Connecticut · Nonprofit
FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC
FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $62,739 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($44,573). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 77% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $108k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $63k
- Net assets
- $781k
What Ferret Association of Connecticut Inc does
Mission
The Ferret Association of Connecticut focuses on the welfare of domestic ferrets. To improve their lives, we provide factual information to caretakers, advocate for their protection and safe treatment, operate a species-specific shelter for ferrets lost or abandoned, work to identify, contact, and accept ferrets released from medical research facilities, and provide technical support for other organizations sheltering domestic ferrets.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2025 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
The Ferret Association initiated and managed a coordinated effort to rescue 62 ferrets from a breeder in Manitoba Province, Canada, who was being investigated by provincial authorities for inhumane practices. Working closely with the Manitoba Ferret Association (Winnipeg, Canada), we were able to help these animals obtain vaccinations, be spay/neutered, and distribute them to 9 different ferret shelters (including ours) both in Canada and the U.S.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Shelter services: Dedicated shelter for lost or abandoned domestic ferrets; permanent Foster care of ill/elderly animals. In 2025, 46 animals were accepted into the shelter. 13 were surrendered directly from southern New England owners unable/unwilling to provide care. 3 had been abandoned outdoors; 2 were transferred in from Animal Control. 22 were released from medical research facilities. 6 animals came directly to our shelter from the 62 total rescued from a breeder in Canada. Disbursement: 7 animals were transferred to partner shelters. 29 were adopted into carefully-screened new homes and 7 were placed into permanent Foster care. An average of 18.4 animals were cared for in 2025 under this unique program, which places animals unlikely to be adopted due to age or illness into a screened volunteer home, where they live for the rest of their lives and are financially supported by the organization. As of December 31, 2025, the Ferret Association has cared for 2,431 ferrets over the course of our 35-year history.
$33,097 spentof which $100 as grants$3,370 earned by the program50% of program spendingPublic education: Website, print newsletter, info request responses. An average of 50 individuals per month request health, care or behavior information and are answered free of charge. Inquiries are generated via our website, Facebook, and phone. Our Facebook page has over 5,000 followers across 10 countries. 5 issues per year of an informational newsletter, Paw Printz, is printed & published.
$11,297 spent$770 earned by the program17% of program spendingThe Ferret Association initiated and managed a coordinated effort to rescue 62 ferrets from a breeder in Manitoba Province, Canada, who was being investigated by provincial authorities for inhumane practices. Working closely with the Manitoba Ferret Association (Winnipeg, Canada), we were able to help these animals obtain vaccinations, be spay/neutered, and distributed to 9 different ferret shelters both in Canada and the U.S.
$19,066 spentof which $2,160 as grants$500 earned by the program29% of program spendingSupport for other ferret shelter includes The Ferret Shelters Directory. The Directory (www.ferretshelters.org) is an online, searchable database of places that accept and place ferrets. Created & administered by the Ferret Association, listings are free for shelters and public users. In 2025, there were 49,000 site views of the Ferret Shelters Directory site.
$2,548 spent4% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $66,008.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $174k to $599k (+245%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 4% · 2021 0% · 2022 0% · 2023 0% · 2024 0% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
67% of FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (86% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
L Vanessa Gruden
Executive Director
Board chair
Glen Farney
Board President
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base narrowed from 4 funders to 2 funders, grant income fell $14k → $1k.
2 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 77% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 71% of grant income and the top three 92%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
90% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 60% · 2021 67% · 2022 97% · 2023 63% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
77% of FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $15k that is directly attributable, 98% of it comes from Connecticut funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $48k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 3,693 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,693 animals nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Connecticut
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC?
- FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $62,739 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($44,573). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 77% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $62,739 in grants to FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $44,573 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FERRET ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Connecticut. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2020–2025), and the filings of 6 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing