Humane Society of U.S. : How it uses Contributions

So how did HSUS fare in 2010? Veteran readers won’t be surprised. Here are some low-lights:

HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle’s total compensation package was $287,786, up roughly 7 percent from the previous year.

HSUS stuffed $2.6 million into its pension plan, bringing the total since Pacelle took over to about $14 million.

HSUS spent $3.6 million on lobbying. (If you see an HSUS ad showing an abused and malnourished lobbyist, let us know.)

HSUS had 636 employees, including 29 who earned more than $100,000.

HSUS’s contribution/grant revenue increased by $34 million. This was boosted by a $12-million increase in noncash contributions (e.g. free ads) and a $11.7 million grant from a single donor.

HSUS’s “All Animals” magazine had a circulation of about 450,000. That’s a good estimate of HSUS’s true membership size (versus the 11 million they like to bandy about when they are on Capitol Hill), since the magazine is included with a $25 membership.

HSUS’s “Kind News” magazine reached 644,000 kindergarten to 6th grade students. (Targeting kids seems right out of PETA’s playbook.)

HSUS spent a whopping $47 million on fundraising-related costs, or about 37 percent of HSUS budget.

HSUS’s pet-shelter grants totaled just $528,676, or 0.418 percent of HSUS’s budget.

Read those last two bullet points again: The “Humane Society” of the United States spends almost 90 times more on fundraising than it spends on pet-shelter grants. If that doesn’t show you the real priorities of this “factory fundraising” operation, nothing will.