St Francis Animal Rescue Of Venice Inc

I have driven by the shelter many times, and never realized that it was also a thrift store! After my friend showed me the great outfits she got there, I stopped in. They offer a wonderful and much needed service in their care for the area's homeless cats. I am glad to be able to support them.

I lost my service dog due to illness and decided to donate a dog stroller, car seat for dog, fold up new cloth zipper large kennel for traveling and many other valuable items to St Francis thrift store in Venice, Fl. because I thought the money from the sales would be used to save cats and feed them. I was asked to bring the items to the store parking lot early one morning. (it looked like the store was not open yet). The lady that met me took all the items, no name or receipt given to me unfortunately. I went back the next day to get something that I left in one of the items and learned that my items never made it into the store. It is apparent that the lady who works there took the items for herself. I spoke with the manager and she was unaware of the items. I was very upset. People who work here and volunteers are not suppose to take these items for themselves and to profit from the gifts given. BEWARE before you donate to the thrift stores!

I am a volunteer for St. Francis and have been for a good number of years..
They are a hard working group, who’s main focus is the care and welfare of there cats..
They go above and beyond for there cats both in the shelter and the community..
SFAR is always eager to help when ever possible.
They care for the cats with such compassion as well as give what ever medical care is needed for them until they
find there forever home..

It’s a great organization which I am very proud to say I am part of..
Do stop by both the Shelter and Thrift Store for a tour..
I do know that all proceeds from the Thrift Store goes directly to care for there cats.

We need more good volunteers.. Won’t you please consider..

I am a volunteer and foster for St. Francis Animal Rescue of Venice. This is a great organization. SFAR helps our community with cats that otherwise would have no place to go. They are limited admission no kill shelter.
All cats at the shelter are spayed/neutered and given quality vet care. Unlike other rescues they also care for around 50 un-adoptable cats that will spend the rest of their lives at the shelter. Yes the building is small and in need of repair, but it does not take away from the compassion and care the staff have for the community and the cats that come to the shelter.
They help local community with cat food and litter to help keep cats in homes with their owners too.

This is in response to the comment posted by "realstfrancis" on 1/27/2014. There are many reputable non-profit organizations named after saints that are not affiliated with the Catholic Church. For example, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. St. Jude is not a Catholic hospital and not affiliated with any religious organization. People of different religions and different religious beliefs can admire what St. Francis of Assisi stood for and his legacy. I am one of them. I have been a long-time donor of St. Francis Animal Rescue and they never once pretended to be Catholic or affiliated with the Catholic Church. They admire the work of a man, who happens to be a Saint, who stood for animal welfare. That should transcend any religion. St. Francis Animal Rescue has taken care of thousands of homeless cats and kittens. I would hate to think what would have happened to all of them if it wasn't for St. Francis Animal Rescue. God bless St. Francis Animal Rescue and all the cats and kittens benefiting from their existence.

These people are hardly St Judes or another charity. Its a fraud hobby for a bunch of old women. They cannot respond to real questions such as were is the 1.3 million but they do love there cats......and there gas cards, cat food, dinners, trips, and its on you taxpayers as they pay no property tax..

You should be ashamed you cackle of witches and frauds


This alleged non profit has no affiliation with any Catholic church or any church group and uses the name to receive donations under the patron Saint Francis Assisi a complete lie and fraud in my humble opinion. That is sick and a twisted horrible way to solicit donation

The group has used donations ,intended for rescue, for payroll, fuel, purchasing dilapidated real estate, rent for thrift store at $7500 per month plus utilities and a $12,000 a year newsletter according to there tax records. If the money raised is for animals it should go to animals.

The group has no business sponsors on there website and cannot provide any business sponsoring them in the Venice or Sarasota market. None o nada no body, call them and ask. Very odd after 20 years of alleged rescue.

The person listed as there leader on this site was terminated and has not been employed there for over 6 months and was shelter help not leadership.

