ALL ABOUT MONEY

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1998:

The Internal Revenue Service has
reportedly revoked the nonprofit status of
Adopt-A-Pet, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for
allegedly operating for the “private benefit”
of the direct mailing firm Watson &
Hughey, under a fundraising agreement
signed in 1985, which allowed Watson &
Hughey unlimited use of the mailing list generated
in connection with Adopt-A-Pet promotions,
but did not allow Adopt-A-Pet to
rent or trade names. IRS Form 990 filings
indicate that over the next three fiscal years
Adopt-A-Pet spent 97% of all receipts on further
fundraising. In 1991 Adopt-A-Pet was
among the co-defendants in a series of cases
brought against Watson & Hughey in 22
states for alleged misleading fundraising in
connection with use of sweepstakes appeals.

The mailing firm eventually paid $2.4 million
to settle the charges out of court, and
renamed itself Direct Response Consulting
S e r v i c e s. Adopt-A-Pet has reportedly sued
the IRS, demanding restoration of 501(c)(3)
nonprofit status.
C o n g r e s s, The Chronicle of
Philanthropy reported on May 21, is considering
“enacting new rules that would make it
far easier for the public to gain access to the
tax returns of private foundations,” which––
unlike charities supported by public donations––now
may withhold their filings if they
are not requested within 180 days of publication
of a notice that they have filed. If enacted,
the new rules would permit closer scrutiny
of some of the major funders of biomedical
research, and also some of the major
funders of animal rights-related projects.
The Animal Protection Institute
has offered no comment about recent mass
mailings of an API Wildlife Products Catalog
to animal protection donors. Smaller print
identifies it as a fundraising project of
Defenders of Wildlife, undertaken with
Advanced Productions Inc., of Franklin
Square, New York.
The William & Charlotte Parks
F o u n d a t i o n invites applications for either a
one-year veterinary internship in animal welfare,
from final-year veterinary graduates at
U.S. institutions; or a fellowship, from graduate
students already enrolled in a Ph.D. program
at an accredited institution of higher
learning in the U.S. The successful candidate
will receive a grant of up to $30,000. Get
details c/o Dr. F. Barbara Orlans, 7106
Laverock Lane, Bethesda, MD 20817.
Animal Funds of America, an
alliance of 19 animal-related charities participating
in the annual Combined Federal
Campaign to raise funds from government
employees, attracted 5.9% less in donations
in 1997 than in 1996, even though total CFC
giving was up for the second year in a row.
The U.S. Postal Rate Commission
in May recommended nonprofit postal rate
hikes of 9.6% for letter mail, and 8% for
periodicals––more than double the hikes
requested by the U.S. Postal Service i t s e l f ,
and nearly double the increases the Rate
Commission recommended for commercial
mailers. Nonprofit news media, including
ANIMAL PEOPLE, would be the hardesthit
sector. If approved by the Postal Service
Board of Governors, the rate hikes could take
effect in July.
“The League Against Cruel
S p o r t s spent so much campaigning” in an
attempt to ban fox hunting in England, killed
by Parliament earlier this year, “that it was
forced to consider selling some of its deer
sanctuaries,” The London Times reported on
June 11, based on “leaked documents,” but
the documents actually seem to indicate only
that the League may sell farmhouses attached
to the properties in question. The land, a
total of about 2,000 acres, was acquired
piecemeal, beginning about 30 years ago, to
block staghounding routes. The League is
reportedly £500,000 in debt, after spending
£250,000 to promote the failed hunting ban.