At Maddie's Fund, we believe tracking statistics is vital to the success of any organization. Your numbers tell where you've been, where you are and where you want to go. Additionally, we believe in transparency. The best way to tell your community what you are doing is to post your statistics and your benchmark, including how it was calculated, on your website. If your community knows what you are doing, they will be better able to support you in becoming volunteers, fosters, donors or adopters.

As a national animal welfare leader and funder of animal welfare in North America, we believe that organizations should be transparent about the number of animals that come under their care, and the outcome for all of those animals. That is why we support the public availability of key data (from all animal welfare agencies and nonprofits, both publicly and privately funded and whether or not they provide government animal control services or humane law enforcement).

Shelter Animals Count and Shelter Pet Data Alliance are national databases for intake and outcome statistics. Shelter Animals Count also collects Community Services data from organizations who are doing work to support pets and people in their communities. We recommend submitting your data to both databases. The good news is both of them connect to most animal shelter software programs, so reporting your data to them should be pain-free!

To be eligible for grants from Maddie’s Fund, you must post publicly on your website your annual statistics, the benchmark you use for measuring your success (for example, Live Release Rate, Save Rate, etc.) and the formula you use to calculate it. Your benchmark is only needed for your intake/outcome data. The link to where they're all posted on your website must be included in your grant application. If you submit your statistics to another website (such as Shelter Animals Count or Shelter Pet Data Alliance), you will also need to post your statistics on your own website to be eligible to receive a grant.

We understand that some organizations are part of local coalitions that have agreements to only publish their coalition statistics and their benchmark. If this applies to you, we will accept the coalition information on your website instead of your organization’s statistics and benchmark. We encourage everyone to work collaboratively in your community and post your individual and community statistics and benchmark.

What statistics is Maddie's Fund requiring?

The statistics that you should be posting publicly on your website are the statistics that tell the story of your organization and your work. Maddie's Fund would like to see, at minimum, your annual statistics, the benchmark you use for measuring your success and the formula you used to calculate the benchmark. What this looks like will vary depending on the type of work your organization does but should include how many animals and families were supported, how they were assisted and how you have measured this work. We have examples below of various types of organizations.

We want to see your annual statistics for the most recent year. You can provide your annual statistics based on either the calendar year or your fiscal year. If you want to show the current year-to-date, we recommend that you also include the previous year to give the full picture of your work. Posting your data broken down by month is applauded (and can show seasonal trends), but should be in addition to an annual composite. If your organization puts out an annual report, you can use that document to share your stats as well.

If your organization does intakes and outcomes, we also want to see the benchmark you’re using for measuring your success. That number could be the Asilomar Accords Live Release Rate, the ASPCA's Live Release Rate, the ASPCA's Save Rate, a euthanasia rate or any other calculation you like (there are a number of different calculations). You can use whichever calculation you prefer, as long as you post both the percentage and how it was calculated on your website.

Why are we asking for both your annual statistics AND the benchmark you’re using to measure your success? The benchmark on its own doesn’t tell the complete story, but if it’s posted with your data, people can see the whole story. Plus, it’s important to share it alongside your data so people don’t have to calculate it themselves.

And keep in mind that your intake and outcome numbers still may not tell your whole story, depending on the work your organization does. For example, if your organization is a shelter that also has a low-cost veterinary clinic, you’ll want to include the number of animals treated in your clinic. Again, the type of work your organization is doing will dictate the type of statistics you’re posting publicly to your website.

Here are a few examples of organizations who have shared their annual intake and outcome numbers along with other benchmarks for their organization:

Here are a few examples of organizations that provide safety net services and community support and how they share their statistics on their websites:

What information do I put on the grant application?

When filling out your grant application, you will be asked to give us the direct URL where your annual statistics and benchmark used to measure your success are posted on your website. Please do not give us the link to your homepage, unless your statistics are posted on your homepage. For example, if your statistics are posted to your "About Us" page, please send us the direct link to your "About Us" page. If your statistics are on a document that you have uploaded to your website (i.e., a .pdf or .doc), please send us the URL to where that document can be found on your website, not the document itself. Lastly, if the link that you give us does not lead us directly to where your statistics and lifesaving percentage are posted, your application may be declined.

What if my organization doesn't have a website?

In the instance that an organization doesn't have a website, we would ask that you post your statistics on another location where you have an online, public-facing presence:

  • your organization's Facebook or Instagram page (preferably in the About section or somewhere "static" – a post or a story will quickly disappear)
  • your organization's page on Adopt-A-Pet.com, Petfinder.com or similar service

If your statistics are not posted to your website in the format that we have described, if they are incomplete, or if the URL on your application is broken, your grant application may be declined.

If you have questions about your statistics, or need some direction, please contact our Grants Team at [email protected] or 925.310.5450.