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Animal Charity Evaluators

Helping People Help Animals

Financials

We are committed to transparency and are pleased to share our financial reports with you. If you would like more detailed information from any particular year, please contact us.

While this page is intended to document ACE’s finances, we are proud to play a role in influencing revenue in the animal advocacy movement. From 2014–2020, we estimate that we have influenced more than $34 million1 to our recommended charities, and we have raised $3.4 million for ACE Movement Grants, while only spending $4.1 million2 on our programs and operations.
ace financials chart

Fig. 1: ACE’s operating expenses3 and estimates4 of donations we have influenced to our recommended charities and Movement Grants recipients

Note: We have excluded in-kind Google Ad Grants from the yearly ACE revenue and expense reports below.

2020

2020 ACE Expenses
Research$332,577
Operations/Management$296,537
Communications$198,986
Philanthropy*$146,913
Total$975,014†

*A significant but indeterminable portion of philanthropy expenses are allocated to fundraising for ACE’s recommended charities and our Movement Grants program.

†Each figure has been rounded to the nearest dollar.

2020 ACE Revenue by Source
Individual giving$680,726
Foundational giving$497,491
Investment gains and interest earned$39,372
Corporate giving$34,260
Total$1,251,849

2020 ACE Revenue by Restriction
Unrestricted*$1,138,899
Restricted
Gift restricted to Movement Grants program staff time$65,000
Gift restricted to Animal Advocacy Research Fund staff time$43,390
Gift restricted to country prioritization research$4,560
Total$1,251,849

*Our unrestricted revenue includes gifts, investment gains, and interest earned.

In addition to the expenses and revenue tabulated above, we also regranted $262,500 of a restricted $350,000 donation we received for a project in collaboration with Vox Media’s Future Perfect.

2020 Donations via ACE to Supported Charities and Projects
Gifts restricted to specific recommended charities (including first-time donation matching)$1,564,722
Gifts restricted to our Recommended Charity Fund$1,146,493
Gifts restricted to our Movement Grants program (excluding staff time)$822,185
Gifts restricted to our Animal Advocacy Research Fund (excluding staff time)$9,010
Total$3,542,410

Find out more about the grants we made from our Recommended Charity Fund and our Movement Grants.

For more detailed information, please see our 2020 Form 990 and audited financial statement.

2019

Note: For the years 2019 and earlier, we only show ACE’s own financials, but you can find information about our regranting to supported charities in our Giving Metrics Reports (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016) or contact us for more information.

2019 Expenses
Research$384,263
Operations/Management$267,669
Communications$205,143
Philanthropy*$109,031
Total$966,106

*A significant but indeterminable portion of philanthropy expenses are allocated to fundraising for ACE’s recommended charities and our Movement Grants program.

2019 Revenue by Source
Individual giving$418,477
Foundational giving$273,351
Investment gains, interest earned, and in-kind gifts$75,882
Corporate giving$46,225
Total$813,935

2019 Revenue by Restriction
Unrestricted*$719,802
Restricted
Gifts restricted to Animal Advocacy Research Fund staff time$43,133
Gifts restricted to Movement Grants program staff time$50,000
In-kind gifts$1,000
Total$813,935

*Our unrestricted revenue includes gifts, investment gains, and interest earned.

For more detailed information, please see our 2019 Form 990 and audited financial statement.

2018

2018 Expenses
Research$347,880
Operations$206,807
Communications$194,245
Philanthropy*$119,478
Total expenses$868,411†

*A significant but indeterminable portion of fundraising expenses are allocated to fundraising for ACE’s recommended charities and our Movement Grants program.

†Each figure has been rounded to the nearest dollar.

2018 Revenue by Source
Foundational giving$753,170
Individual giving$316,288
Corporate giving$94,021
Investment gains (losses)*-$25,582
Total$1,137,896†

*2018 had historical lows in investment returns.

†Each figure has been rounded to the nearest dollar.

2018 Revenue by Restriction
Unrestricted*$1,088,872
Restricted
Gifts restricted to Animal Advocacy Research Fund staff time$72,158
Gifts restricted to advertising$20,000
Total$1,137,896†

*Our unrestricted revenue includes gifts, investment gains (losses), and third-party revenue sources such as Amazon Smile.

