New York Animal Charity

December 3, 2007 9:19 AM

This Christmas I would like to make a donation to a New York animal shelter or cruelty prevention group.

I have worked with a number of Animal Shelters in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and sadly most of the ones I have worked with are disorganized to the point that I feel a small ($500) donation would be lost. (For example: I have been stood up by 2 separate No-Kill animal shelters in Brooklyn in the past month. I realize these are largely volunteer organizations, but it doesn't make me want to gift money).

Because I cannot have a dog, but would like to help pets LOCALLY, which one group would you recommend and which group "could use the money" but won't be defunct in two months.

Also, getting a charitable tax credit is low on my priorities list, but if possible I'll take it.

posted by 2bucksplus to Pets & Animals (8 answers total)

And yes this is inspired by the "Charity for Christmas" post directly before mine.
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:25 AM on December 3, 2007

The ASPCA is always a good bet, they are usually well run and can always use the money. They are not no kill shelters, if that is a big deal for you, but on the upside you can think of your $500 as allowing them to save an animal they may have had to put to sleep for space/time reasons. Granted they only thing I have see of them is on the Animal Planet show.
posted by JonahBlack at 10:06 AM on December 3, 2007

North Shore Animal League?

Since 1944, so I don't think they'll go defunct anytime soon. I got a dog from there a while ago, and they were great to work with.
posted by mikepop at 10:18 AM on December 3, 2007

How about the Catskills Animal Sanctuary. They rescue all kinds of animals from NYC and take them upstate; they really need the money, offer tax deductions, multiple forms of giving, etc.
posted by mattbucher at 10:20 AM on December 3, 2007

In New York, the ASPCA is no-kill.

Bide-A-Wee is a good group and they've been around forever. Port Washington might be pushing your definition of "local" but Have-A-Heart also has a good reputation.

Mighty Mutts and Paws for a Cause are both much smaller organizations but I've heard positive things about both.

The NYC office of Friends of Animals helps fund low-cost spay/neuter; I think you can ask that your donation go directly to that program.

You mentioned dogs specifically but if you're not cat-ist: Neighborhood Cats takes a no-kill approach to reducing feral cat populations.

Any of these places would be thrilled to get your donation.
posted by dogrose at 10:37 AM on December 3, 2007

Alternatively, there might be another option to your $500 monetary donation: My wife and I have, on numerous occasions, created toys for local pets in the shelter (paper bags filled with hay for bunnies, catnip mice for the kittys, etc.)

We are pretty well known by our Humane Society, and that may have something to do with it, but you may want to check and see if you can do something similar. There is a really nice feeling knowing that in addition to any money you might give, that the animals are directly receiving comfort and aid from your contributions.
posted by quin at 10:51 AM on December 3, 2007

When I dealt with local shelters (not NYC) in high school, the major thing they emphasized is that while money is good for them, direct donations of supplies (food, toys) and volunteering time (which you're already doing?) are better.
posted by Cricket at 11:38 AM on December 3, 2007

I volunteer sometimes at Infinite Hope in Brooklyn. It's very small, but I think decently organized for a volunteer-run organization. It's based out of the Hope Vet Clinic in Boerum Hill and is pretty much cats-only due to logistical constraints.
posted by min at 4:51 PM on December 4, 2007