Website states volunteer operated but tax records show huge payroll with Integrity payroll services.

Previous review by "Bertie" is a long term board member and a benefits from the revenue.

Currently being investigated by the Florida department of Labor for un paid wages.

NOT AFFILIED WITH THE NATIONAL ST FRANCIS CATHOLIC THRIFT STORES.

This review is from a former disgruntled employee who was fired for a decrease in sales after 68 days and was not allowed to retrieve personal United States military items and final check and who is animal owner and lover.

The location has had three recent managers who have been fired.

Prior co mingled revenue were from commission sales, e bay sales and consignment sales that were not made aware to employee to compare sales at time of hire.

As a result of non payment of final wages and personal items not returned after several requests the Department Of Labor in Tampa Florida has an investigation into this alleged charity for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

File number 1716225 Telephone 813 288 1242

Jan Chapman listed as President was a shelter staff member not in charge as listed on this site and has been reported to Guide star as potential fraud.

The end result of loving and helping cats does not justify the means of this alleged activity.

The past sales in 2012 and 2013 have not been listed on this site and correct listing of current president.

Recent donations for rescue have been used to purchase dilapidated foreclosed real estate.

Website states volunteer driven but tax records report paid staff.

Recent sale on black cats for Halloween.

This review is for information and not intended to harm the financial or donation base of this group.

God Bless the animals and the people who volunteer to help them.

There are many qualified rescues such as Cat Depot and Sun Coast Humane that support rescue programs and have a clear listing of board members and financial information.

I'm writing this in response to a review by a Brian. He states he was a volunteer. Actually he was a paid Thrift Store Manager who was fired. He wrote terrible lies about SFAR. That probably explains one reason why he was fired. I have been a volunteer with St. Francis for 13 years. Starting as a cleaner and presently a Board member and adoption counselor. I have never received a pay check. Every penny donated goes to the care and comfort of the animals. St. Francis is passionate about doing what is best for the cats. They are constantly seeking guidance and advice on how to improve the welfare and health of the cats, from the number of cats they accept in order to keep them all healthy in the square footage they have to work within, to ways to make them happier and reduce shelter stressed, socializing them, providing a proper diet, medical care, and etc.. Adoptions are not made just to see how many they can make but to match the cat with the right people for a long and happy relationship. If we have a cat with special health issues that would make it unadoptable we seek out a permanent foster home for them. Where the foster parent is the onwer but St. Francis provides the medical treatment for that cat's special health issue until death. St. Francis has an active program to teach young children how to care for and love cats and kittens called the E-Team. The E stands for "Enlightment". SFAR isn't perfect but they try very hard to learn from their mistakes and improve always. Their Thrift Store provides income to help accomplish these goals. Trust me every cat there is treated like family. St. Francis deserves it's good reputation within the community. It depends on that community for support, volunteers and sales. Venice and Sarasota County have been very supportive. We invite any and all to visit during our adoption hours when volunteers are available to show you around. It is a shame that an individual would try to hurt St. Francis with lies.

I have been a monetary donor to St. Francis Animal Rescue for over 10 years. I adopted 2 cats from the shelter and have been a volunteer one day per week for over three years. My experience and observations are that the shelter is well run, cats well cared for, money is spent wisely. The only paid positions are vet tech, cleaners, and a shelter manager. The board is volunteer and works tirelessly for the well being of the cats in their care and at-risk cats in the community. Hundreds of unpaid volunteers clean litter boxes, groom cats, provide adoption counselor staffing, take shifts to staff the shelter during hours of operation, run events, and the list goes on...Donating time, talents, and money to this organization is worthwhile and contributes positively to Venice and beyond.

I am very saddened to see a negative post about St. Francis Animal Rescue. This post is the response of a disgruntled former employee and should be viewed as such. I have been involved with St. Francis for several years and in many capacities. They are a wonderful organization and go above and beyond to care for the animals in their shelter. I donate my time and resources to less than a handful of worthy organizations. St Francis is one of them.