†Each figure has been rounded to the nearest dollar.

For more detailed information, please see our 2018 Form 990 and audited financial statement.

2017

2017 Expenses
Research$234,108
Communications$197,207
Events (Research Workshop and Symposium)$19,141
Operations$93,791
Fundraising*$81,722
Total expenses$625,969

*A significant but indeterminable portion of fundraising expenses are allocated to fundraising for ACE’s recommended charities.

2017 Revenue by Source
Individual giving$522,227
Foundational giving$468,450
Corporate giving$65,490
Other revenue*$24,856
Total$1,081,022†

*Other revenue accounts for investment gains, workshop ticket sales, and third-party revenue sources such as Amazon Smile.

†Each figure has been rounded to the nearest dollar.

2017 Revenue by Restriction
Unrestricted*$1,011,797
Restricted
Gifts restricted to Animal Advocacy Research Fund staff time$49,977
Gifts restricted to Research Workshop$16,684
Research Workshop ticket sales$2,565
Total$1,081,022

*Our unrestricted revenue includes gifts, investment gains, and third-party revenue sources such as Amazon Smile.

†Each figure has been rounded to the nearest dollar.

For more detailed information, please see our 2017 Form 990 and audited financial statement.

2016

2016 Expenses
Research$137,397.98
Communications$122,821
Events (Symposium)$11,600
Operations$50,383
Fundraising*$34,480
Total$356,681†

* A portion of fundraising expenses were allocated to fundraising for ACE’s Top Charities.

† Each figure has been rounded to the nearest dollar.

2016 Revenue by Source
Individual giving$440,954
Foundational giving$104,550
Symposium ticket sales*$10,573
Total$556,077

*All ticket sales were 100% tax-deductible and received as unrestricted donations.

2016 Revenue by Restriction
Unrestricted$460,413
Restricted
Gifts restricted to Animal Advocacy Research Fund staff time$52,664
Gifts restricted to advertising & digital media$53,000
Total$556,077

For more detailed information, please see our 2016 Form 990 and audited financial statement.

2015
2015 Expenses
Research$65,327.00
Communications$38,441.60
Operations$26,839.00
Fundraising$8,466.40
Total$139,074.00
2015 Revenue by Source
Individual Giving$240,400.24
Foundational Giving$117,727.76
Total$358,128.00

Note: All 2015 contributions were unrestricted.

For more detailed information, please see our 2015 Form 990 and audited financial statement.

2014
2014 Expenses
Research$40,893.91
Education & Advocacy$17,647.70
Communications$11,122.86
Operations$18,419.03
Fundraising$2,461.50
Total$90,545.00
2014 Revenue by Source
Individual Giving$168,320.79
Foundational Giving$1,700.21
Total$170,021.00

Note: All 2014 contributions were unrestricted.

For more detailed information, please see our 2014 Form 990-EZ.

2013
2013 Expenses
Research$11,525.84
Communications$12,806.48
Education & Advocacy$7,683.89
General Admin$10,672.07
Total$42,688.28
2013 Revenue by Source
Individual giving$49,632.30
Corporate giving$11,097.91
Foundational giving$924.83
Total$61,655.03

Note: All 2013 contributions were unrestricted.

For more detailed information, please see our 2013 Form 990-EZ.




  1. This estimate is the sum of donations that we have accepted for our Top and Standout Charities and Recommended Charity Fund, plus donations made directly to our recommended charities which the charities and/or donors have reported as ACE-influenced. In order for our recommended charities to decide whether to report a donation as ACE-influenced, we advise them to consider whether the donor identifies as an effective altruist and whether the charity would lose the donor if they lost their recommendation status. 

  2. We do not include grants from the Animal Advocacy Research Fund, as this is a privately funded program. We have also excluded in-kind Google Ad Grants. 

  3. We have excluded in-kind Google Ad Grants from our operating expenses. 

  4. This estimate is the sum of donations that we have accepted for our Top and Standout Charities and Recommended Charity Fund, plus donations made directly to our recommended charities which the charities and/or donors have reported as ACE-influenced. In order for our recommended charities to decide whether to report a donation as ACE-influenced, we advise them to consider whether the donor identifies as an effective altruist and whether the charity would lose the donor if they lost their recommendation status. 

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