California · Nonprofit
THE RESCUE TRAIN
THE RESCUE TRAIN (California) receives grants from 38 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,554,880 to it, the largest being THE MICHELSON FOUND ANIMALS FOUNDATION INC ($379,296). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $714k
- Funders on record
- 38
- Grants received
- $1.6M
- Net assets
- $956k
What The Rescue Train does
Mission
A no kill animal welfare organization dedicated to eliminating animal suffering through hands-on rescue work, dedication to spay/neuter, shelter intervention, and education and awareness.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Due to the significant lack of access to spay/neuter services in los angeles, The Rescue Train launched a mobile spay/neuter clinic in august 2024, providing free and low-cost services to shelters, rescues, and low-income pet owners.this initiative helps reduce the number of animals entering shelters and addresses pet overpopulation.the organization also runs "feral fix la," a program that provides free spay/neuter services for community cats, with the goal of reducing the number of cats living on the streets of los angeles and alleviating animal suffering.
$436,346 spent69% of program spendingIt is the organization's mission to save as many animal lives as possible by rehoming abandoned, injured, and unwanted animals.the organization rescues dogs, cats, and farm animals from city and county shelters, as well as from the streets of los angeles, and seeks to place them in loving, permanent homes.prior to adoption, all animals are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Sick, injured, and senior animals receive medical care and rehabilitation. Animals requiring behavior modification receive training to support safe and successful adoptions.the organization also assists shelters and rescue groups in preparing animals for adoption by providing services through its mobile spay/neuter clinic.
$113,438 spent18% of program spendingThe Rescue Train is a pioneer of the shelter intervention model, also known as the "keep your pet" project an innovative program designed to provide pet owners with alternatives to surrendering their animals due to financial hardships.the program offers support for veterinary care, pet food, grooming, shelter redemption fees, and pet deposits.bilingual counselors operate out of the east valley animal shelter and respond to a dedicated hotline. The program also maintains a pet food pantry.by providing critical resources to seniors, veterans, low-income pet owners, and individuals experiencing homelessness, the program helps keep pets in their homes reducing shelter intake and euthanasia.in 2025, this program served 1,924 pets.
$78,265 spent12% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $628,049.
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 $619k to $814k (+31%).
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% · 2023 4% · 2025 30%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of THE RESCUE TRAIN’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (86% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 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
Lisa Young
President & CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 11 funders, grant income rose $167k → $228k.
10 of 38 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 19% 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 RESCUE TRAIN’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 38 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 RESCUE TRAIN has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 24% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 40% · 2018 23% · 2019 30% · 2020 31% · 2021 35% · 2022 35% · 2023 33% — 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
35% of THE RESCUE TRAIN's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 53% 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
65% of THE RESCUE TRAIN's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $296k arriving through sponsors registered in 8 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 RESCUE TRAIN holds deeper cash reserves 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 THE RESCUE TRAIN
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
91% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
75%
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 RESCUE TRAIN: 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 RESCUE TRAIN?
- THE RESCUE TRAIN (California) receives grants from 38 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,554,880 to it, the largest being THE MICHELSON FOUND ANIMALS FOUNDATION INC ($379,296). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE RESCUE TRAIN have?
- IRS filings report 38 organizations giving $1,554,880 in grants to THE RESCUE TRAIN, 20 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE RESCUE TRAIN?
- THE MICHELSON FOUND ANIMALS FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $379,296 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE RESCUE TRAIN find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 Rescue Train →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 38 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