Animal Lifeline of Iowa, Inc.
A Special Needs No Kill Shelter
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Animal Lifeline of Iowa (ALI) is Central Iowa’s only special needs, no-kill animal shelter, celebrating nearly 35 years of serving the Des Moines area and all of Iowa. We rescue cats and dogs that are injured, handicapped, have a serious medical condition, abused, pregnant and nursing moms, or orphans that require bottle feeding.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Animal Lifeline of Iowa
In addition to providing care and housing for special needs dogs and cats, Animal Lifeline also provides extensive counseling for pet behavior problems; provides bereavement counseling to those who have lost a pet; provides assistance to pet owners in locating new homes for their pets; provides pet over-population and pet care education; provides pet therapy visits to hospitals and nursing homes; maintains a Pet Food Pantry which provides pet food for senior, low and fixed income pet owners; provides temporary housing and health care for pets belonging to domestic abuse victims, travelers and displaced persons; provides humane education materials for teachers and students and maintains an extensive lending library of pet related books and videos for adopters and supporters.
Animal Care
Accept animals that have injuries, handicaps, serious medical conditions, pregnant and nursing moms and orphans that need to be bottle fed. Provide all veterinary care, rehabiliation care and then place them up for adoption. All pets are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before being adopted.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of animals rehomed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Family relationships
Related Program
Animal Care
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Adoptions or returned to owner
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?
ALI's number one goal is to reduce the number of special needs dogs & cats euthanized. We rehabilitate the animals, who run a higher risk of euthanasia in a traditional shelter setting, and then adopt them into loving forever homes. Animals are not euthanized because they have been at the shelter for a certain length of time.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We have increased the number of rescue/shelter organizations we are partnering with to transfer their special needs dogs & cats to Animal Lifeline of Iowa for the medical care they need prior to being placed up for adoption. Partnerships include local organizations & those spread throughout the Midwest such as:
Animal Rescue League of Iowa – Des Moines, IA
Joanne Milby Animal Sanctuary – Carlisle, IA
Aheinz Pet Rescue & Transport – DeSoto, IA
Furry Friends Refuge – West Des Moines, IA
Second Chance Dog Rescue – Prole, IA
Forever Home Dog Rescue – Johnston, IA
Kiya Koda – Indianola, IA
People for Pets - Spencer, IA
Creston Animal Rescue - Creston, IA
Animal Alliance Rescue -Mount Ayr, IA
Heartland Humane Society, Ottumwa-IA
Jasper County Animal Rescue League- Marshalltown, IA
Canine Area Rescue & Transport, Inc. - IL
WILD Canine Rescue – IL
Friends of the Emporia Kansas Animal Shelter - Emporia, KS
Green Hills Animal Shelter - Trenton, MO
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
For over 35 years, Animal Lifeline of Iowa has been savings special needs dogs & cats. We have "life-long" partnership with a local veterinarian practice who acts as our intake facility for all animals & has the knowledge to handle the wide variety of cases we handle such as Parvo, various forms of temporary & permanent paralysis, orthopedic & amputations, diabetic, ocular issues, deaf & blind animals, allergies and much more.
In addition to our regular veterinary care, we have formed partnerships with both emergency veterinary practices in our community, as well as several specialty clinics including dermatology, acupuncture & chiropractic.
The ALI staff & volunteers are also trained & mentored to provide specialized care on an on-going basis. This training exceeds that of a typical shelter environment. The staff is required to respond & communicate any issues with an animals medical or behavior that may arise.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
On average, we adopt over 120 animals annually. This may seem like a small number in the big picture, but these cases are often in-depth & other shelters were unable to diagnose, treat and/or provide the care the animal required. Animal Lifeline was able to obtain the care the animal needed AND find them a loving forever home.
ALI's Board & Executive Team is committed to keeping the organization accountable and on track by implementing an effectiveness policy & reviewing it every 2 years to ensure we are accomplishing our mission of saving the lives of special needs dogs & cats.
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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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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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
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Animal Lifeline of Iowa, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2024
Brooke Jacobs
Brick Gentry Law Firm
Term: 2019 - 2024
Chris Koranda
Principal Financial Group
Karin Howe
Mercy One
Brooke Jacobs
Brick Gentry Law Firm
Olivia Brooks
State of Iowa AG Office
Travis Etchison
Bankers Trust
Betty Brim-Hunter
Retired
Jenna Leaven-Miller
Stephanie Reynolds
State of Iowa
Sarah Golwitzer
Fredrikson & Byron, PA
Jessica Shannon
Denton Law Firm
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: