A few years ago someone asked me in here why I did not recommend donating to the Humanse** Society of the United States (HSUS). I'd had some bad personal experiences with them, but I really couldn't give a good, well-substantiated reason then. Now I can:
HSUS overhead takes 50 cents of every dollar donated: report
By Dani Friedland on 12/15/2010
The Humane Society of the United States spends nearly half of every dollar donated on fundraising and other overhead costs, the Center for Consumer Freedom reported.The data comes from an analysis of HSUSâ 2009 federal tax return by Animal People News, CCF said. CCF, which is funded by food companies and restaurants as well as consumers, conducted its own analysis and found that fewer than one percent of HSUS donations from the public go to animal shelters.*
The 2009 tax return is available for download from the HSUS website.
* italics mine
** I'm an idiot