My Nonprofit Reviews
RandaChoun1975
Review for Iowa Friends of Companion Animals, Des Moines, IA, USA
After coming being referred to this page by another group, I was excited to meet people that were as passionate as I am about animal welfare. However, after watching their posts closely, I realized that this group isn't truthful. They posted a photo of two very sick looking dogs that were trapped in a puppy mill and they asked all of us to donate and help these dogs. Upon being pressed about the dogs, the organization had to admit that these dogs had been euthanized years before. Lying for donations is just as bad as those that breed for profit. Then, as some sort of community outreach, the organization invited all of their fans out to a restaurant and offered free beer and appetizers. When I asked who was funding the free stuff, my comment was immediately deleted. I don't agree with allowing donations to go for alcohol and food. And they never answered my other question... What is the difference between Iowa Friends and Iowa Voters? The "not for profit" money is going to fund the legislative fund. There are a lot of things that aren't being told with this group.
More Feedback
Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
No
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
A little
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
Wow. This post is outrageous. Sure wish I could contact the poster directly. All of his/her comments are inaccurate. I can only assume that the poster is a breeder who is affected by our work. We are not a rescue group and never claim to be so we never solicit for donations to help any particular dogs. Also, the dogs referred to in this post were euthanized in 2012, not "years ago". We did sponsor a volunteer recruitment drive this past week at a local tap, but our founder and President, Mary LaHay, paid for it personally. We're very aware of the limits we must abide by. We've never deleted any post that asked for info on the difference between Iowa Friends and IowaVCA. There would be no reason for us to do so. There is nothing to hide. Iowa Friends is a 501c3 nonprofit that works on education and research. IowaVCA is a 501c4 nonprofit lobbying organization that works toward better laws to protect dogs in puppy mills. Nothing nefarious there. No reason to delete anything. We're completely transparent. Period. I'm saddened that we have to spend time defending our work, but not surprised that someone would make this attempt to undermine us. And the response to the question, "How much impact do you think this organization has?" says it all. We've had a huge impact, and whoever posted this doesn't like that. This is a very lucrative industry; approx. $17M annually in Iowa alone. Little wonder they'll fight to protect the industry. This will not stop us.
