My Nonprofit Reviews
amyk1980
Review for Big Cat Rescue, Corp., Odessa, FL, USA
Big Cat Rescue is an accredited sanctuary for big cats such as lions and tigers in Florida. Not only do they have a team of staff and volunteers who provide stellar care for big cats that have come from horrendous situations of abuse, but they also work tirelessly for better laws about big cats. Big Cat Rescue was instrumental in passing legislation prohibiting interstate transfer of big cats. They also work with states to pass laws regulating ownership of dangerous exotic animals such as big cats. Big Cat Rescue has seen first hand the cruel situations that these cats are kept in, such as being kept for life in transport crates, crammed into basements with no access to sunlight, having their teeth and claws pulled, etc. Big Cat Rescue has done more to raise awareness of the plight of big cats than any other organization in the country. When I donate to Big Cat Rescue, I am providing direct help not just to the cats at the sanctuary, but to all big cats in captivity across the country.
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
Review for The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC, USA
The HSUS does work to fight animal cruelty on the national scale. While the HSUS doesn't pay operating costs for local shelters -- no organization could as there are over 5000 local shelters in the country -- it does a great deal to assist them.
The HSUS provides training initiatives for local animal shelters, hosts the nation's largest trade and educational show for shelter professionals, and maintains national shelter standards. It launched the first ever national advertising campaign to promote the adoption of shelter animals. The HSUS also has major advocacy campaigns to combat animal cruelty, dogfighting and cockfighting, Canada's notorious baby seal hunt, and large-scale puppy mills. Its Animal Rescue Team deploys in response to natural disasters, working with other organizations to rescue, shelter and reunite lost animals with their families.
I volunteer and give financial support to my local shelter, but I also volunteer and support the HSUS. The work of both organizations is critical to animal welfare in the United States.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
Review for National Animal Interest Alliance, Portland, OR, USA
NAIA speaks all the language of animal welfare and pretends to be an animal welfare organization, but its real purpose is to protect the rights of people to do anything they want to animals in their care.
NAIA actively lobbies against any sort of animal welfare legislation including laws against puppy mills. They have spoken out against animal shelters on numerous occasions, going so far as to accuse them of importing dogs from other countries in order to sell them for a profit. They pretend there is non such thing as pet overpopulation, and that there are plenty of homes for homeless pets, because they gives cover for the high-volume puppy mills that they serve to continue churning out puppies in horrible conditions to sell for vastly over-inflated prices over the internet and in pet stores.
The misinformation and outright lies coming from NAIA are a disgrace, and this organization does harm to every true animal welfare organization in America as well as the animals themselves.
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I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Trying to correct the misinformation spouted by NAIA disciples on various discussion boards.
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Disband it
Review for The Center For Organizational Research And Education, Arlington, VA, USA
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a corporate funded lobby group paid to run smear campaigns against non-profits. The New York Times calls it a "fake consumer-advocacy group." CCF runs a number of websites that target organizations like the Humane Society of the United States, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and even the Centers for Disease Control. They are paid to argue that mercury in fish doesn't hurt pregnant women, girls can spend as much time in tanning beds as they want with no risk of cancer, and drunk driving laws are not needed. Their attacks are misleading at best, outright lies at worst. And over 90 percent of the millions paid to the CCF goes straight into the pockets of its director Rick Berman. There's lots of info on the web about how bad the CCF is. Some of this includes: Berman Exposed - http://bermanexposed.org/ HumaneWatch.info – provides background on HumaneWatch http://humanewatch.info/blog/hw-facts/ Rick Berman Attacks the Humane Society - PR Watch http://www.prwatch.org/node/8894 http://www.prwatch.org/node/9115 Center for Consumer Freedom - SourceWatch http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom Who is HumaneWatch? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_6FvqQEuCU Rachel Maddow's Oct '09 interview with Rick Berman: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paula-crossfield/rachel-maddow-takes-on-co_b_312729.html Rachel Maddow - Rick Berman's deeply dishonest Astroturf Express adjusts, flourishes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Uf_QgMz_w Investigation of Berman, CCF - http://www.alternet.org/investigations/146832/corporate_frontman_known_as_'dr._evil'_makes_a_fine_living_attacking_charities/
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I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Reading the HuamneWatch and following it on Facebook. HumaneWatch sends its followers -- the core of which is a particularly nasty group of dog breeders -- to attack the HSUS on other pages across the internet.
What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
Nothing. It is a travesty.
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Hateful, nasty, uninformed, crude and ignorant. Many have criminal records such as running an animal hoarding situation or threatening an animal activist, his family, and his cat.
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
Do even more damage to decent nonprofits that are trying to improve the world.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
One time
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
Review for The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC, USA
The Humane Society of the United States is simply the most effective organization in the country working on behalf of animals. I donate and volunteer for the HSUS for several reasons. First, they work on behalf of ALL animals, whether that means helping to pass laws against shark finning, cockfighting, or getting farm animals out of cruel, intensive confinement. Second, the HSUS works to strike at the root of animal cruelty. This includes busing puppy mills, raiding dog fighting rings, protesting the seal and whale hunts, working for truth in labeling about fur, working against canned hunts and internet shoots, etc. If you rescue an animal, you help that animal, but if you pass a law, you help millions of animals. This is what the HSUS does best. The HSUS also provides direct care for thousands of animals through its five sanctuaries as well as its humane veterinary care program and other programs. No, the HSUS does not fund local shelters. If it tried, it would run out of money in a week, and the homeless dogs and cats would just keep coming. But the HSUS helps shelters in many ways including publishing Animal Sheltering mangazine, running the annual Animal Care Expo, providing shelter visits and consultations, etc. There is simply no other organization that can do what the HSUS does on a national scale every day.
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I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
I volunteered to collect signatures for the Ohioans for Humane Farms campaign. An unbelieveable 500,000 signatures were collected in just 3 months, and the HSUS used them to get better laws for all animals in Ohio.
What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
Meeting others who care as much about animals as I do.
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Professional, organized, compassionate and committed
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
Help even more animals.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
