Best Friends Animal Society (Best Friends)
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"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: Kanab, UT
Founded: 1984
Mission: Best Friends Animal Society believes kindness towards animals creates a better world for all of us. To this end, Best Friends works with shelters, rescue groups and our members nationwide on a variety of grassroots programs designed to bring about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets.
Tags:
pet adoption, companion animals, animal shelters, spay/neuter, animal sanctuary, animal welfare
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Gregory Castle.
Gregory Castle, one of the founders of Best Friends Animal Society, was named chief executive officer on January 29, 2010. Throughout much of the last 25 years, Gregory has been one of the key leaders in animal welfare, as well as a voice of reason and reconciliation among the grassroots rescue groups, animal shelters and the national animal organizations. Prior…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
22.93%
Total Revenue:
$43,795,052
From the Nonprofit
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Contact Info
Website:
E-Mail:
pamelaw AT bestfriends.org
Phone:
435-644-2001
Facebook:
Address:
5001 Angel Canyon Rd
Kanab, UT 84741, USA
Twitter:
Story:
Best Friends Animal Society is guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us. In the late 1980s, when Best Friends was in its early days, roughly 17 million dogs and cats were being killed in shelters every year. Despite the commitment of shelter workers to the animal in their care, the conventional belief was that little could be done to lower that terrible number.
Best Friends' No More Homeless Pets campaign
created a new vision: A grassroots effort to place
dogs and cats who were considered "unadoptable"
into good homes, and to reduce the number of
unwanted pets through effective spay and neuter
programs. Since then, the number of dogs and
cats being destroyed in shelters has fallen to
approximately 5 million a year. There has been
much progress,but there is still much more to do.
The next phase of this work -- bringing the number
down to essentially zero -- will take more work and
some bold new initiatives. Shelters are crowded with
pit bulls, dogs abandoned after being bought from pet stores, stray cats rounded up on the streets and not looking their very best when they're brought in, and other pets abandoned or neglected.
As the flagship of a grassroots network of people and organizations that care about animals, Best Friends continues to lead the way towards this future. And that's why our purpose remains: A better world through kindness to animals.
Expert Reviews of Best Friends Animal Society (Best Friends)
Evidence of Impact Summary:
Best Friends Animal Society has a large pet sanctuary in Utah. They have worked extremely hard in helping grass root organizations through out the United States. They offer an annual conference, bringing speakers on many topics in animal welfare to give their expert opinion. According to experts, there has not been a natural disaster in this country involving animals that Best Friends has not aided both with volunteers, and financing.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
According to experts, Best Friends does not convolute their mission, purpose or vision. They are specific, fiscally conservative and respectful of other non-profits. They are also very skilled in marketing through social media and print media.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
According to experts, the amount of money spent for the number of animals impacted is very high. To make a greater impact, Best Friends Animal Society must pursue more partnerships in the sector.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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Raising Awareness |
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They have garnered public support for their operations in Kanab, Utah, to house and adopt or provide lifetime care for animal that are not adoptable. | ||
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They have increased awareness of puppy mills, animal overpopulation and euthanasia. | ||
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Best Friends has had an enormous impact on education of the public and animal rescue (e.g., Vick's dogs). | ||
Great Reach |
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Best Friends' No More Homeless Pets campaign created a new vision: A grassroots effort to place dogs and cats who were considered "unadoptable" into good homes, and to reduce the number of unwanted pets through effective spay and neuter programs. Since then, the number of dogs and cats being destroyed in shelters has fallen to approximately 5 million a year from 15 million in 1990. | ||
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First, Best Friends impacts the lives of 1800 to 2000 animals every single day. They have a wonderful facility in which everything is designed with the animals in mind: They give dogs plenty of room to run and play. They give the cats a wonderful indoor/outdoor facility. Every step they take is informed by tremendous focus on what will make the animals have a good life. Second, they also work hard at adoption. Third, Best Friends is working HARD to reduce the number of homeless dogs and cats in the country, via their "No More Homeless Pets" program, which involves low cost spay neuter, etc. | ||
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Best Friends Animal Society has a large pet sanctuary in Utah. They have worked extremely hard in helping grass root organizations through out the United States. They offer an annual conference, bringing speakers on many topics in animal welfare to give their expert opinion. There has not been an natural disaster in this country involving animals that Best Friends has not aided both with volunteers, and financing. | ||
Visibility |
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Best Friends has visibility in combating dog fighting, like in the Michael Vick case. | ||
Excellent Services |
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They have a model sanctuary when most sanctuaries are far from ideal. They also have strong grassroots advocacy efforts. | ||
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The organization has good adoption practices. | ||
Focus |
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By focusing on four reasonably specific initiatives, Best Friends has and can continue to make an impact in areas that may be diluted in other areas. An example is the "Saving America's Dog" campaign - dealing with the challenges facing pit bull type dogs is challenging given the continuing myths and apparent media bias. By highlighting this important issue, Best Friends brings it to a much wider audience. The other initiatives also relate to the core of the "No More Homeless Pets" message. Staying focused means Best Friends can have a true impact. | ||
Great Programs |
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They have had tremendous impact on re-educating animal professionals to the realistic possibilities of "no-kill" communities. Throughout the past 10-15 years they have implemented marketing & support programs that provide assistance to communities to move away from high euthanasia and focus on possible solutions. | ||
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They are a great organization that do a great amount of good for companion animals. Their annual conferences are excellent. | ||
Great Ambition |
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Best Friends has given the public at large, donors, and animal welfare professionals hope that the US can truly reach homeostasis--zero pet population growth and no more euthanasia of unwanted pets. They were the first large-scale, successful sanctuary for companion animals. They house many more animals than they adopt. Their message is clear; society and those of us in animal welfare have a responsibility to keep healthy adoptable animals alive throughout their natural lives. | ||
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They made us believe in a vision of No More Homeless Pets back when most of us thought killing animals in shelters was a necessary evil - and they've been showing the way to NMHP ever since. | ||
Collaboration |
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The work they do in helping new non profits get on the right foot and pointed in the right direction. | ||
Innovation |
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Best Friends has moved forward with the times. In recent years they have started branching out to shelters, legislators and the public to create awareness. They are the gold standard for a sanctuary based on their policies, programs and specific outreach. | ||
Strong Education Programs |
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Personal experience with them as a member and volunteer has shown me the strength of their volunteer and educational programs. | ||
Good Organization |
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I have visited Best Friends' sanctuary in Utah and observed the dogs rescued from Michael Vick. Nobody there gets excessive salaries and the facilities are excellent and in a lovely setting. | ||
Helped Save Animal Lives |
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Best Friends opened one of the first "no-kill" animal sanctuaries. Realizing that animal sanctuaries cannot be replicated on such a scale that shelter killing of pets could be prevented, Best Friends initiated their No More Homeless Pets campaign. This campaign helped communities implement programs to save lives in their communities. Best Friends has grown rapidly since the sanctuary opened in 1984. The leadership has gone through several significant changes in the past ten years as the founders have retired from operations positions. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Excellent Marketing |
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Their marketing campaign has been very successful over the last few years and their income has increased significantly. They have expanded their operations to help animal nationally not just at their sanctuary. | ||
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They are very skilled in marketing through social media and print media. I believe they have built a membership base of over 300,000 in the last several years. | ||
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Best Friends' magazine "Good News" about animals - is something that is unique in the field. By staying as positive as possible it inspires people to help (or do better) rather than attempts to guilt them into donating. The marketing materials tend to have the same positive message - a very welcome change from many animal advocacy organizations. | ||
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Best Friends' marketing and public relations are particularly strong. | ||
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They have good marketing, solid public relations, and great volunteers. | ||
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Best Friends has exhibited incredible marketing and PR skills and has applied them to the benefit of BFAS as well as a broad network of small rescue organizations. They are inhabiting and succeeding in a niche that AHA abandoned in the early 1990's. BFAS makes a tremendous contribution by providing direct service, cutting edge leadership, and support, networking and training for small rescue groups. | ||
Clear Vision |
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A better world through kindness is a perfect tagline for what all of us in animal welfare hope to see in our lifetime. Best Friends exemplifies this by loving and caring for their 2000 animals and showing everyone what is possible. | ||
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Best Friends does not convolute their mission, purpose or vision. They are specific, fiscally conservative and respectful of other non-profits. In a nutshell, they play well with others and are quick to learn support if asked. | ||
Focused Goals |
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The consistency of their message and their focused goals make Best Friends a great organization. | ||
Dedicated Leadership |
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The leaders and staff of this organization are absolutely dedicated to making a better world for the animals. Most people could not even name one of the leaders of the organization, because the leadership is so focused on helping the animals that they simply do not have time to or interest in getting fame. Visitors to the facility can see this devotion in action. Also, their location is absolutely beautiful, making it a wonderful place for people to do volunteer vacations and get involved in the day-to-day care of the animals. | ||
Grassroots Successes |
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Their grassroots advocacy is great at motivating donors and members to become involve in "animal politics" local and nationally. Their work on behalf of defeating BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) was great as well. | ||
Effective Programs |
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They select communities (via grant applications) and assist with funding projects that help to implement programs which reduce euthanasia of shelter animals. They have an incredible network of financial resources. | ||
Excellent Organizational Structure |
