Ohio · Nonprofit
THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE
THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE (Ohio) receives grants from 118 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,013,983 to it, the largest being NETWORK FOR GOOD ($3,640,785). 70 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 50% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $10M
- Funders on record
- 118
- Grants received
- $13M
- Net assets
- $45M
What The Cleveland Animal Protective League does
Mission
The Cleveland Animal Protective League's (apl) mission is to foster compassion and end animal suffering. The apl provides shelter, care, and medical treatment to animals that have lost their homes and/or suffered cruelty or neglect. It also provides humane law enforcement in cuyahoga county, spay/neuter services for shelter animals and community pets, operates a low-cost veterinary clinic for pet owners in cleveland facing financial challenges, and offers resources to income-qualified pet owners in cleveland to help them access the care they need and want for their pets keeping families together. In 2024, the apl helped more than 21,000 animals through an array of progressive programs. The apl relies on the support of private donors and fees for service to make all this work possible. The apl does not receive government funding for operations and is not governed by, nor does it receive regular operating support from, any national animal welfare organization.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Animal sheltering & care*: the apl operates a 40,000-square-foot animal shelter and resource center in cleveland. In 2024, the apl brought in 6,952 animals that were surrendered by their owners, victims of abuse or neglect and impounded by our humane agents, transferred in from overcrowded shelters, brought in to assist with emergency situations in other areas, or stray cats found by good samaritans. Once at the apl, these animals receive the care and treatment they need until they can be placed for adoption. When the shelter is full or when animals have special needs better met in a home setting, they are placed with temporary volunteer foster families until they are ready to return to the apl for adoption. In 2024, 3,126 of the 6,952 animals **************** (see schedule o for continuation) ******************* ...admitted to the apl received care in foster homes. By the end of 2024, we achieved an overall 92% save rate for animals through adoptions, reunification with owners, or transfer to other rescue groups or shelters for adoption.
$3,992,659 spent$668,820 earned by the program46% of program spendingHumane investigations*: the apl is the lead agency in cuyahoga county for investigating animal cruelty, neglect, and abandonment. Under ohio law, the cleveland apl's board of directors is authorized to appoint humane society agents to enforce local and state animal protection laws; these appointments must be approved by the cuyahoga county probate court. The apl does not receive public funding for this program; it is funded solely by donations. In 2024, the humane investigations team opened 2,106 new investigations of suspected animal abuse and either impounded or rescued 1,070 animals. The apl's humane society agents also seek justice for animal victims by working with prosecutors to secure convictions for those charged with animal cruelty **************** (see schedule o for continuation) ******************* ...or neglect. Under ohio law, humane agents are mandated reporters for child and elder abuse and neglect. The expenses shared in this section reflect the core cost of operating the humane investigations program and do not include the cost of caring for cruelty victims, which can range from basic daily care to extensive, sometimes complex, veterinary care to heal both their…
$852,756 spent$14,516 earned by the program10% of program spendingShelter veterinary services*: the apl's veterinary clinic provides spay/neuter, medical, and other surgical services for animals admitted to the shelter for rehoming. All cats, dogs, and rabbits are sterilized prior to adoption. Through donations to the second chance program, animals surrendered to the apl with treatable injuries or illnesses receive the medical and/or surgical care needed for a healthy life. Sometimes, this care is extensive and complex. In 2024, 4,634 shelter animals were sterilized, and 4,215 shelter animals received 10,653 diagnostic tests, treatments, procedures, and/or surgeries.
$1,558,848 spent18% of program spendingAnimal welfare clinic (awc)*: the apl's awc provides spay/neuter services for community cats through trap-neuter-return (tnr) and sterilization services for adoptable animals from other shelters and rescue groups. In 2024, 4,202 community cats were sterilized through the tnr program, and 2,163 adoptable animals from partner shelters and rescue groups were sterilized.
$638,238 spent$425,470 earned by the program7% of program spendingCommunity outreach*: through project care (community animal retention effort), the apl helps income-qualified pet owners in cleveland access the care and resources they need and want for their pets. Examples include pet food, grooming, vaccinations, wellness care, and crisis boarding for owners facing housing insecurity or fleeing domestic violence. In 2024, project care assisted more than 3,697 pets and distributed over 17 tons of pet food to families in need.
$473,968 spent5% of program spendingCommunity pet clinic (cpc): the apl believes in preserving the human-animal bond and that pet owners should not be forced to give up their pets because they cannot afford veterinary care. In 2022, the apl opened its community pet clinic (cpc) to provide affordable veterinary care to pet owners who have been unable to afford care at private clinics or at all. The cpc currently serves pets owned by cleveland and east cleveland residents who are on financial assistance or demonstrate financial hardship. It also serves cuyahoga county residents living in homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, public housing, hotels, or motels, individuals referred by private veterinary clinics due to inability to pay, and those referred by social service agencies. Additionally, the cpc serves cleveland apl adopters and residents living in the 44113 zip code. In 2024, the cpc helped 4,390 animals, performed 1,025 spay/neuter surgeries, dentals, and other surgeries, conducted 2,223 diagnostic tests, administered 5,076 vaccines, and provided humane euthanasia services to 386 animals at their owners' request.
$1,211,812 spent$556,547 earned by the program14% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $8,728,281.
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 2019 to 2020, from $34M to $43M (+26%).
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 8% · 2021 6% · 2023 12%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
67% of THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (67% 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
Sharon A Harvey
President & CEO
Board chair
Dean Mueller
Chairperson
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 30 funders to 53 funders, grant income rose $624k → $2.1M.
18 of 118 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 50% 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 THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 118 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
THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 28% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
57% 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 THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 49% · 2018 37% · 2019 25% · 2020 38% · 2021 37% · 2022 30% · 2023 28% — 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
55% of THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% 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
50% of THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE'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 $6.5M that is directly attributable, 56% of it comes from funders outside Ohio, across 16 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 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
THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE is better cushioned than half of the 235 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 235 animals nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE
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 Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
68%
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 THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: 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 THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE?
- THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE (Ohio) receives grants from 118 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,013,983 to it, the largest being NETWORK FOR GOOD ($3,640,785). 70 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 50% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE have?
- IRS filings report 118 organizations giving $13,013,983 in grants to THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE, 70 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE?
- NETWORK FOR GOOD is the largest funder on record, with $3,640,785 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Cleveland Animal Protective League →
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 118 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