Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Since 1946, the work of the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria is to be a resource for our community and a shelter for homeless animals.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Animal Adoptions
Finding loving families for animals in need: At the AWLA, we are matchmakers who connect loving families with animals looking for a home. Our staff spends time getting to know each potential adopter, so that every relationship starts off on the right foot – and paw – as the first step together as our residents and their adopters begin a lifelong journey together.
Animal Care
Providing nutritious food, veterinary care and a safe place to sleep for animals in need throughout the community: Every animal that is welcomed to our facility is evaluated by our Animal Care team. As appropriate, they are tested for heartworm, tick-borne diseases and FeLV/FIV, as well as receiving updates for all basic vaccinations, being microchipped and being spayed or neutered. In addition, our veterinary team provides more extensive medical care on a case-by-case basis and manages all additional medical care.
Education & Outreach
Connecting with our community and cultivating the next generation of responsible animal lovers: Our community has many different living beings, and our goal is to inspire compassion and facilitate animal welfare among our neighbors. Through activities such as public events, school presentations, summer camp, scout badge programs and birthday parties, we invite and engage with kids and adults. In addition, we host special volunteer programs, such as Book Buddies, teen service nights and at-home projects, to enhance learning and support the work at the AWLA.
Community Programs
Assisting pet owners and cherished pets across the Alexandria community: Research proves that pet ownership provides benefits to humans and their animals, and we are dedicated to helping pet owners in need keep their beloved animals. Through our Community Pet Pantry and AniMeals program, we provide pet food and supplies to pets in need. Vaccines, spay and neuter surgeries and basic grooming are provided through low-cost and no-cost events and vouchers. In addition, the AWLA houses pets whose owners are facing emergencies through Crisis Care.
Animal Services
Keeping Alexandria informed and safe for animals and people: Animal Services is a branch of the AWLA, contracted by the City of Alexandria, with the goals of educating the community about animal welfare; protecting human and animal health and safety; and enforcing Alexandria code and Virginia law pertaining to animals. Calls answered by AWLA’s Animal Services in 2019 include found animals, trapped or injured wildlife and cases of abuse or neglect.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of animal adoptions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Animal Adoptions
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Animal Care
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Working with more volunteers and fosters means that our animals can get even more care and attention, improving their quality of life with us as we help them find their families.
Pounds of pet food and supplies provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of pets microchipped
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We administered over 300 microchips to the community at two of our popular events - Pets and People and our Low-Cost Vaccine Clinic.
Number of law enforcement agencies assisted in animal cruelty cases
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Animal Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The amount of calls our Animal Services team takes in a year. From assisting citizens to protecting animals, our Animal Services team helps the thousands of residents in our community.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The mission of the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria is to inspire compassion for all living things, to provide shelter to animals in need and to promote adoptions, animal welfare, education and responsible pet ownership in our community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The AWLA touches the lives of more than 6,000 animals every year. This includes sheltering nearly 2,000 animals a year, and as an open-access shelter, that can include not only dogs and cats, but also rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, turtles, chinchillas, reptiles and more. We also contract with the City of Alexandria to provide animal care and control for City residents through our Animal Services department, who respond to more than 200 calls for service monthly, including animals running at large, wildlife that has become trapped inside residents' homes and even cruelty investigations and animal seizures.
We offer humane education services and resources, including our shelter tours for youth groups, summer camp programs, birthday parties and additional youth services like our Book Buddies program. We also work with local veterinary partners to offer discounted spay/neuter procedures to low-income residents.
We are supported by a corps of more than 200 volunteers and fosters, who care for and socialize animals, providing them with home stays and extra attention as necessary and generally assisting us in all aspects of operating a large and busy facility.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We are grateful to the City of Alexandria, which makes it possible for us to provide care, control and sheltering services to Alexandria's Animals. We are able to build upon those efforts thanks to the amazing support of our community. This includes our amazing volunteers, who help with a variety of of roles both in- and outside of the shelter, including working with and caring for animals; helping with laundry, dishes and other cleaning; administrative tasks and support; assisting with events; caring for animals in a foster capacity and so much more. We also are grateful to be the recipient of financial contributions, which allow us to care for the animals in our community, provide medical treatments and surgeries to improve their quality of life and help support other local/regional shelter partners who may not have the resources to provide the same standard of care for animals in their area.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We continue to reduce the number of days that animals stay with us, which means individual animals find homes more quickly and spend less time in the shelter environment. This also means we have more room to help other animals in need. We also continue to look for more ways to engage with our animals while they are with us, like doggy playgroups and a fenced-in outdoor area for our cats to enjoy the sun.
We have expanded our foster program, bringing in more amazing volunteers to dedicate additional time and care to animals outside of the shelter environment. These foster animals have expanded opportunity for growth to make them more attractive to potential adopters, which again gives us greater facility to care for animals in need.
We have expanded our animal behavioral volunteer corps and will continue to do so, meaning we can take in and work with animals with behavioral issues and make their stay more engaging as they move toward adoptability.
We held our first in-community pet care clinic, offering free rabies vaccines to cats and dogs in underserved communities, as well as behavioral guidance, basic grooming, free food, supplies and more. We hope to hold more events like this and continue our community outreach, including our Animeals program (aiding senior citizens who are part of the City's Meals on Wheels programs and their pets) and look for more ways to assist our citizens in times of hardship so they have the resources they need to keep and provide for their pets and themselves.
We will continue to work with the City to aid animals in dangerous situations and see legal recourse in instances of neglect or mistreatment.
Most of all, we will continue to be a resource to the animals and people of the City of Alexandria, to help inform, educate and assist, and continue to build the relationships between people and animals in our community.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
Board of directorsas of 02/16/2024
Julie Conway
Kirk Fedder
Laura MacLean
Dean DeGood
Mark Davis
Julie Conway
Suzanne Goulden
Cynthia Woodruff Young
Victoria Barnes
Tamela Blalock
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data