Animal Group Donor Upset by Use of Gift

The debate over the Ventura County Humane Society’s financial reserves took a new direction Wednesday as a donor complained that his more than $50,000 contribution had not been used as he expected.

The 84-year-old Ventura man said he transferred bonds to the nonprofit group last year in hopes of providing the last chunk of money needed for a clinic to spay and neuter more animals.

More than a year later--with no visible progress on the clinic and revelations that the group has assets nearing $3 million--the donor questions what happened to his contribution.

“I feel we’ve been misled,” said the retired biochemist, who asked that his name not be used, but provided documentation of the donation from his stockbroker. “I thought the $50,000 would enable them to almost immediately get started. . . . If it’s money down the drain, I’m too old to be concerned.”

But Humane Society officials say the donor simply misunderstood the status of fund-raising efforts for the planned $450,000 facility.

His contribution remains set aside for the project, which will be built when enough money is collected, said Richard Abbott, the society’s volunteer treasurer since 1986.

“We have enough money to start the thing,” he said. “Do we have enough money to finish it? No, generally not.”

Likewise, Abbott said critics of the Ojai-based group do not comprehend the complex finances needed to keep the organization afloat and allow it to protect animals.

He said the society’s portfolio of more than $2 million does not even offset its monthly deficit of between $20,000 and $30,000.

“I would need $5 million to close the gap, the discrepancy between income and expenses, and that’s if expenses did not increase,” Abbott said. “People leave bequests; they want to see their money act in perpetuity. They don’t want to see it ground up day by day on the day-to-day expenses.”

The financial debate, as well as concerns about the private group’s police powers, are expected to be fodder for discussion at a membership meeting tonight.

The meeting has been called to approve proposed changes to the group’s bylaws that officials said would allow it to be managed more effectively. Foes said the move will consolidate the power of the few people who now control the group.

A loose-knit coalition has formed, charging that the organization hoards its reserves while allowing animal needs to go untended. Specifically, the group would like to see improvements in spay and neuter programs and adoption efforts, as well as reductions in the number of animals put to death.

Humane Society officials counter that the critics are animal rights extremists who are planning a hostile takeover of the nonprofit organization.

Amid the furor over the society’s operation, both sides agree on at least one point: More animals need to be spayed or neutered to address the area’s chronic animal overpopulation problem.

But opinions diverge on just how to do that.

The two small rooms at the society’s Ojai shelter provide room to operate on only 12 animals a day, shelter Director Jolene Hoffman said. The contract veterinarian that the Humane Society employs--officials say they don’t have the money to hire their own--is fully booked through the rest of the year.

Society officials say the solution is to build a new spay and neuter clinic, allowing them to double the number of animals fixed daily.

However, after at least three years of collecting money, no date has yet been set for construction.

Some volunteers and society members question the wisdom of building such a facility in a relatively isolated part of the county.

Indeed, Kathy Jenks, director of the county’s Animal Regulation Department, believes that the ideal solution is a mobile clinic. Society officials said they could not afford to staff such a clinic.

But more importantly, officials with other animal welfare groups contend that the society has already demonstrated that its efforts at tackling the problem are insufficient.

“They preach spay and neutering, and they don’t do it,” said Barbara Omholt, president of the Ojai-based Spay / Neuter Animal Network. “With the money they’ve got, they should be able to have a modern unit fully equipped with two vets. . . . There’s no reason we should have the problem we have.”

Joyce George, longtime president of the society’s board of directors, rejects such criticism.

“The critics don’t have any idea of what it costs to maintain what we have to maintain,” she said in an earlier interview. “It’s just good policy to have money put away.”

The question, though, is how much money is too much?

Federal tax records for 1996 show that the Humane Society had $2.9 million in assets, yet spent $81,000 in program services.

“I think it’s too much to be sitting around when animals are in need,” said Gini Barrett, western regional director of the American Humane Assn., the oldest humane group in the nation. “What are they holding it in reserve for? And I think everybody who contributes to that organization deserves an answer.”

Barrett’s comments echo those of the president of a national watchdog group who noted that donors like to see their money put to work. Most charities have only a year’s worth of cash in reserve, added Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.

Abbott disagreed with that assessment.

“They don’t know what the hell they’re talking about as far as running a charitable organization,” he said. “Mr. Borochoff has given you the idea that we’re awash in money and that’s absolutely not true. You cannot liquidate your investment portfolio to deal with your month-to-month expenses.”

Still, the retiree said he was so unhappy with how the organization used his contribution that he has removed it from his will.

“I’m sure the money will be used in the Humane Society; it’s just too bad they don’t have the building,” he said, adding that he has not asked for his money back. “That represents quite a bit of money for us and we’re not wealthy by a long shot, but my wife and I are in our middle to late 80s and we don’t want any problems.”