your horses come from?
• How much has your rescue grown in the past year? Since you began rescuing?
• How many equines are adopted each year?
• How many adopted equines are returned to you?
• Describe your horse experience.

For most questions, there are no right or wrong answers – but it gives you a feel for the rescue. Of course, if the person has very limited horse experience I would question how he/she can cope with the behavior and health problems that often crop up in rescue horses.

Review The Corporate Documents
Per IRS law, 501c3 (tax exempt, non-profit) organizations MUST provide this info upon request. This is part of ‘public accountability’.
Look over bylaws and articles of incorporation to get a sense of how they operate.
Ask for the 990s – this is the financial info filed with the iRS. It shows how much money the org. is getting in and how much they’re spending. As a donor, I would be concerned about an organization that’s always in the hole, financially. (How can they sustain their operation if they’re always losing money? Where does the money come from?).
Ask for a copy of their IRS determination letter – this is the documentation from the IRS that they have been granted 501c3 status and that your donations are tax-deductible.

Visit The Facility (if they have one).
• Is the facility serviceable and safe?
• Are the horses being cared for?
• How do the volunteers interact with the horses?

For foster programs:
o Review the fostering policy
o How foster horses are assigned to homes?
o What happens if a foster horse isn’t working out?
o Does anyone check up on foster homes?
o Talk to some foster homes

Review Their Policy – especially donations, fostering, adoption

Check references!!!!!! – veterinarians, farriers, previous adopters, donors, foster homes/volunteers

NEVER Be Afraid To Ask Questions.
It may take a rescuer a few days (or even a week) to get back to you because they’re often working paying jobs, caring for their family, and also doing rescue. But if they refuse to answer questions or are evasive – that’s when you have problems.

[Sandra-A1]

This information is important enough to deserve a "bump" back to the top!

[ladida]

I saw this when I was look at your threads (I'm not stalking I swear!) but I didn't want to bump it back up, but in leau of DL's thread I think its very important.

[MyBabyTex]

Interesting. I'm hoping to run a rescue in the future. I know a woman who runs a very small one. Doubt it passes those requirements, but she doesn't ask for grants or anything. Just does it out of the good of her heart because she can.

[Dancinglite]

Originally Posted by ladida

I saw this when I was look at your threads (I'm not stalking I swear!) but I didn't want to bump it back up, but in leau of DL's thread I think its very important.

I obviously think it is very important. There is a debate on another forum ( which is the reason our newest rescue member Sideline joined HGS ) and one of the points brought up is the approval from a legitimate govering body to certify other rescues.

Legitimate to me would mean you are willing to become a approved non-profit organization that is legaly allowed to dispense tax deduction receipts. To do that you must file papers with the goverment and allow your books to be reviewed. To set yourself up without any thing other than you just decided to can lead to corruption in even the best of intentions. If the organization is not willing to do this because they cannot afford to, makes me wonder about their ability to raise funds to do the very job they are set up for.

[MyBabyTex]

JW, what qualifications do you need to get a grant for an animal rescue?? Or a tax deduction?? How would one go about starting a 'legitimate' rescue?

[Shotgun93]

Great post!!
Another thing (that was kind of touched on) to look at is to pay attention to the NPO's admin. costs. They should be comparable to the money coming in and going out. If it is a huge percentage of the NPO's expenses, then red flags should go up.