Illinois · Nonprofit
ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP
ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP (Illinois) receives grants from 113 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,786,801 to it, the largest being PETSMART CHARITIES INC ($550,600). 59 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $4.8M
- Funders on record
- 113
- Grants received
- $3.8M
- Net assets
- $2.5M
What One Tail at a Time Nfp does
Mission
One tail at a time is a no-kill all-breed dog rescue that services to lower euthanasia rates in the greater chicagoland area and to provide education on the humane treatment of companion animals.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
In 2024 one tail at a time continued to focus on rescuing animals in need from the most vulnerable shelters. In total 1,542 animals were rescued including 825 dogs, 666 cats, and 51 rabbits and guinea pigs. In addition, 1,626 of our animals were adopted into loving homes. In addition to our rescue efforts, one tail continued to stay dedicated to our community in order to help pets stay in the homes that love them. Through our "crisp" program we provided low cost or free veterinary services to 353 families and their pets. Our pet mutual aid program served local pets and their families with more than 55 pet food pantries and wellness clinic, as well as microchipping, vaccinated, and providing basic vet services for 855 pets. (continued on schedule o)one tail also worked hard in collaborative teams such as the chicagoland humane coalition where we helped spearhead a city-wide campaign focused on adopting large dogs. One tail grew our national presence by speaking at multiple conferences and sharing successes with other budding animal welfare groups.
$3,234,156 spentof which $105,813 as grants$376,998 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $3,234,156.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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 2023 to 2024, from $1.6M to $2.5M (+54%).
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.
93% of ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (74% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 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
Heather Owens
President/executive director
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 8 funders to 43 funders, grant income rose $10k → $728k.
18 of 113 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 51% 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 ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 113 funders by total. 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
ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 15% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
77% 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 ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 50% · 2018 41% · 2019 51% · 2020 22% · 2021 28% · 2022 31% · 2023 24% — diversifying over time.
“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.
How long its funders stay
39% of ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 52% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
51% of ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP'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 $1.9M that is directly attributable, 68% of it comes from funders outside Illinois, across 25 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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
ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP has grown faster than three-quarters of the 1,559 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,559 animals nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP
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 Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
80% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
82%
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 ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP: 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 ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP?
- ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP (Illinois) receives grants from 113 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,786,801 to it, the largest being PETSMART CHARITIES INC ($550,600). 59 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 51% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP have?
- IRS filings report 113 organizations giving $3,786,801 in grants to ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP, 59 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP?
- PETSMART CHARITIES INC is the largest funder on record, with $550,600 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ONE TAIL AT A TIME NFP find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 113 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing