Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals: 2020 Annual Report

SAVING LIVES ANNUAL REPORT 2020

ANIMALALLIANCENYC.ORG

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A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Despite 2020 being a difficult year on so many levels, we want to share with you some of the highlights of our work at the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals (the Alliance). As the year unfolded and the pandemic upended everyone’s plans, we adapted our activities and responded to the challenging landscape that would come to characterize 2020.

2020 marked the beginning of a new journey for the Alliance, following the transitions we initiated in 2019. Having fine-tuned our focus as a capacity-builder, a connector, and a hub for NYC animal welfare, we began to create a new playbook for the organization and reimagined our varied, targeted roles.

Consultant, Advisor, and Mentor In January, Alliance Director of Communications Steve Gruber and I traveled to St. Louis and met with the Saint Louis Petlover Coalition, at the invitation of the Coalition’s host, Nestle Purina Petcare Company. We had the privilege of presenting to the Coalition, composed of leaders of local shelters, rescue groups, and animal control agencies, strategies that proved successful in the Alliance’s efforts to increase New York City’s live release rate from 26% in 2003 to more than 90% in 2017.

The following month, at the invitation of Professor Mariann Sullivan, I guest lectured a law class at NYU School of Law. The class discussion focused on policy.

As 2020 drew to a close, we presented an in-depth PowerPoint presentation on our blog, Out of the Cage, which provides guidance to animal welfare organizations in developing or fine-tuning their strategic plan.

Advocate for Responsible Pet Ownership

By March, as COVID-19 restrictions severely curtailed low-cost spay/neuter availability in New York City, many pet owners had difficulty finding affordable services, and often experienced lengthy delays in getting their pets spayed or neutered. As a resource for pet owners, we responded daily to inquiries from individuals seeking help locating affordable spay/neuter, routine veterinary care, and emergency care for their pets. To make information as accessible as possible, we reimagined our website to be a more in-depth tool for the two primary constituencies that look to the Alliance for guidance and information: pet owners who need help and people who want to help New York City’s animals.

Provider of Limited Services to Animal Welfare Organizations We provided limited transport for local rescue groups and other animal welfare organizations with transport needs that fell outside the criteria for other local transport programs. For example, when the Wildlife Freedom Foundation, a rescue organization on Roosevelt Island, needed to get an injured goose to a wildlife rehabilitator on Long Island, they called the Alliance for assistance. When a family in the Bronx needed to give up

their Chihuahua and reached out to the Wildlife Freedom Foundation for help, the rescue group in turn contacted us for advice and assistance with vetting and transport. And when the Patricia H. Ladew Foundation needed to transport a special needs cat to a great new home, they contacted the Alliance for help. By filling gaps in transport, we helped our partners achieve successful outcomes for the animals in their care.

As Connector, Directing Donations & Support Services to Partner Organizations Throughout the year, we received donations of pet food, pet supplies, and other in-kind donations from donors who recognized the Alliance as a hub within the NYC animal welfare community. We arranged to pick up and transport donated items if a donor wasn’t able to deliver them. We directed donations to shelters, rescue groups, and other local organizations that provide support for pet owners in need of help caring for their pets.

When renowned pet fashion designer and Alliance friend Ada Nieves donated her own hand-made face masks to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, we delivered a supply to front-line workers at Animal Haven and Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC). When concerned animal lover Susanna Fitzgerald and later, a team of NJ Girl Scout Cadettes created handmade cage comforters for shelter pets, we delivered them to four New York area animal shelters. And when longtime Alliance volunteer and Facebook employee Nick Kavanagh asked us to make introductions to Facebook-savvy shelters and rescue groups to participate in a special program he and his colleague Alexa created to deliver free Facebook advertising to pet adoption groups, we made personal introductions to a dozen organizations.

Continued to Work with the City of New York As one of the original members of NYC Emergency Management’s (NYCEM) Animal Planning Task Force (APTF), we continued to participate with fellow non-profit organizations and NYC agencies to develop and execute emergency response protocols for pet owners and their pets. When the pandemic struck New York City hard, we worked with our partners on the APTF to create a NYC Covid-19 Pet Hotline to give pet owners a central resource to acquire information and services. As the year and the pandemic progressed, we continued to work with our colleagues on the APTF to develop collaborative responses to assist pet owners impacted directly and indirectly by the virus.

As a proponent of strong animal welfare protections in our community, we continued to work with the City of New York to shape policy and legislation favorable to NYC animals and pet owners. In February, Steve delivered testimony before the New York City Council’s Committee on General Welfare in favor of Int. 1483 and Int. 1484, which address the need to accommodate pets of NYC’s homeless population who are barred from the city’s homeless shelters if they are accompanied by their pet(s).

In September, we joined with representatives from more than a dozen animal welfare organizations for New York City’s first annual virtual Animal Careers Week, as a part of the City’s effort to build more intentional

pipelines for students seeking careers in animal welfare, and create a workforce that reflects the racially and culturally diverse communities served in NYC. Christine Kim, Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare, spearheaded the project as part of NYC’s Fair Recovery initiative.

In December, Christine invited Steve and me to participate in the TNR Roundtable, a new initiative created by the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare to explore long-term strategies and solutions to New York City’s community cat issues.

Tenant Advocate The Alliance continued in 2020 to assist pet owners facing challenges with their landlords around keeping their pets in the home. Alliance volunteer Matt Wildman continued to manage the Alliance’s one-of-a-kind Tenant Advocacy Program, which has helped nearly 300 pet owners keep their pets since 2015. These include pet owners who are private renters, coop owners, New York City Housing Authority residents, and residents in Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters.

Looking ahead…

Since 2003, Alliance supporters have been a vital part of our efforts to make New York City a better community for companion animals, homeless animals, community cats, and the people who care about them. We invite you to continue to join in our efforts to make New York City the best community it can be for the animals, and for the people who love them.

And we hope you will continue to follow our activities on our blog, our website, and Facebook.

Jane Hoffman, President Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals

2020 REVENUE

2020 OPERATING EXPENSES Management & General 13%

Other (includes PPP) 33%

Fundraising 14% Foundations 20%

Individuals 47%

Programs Expenses 73%