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They are not a "me too" organization. Much about their programs, their facilities, their location, their organizational structure, and their fundraising strategies fly in the face of conventional cookie cutter animal shelter programs. Because they are different, they have created an environment in which adopters, supporters, staff of other animal welfare organizations, and even casual visitors want to be a part of their culture and their cause. They have created a unique value proposition for their audience. | ||
Assisting Other Organizations |
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The have focused their resources on a few core issues which they can have a major impact on nationally. They really work well at assisting other organizations to get a positive start. The changes they have made in the last couple of years to their programs is right on target. | ||
Strong Leadership |
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Best Friends benefits from strong leadership. | ||
Strong Staff |
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Best Friends' staff is remarkable. I have heard speakers from the group several times in varying contexts (at a law school as a guest speaker, at a state bar conference, etc.) and they have been friendly, approachable, well-educated on the subjects on which they speak, and good advocates for their organization. I assume they have good finances as well. | ||
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Best Friends has strong staff and marketing. | ||
Effective Fundraising Efforts |
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They have a narrow niche and is effectively expanding their fundraising efforts. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Cost Effectiveness |
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The amount of money spent for the number of animals impacted is very high, they could do more for more animals if they wanted to. Also, they are somewhat misleading the public as they do not accept all animals into their facility. | ||
Greater Reach |
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They should be able to provide care for more animals. | ||
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Best Friends needs greater reach into more states. | ||
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Best Friends runs a wonderful magical sanctuary but their knowledge and influence and support for local groups on national level is suspect especially in legislative matters. | ||
Improve Editing on Communications |
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Best Friends seeks to protect companion animals and injured wildlife, and their work is focused almost exclusively on those two groups. I think it's fine to focus on a certain population, as they have done. But I do not think it's ok to give space in their magazine to a guest author who advised readers, essentially, that there's no need to feel guilty about eating meat because humans are complex creatures. I cringe every time I think about that editorial and how many farmed animals may have suffered and died as a result of Best Friends giving the guest some space in their magazine. I don't mind if BFAS stays out of the debate on farmed animals, but if they're going to get into the topic, they should at least get into it on the side of the animals. The highest levels of leadership seem often to be occupied by men. Although they provide great leadership, it would be wonderful to see more women involved. | ||
Leadership Stability |
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They should get better at researching issues before call to action to members and donors. They also need more leadership stability. | ||
More Business Mindset |
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In their current workshop conferences, they need to do more to encourage the business aspects of running an organization, and continue to bring in speakers that do not talk about things as they are or were, but more as they should be. | ||
More Marketing Efforts |
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The television program "Dogtown" did a lot to raise this organization's profile. It is a major commitment of time and resources but if something similar could be done again I believe Best Friends would benefit from the exposure. Best Friends has recently (in the past few years especially) be willing to hire real experts in their field. Best Friends should continue to do so - it can only help its reputation. | ||
More Outreach |
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I wish they did more outreach to local shelters. | ||
Working with other Organizations |
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They have an incredible network of financial resources and to some degree have a negative impact on donations going to local organizations. | ||
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They isolate themselves from the mainstream animal welfare industry. For example, they do not participate in national expos and training given by other organizations. This gives them the reputation with some organizations as being elitist. They have a habit of referring to any organization that euthanizes healthy adoptable animals as "kill" shelters which is inflammatory and creates defensiveness from those organizations. Best Friends does euthanize animals, but they refer to themselves as a "no-kill" shelter. This moniker gives the public the impression that no animals are ever euthanized which is misleading. | ||
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I find it very unfortunate that Best Friends often takes an antagonistic approach against other animal advocacy charities in the public arena. | ||
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Best Friends remains in general isolated from the animal welfare community at large. Their employees are not members of SAWA and I do not see them participating at the leadership level in many other collaborative animal welfare efforts. This is not true in specific as they did, for instance, participate in the Asilmar Accords. They have a unique business model and have implemented it successfully, although many of us who have spoken with the founders know this success did not come easy. I would vehemently encourage them to stop referring to animal shelters that euthanize for space as "kill" facilities. This verbiage and attitude breeds contempt, defensiveness, and divisiveness. | ||
Narrow Geographical Focus |
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They can become more focused on a smaller number of geographic areas to maximize impact. | ||
Mostly Focused on Fundraising |
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Best Friends has a vast annual income but in terms of actual animals saved and impactful advocacy, it is primarily in the realm of fundraising rather than animal life saving. This agency supports the no-kill philosophy in theory, but does little -- considering their income level -- to actually save lives. | ||
Leadership
Gregory Castle
President
President
From the Nonprofit
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