Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY
WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 203 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,545,877 to it, the largest being PETSMART CHARITIES INC ($1,779,487). 121 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $23M
- Funders on record
- 203
- Grants received
- $17M
- Net assets
- $28M
What Washington Humane Society does
Mission
The Washington Humane Society protects animals, supports families, and advocates for positive change to create a world where all animals can thrive. We enrich the humanity of our communities by promoting compassion and encouraging people to find joy, comfort and companionship through the love and appreciation of animals.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Animal protection and humane law enforcement -whs's animal protection department protects animals and supports pet owners throughout the district of columbia through humane law enforcement and community-based services. In 2025, humane law enforcement conducted 2,703 investigations into suspected animal cruelty and neglect, while the animal support center responded to 9,891 calls from community members seeking assistance or reporting animal welfare concerns.the department also works to prevent animals from entering the shelter system by connecting pet owners with resources that help keep animals safe and healthy in their homes. In 2025, whs distributed 80,272 pounds of pet food to pet owners in need. Through enforcement, education, and direct community support, whs works to protect animals, reduce suffering, and strengthen the bond between people and their pets.
$2,044,550 spent$2,012,042 earned by the program12% of program spendingShelter and community veterinary services - whs provided comprehensive medical services for 18,837 animals in our care, ranging from routine care to advanced surgical procedures. Our veterinary program supports both shelter animals and community pets, with services tailored to support population health, emergency care, preventive care and individual treatment plans. To improve access to care, affordability is maintained across services, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to critical veterinary treatment. Whs prioritizes early intervention and medical treatment as a core strategy to maintain high live release rates, minimize suffering, and help keep pets at home.
$4,441,262 spent$274,390 earned by the program27% of program spendingAnimal care and adoptions - animal care services and adoptions include the intake of homeless animals, coordination for animal foster care, pet adoptions, and animal behavior support across whs campuses in washington, dc and madison, nj. In 2025, whs admitted 11,119 animals.to support community-based animal wellbeing and prevent overcrowding at the animal shelter, over 1,600 animals were placed in foster homes with whs's broad, dedicated network of volunteers in 2025. In total, whs engaged 45,063 volunteer hours across both campuses to support daily animal care, foster care, and customer service.
$7,127,045 spent$1,401,967 earned by the program43% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$2,851,645 spent$1,031,341 earned by the program17% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $16,464,502.
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 2018 to 2019, from $34M to $59M (+74%).
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 10% · 2025 14%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
68% of WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY’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. 6 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 Lafontaine
President and CEO
Board chair
Theresa Fariello
Board chairperson
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 48 funders to 101 funders, grant income rose $735k → $2.2M.
37 of 203 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 33% 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 WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 203 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
WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 11% of grant income, and it takes 7 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 7 funders to its left
60% 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 WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 22% · 2018 24% · 2019 17% · 2020 14% · 2021 23% · 2022 15% · 2023 12% — 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
50% of WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% 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
WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY draws 84% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 28 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 19 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
WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY's funding base is broadening — from 48 funders to 101 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 134 animals nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY
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 Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
73% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
90%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 4 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY: 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 WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY?
- WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 203 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,545,877 to it, the largest being PETSMART CHARITIES INC ($1,779,487). 121 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY have?
- IRS filings report 203 organizations giving $16,545,877 in grants to WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY, 121 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY?
- PETSMART CHARITIES INC is the largest funder on record, with $1,779,487 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. 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 Washington Humane Society →
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 203 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