Humane Society Legislative Fund

Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) is an animal rights advocacy organization formed in 2004, as the 501(c)(4) lobbying arm of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Fund for Animals. The Doris Day Animal League joined the Fund in 2006. 1

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(4)
Formation:

2004

Political Director:

Sara Amundson

Location: Washington, DC View on map
Tax ID: 59-3786428
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $11,417,226 Revenue: $6,330,546 Expenses: $6,065,084

Contents

    HSLF was formed to pass animal protection and vegetarian-interest laws on both state and federal levels, educate the public about animal liberation issues, train political activists, and support candidates for office. 1

    HSLF focuses its legislative lobbying work on issues such as animals in research, prevention of cruelty to pets, and protections for farm animals, horses, and wildlife. 2

    HSLF endorses and makes campaign contributions to candidates that it ranks highly for supporting its agenda. 3

    Activities

    The Humane Society Legislative Fund currently supports legislation intended to protect animals, such as the Big Cat Safety Act, the Humane Cosmetics Act, the Horseracing Integrity Act, among many others. 4

    On May 4, 2020, HSLF, along with other left-of-center vegetarian-interest and environmentalist groups like Farm Sanctuary, Mercy for Animals, and Center for Biological Diversity, submitted a letter to Congressional leaders demanding the slowdown of production at slaughterhouses. 5

    HSLF gives a state-by-state list of endorsements for the 2020 election cycle, which it claims are exclusively based on a candidate’s “records or positions on animal welfare issues,” and does not take into account a candidate’s party affiliation. It mostly endorses  Democratic candidates. 6

    HSLF keeps a scorecard for members of Congress, grading each legislator’s record on animal protection. HSLF goes on to highlight its highest and lowest scorers, denoting each legislator’s political party affiliation. An overwhelming majority of the highest scorers are Democrats, while the lowest scorers, called “Total Zeroes” are almost exclusively Republicans. 3

    Candidate Support

    HSLF contributes to the federal candidates it favors, and has contributed over $160,000 in 2020 elections as of early May, mostly to Democratic candidates. It provided $5,000 to Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), $6,250 to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and $6,500 to Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ),7 all of who scored more than 100 on HSLF’s scorecard. 3 In years past, HSLF has made even larger campaign contributions, including $360,500 in 2018, $444,500 in 2016, and $301,000 in 2014, predominantly supporting Democrats.

    People

    President

    Sara Amundson is the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, managing political and legislative activity for the organization. Amundson also serves as the treasurer of the Humane Society Legislative Fund PAC. 8

    Board of Directors

    Bernard Unti serves as assistant treasurer of the Board. Unti is the senior policy advisor and special assistant to the president and CEO of HSUS, and has held positions with other HSUS-affiliated groups including Humane Society International, Humane Society University (HSU), and Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy (HSISP). 9

    Charles A. Laue is the chair of the board, and also sits on the board of Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Laue is the co-founder and Chairman of Stray Dog Capital, and serves as the chair of the Great Plains SPCA. 10

    David Robb is the vice chair of the board and sits on the HSUS North Carolina State Council and the board of the North Carolina Zoological Society. 10 2020. Thomas Waite III serves as treasurer of the board of both HSLF and the Humane Society International. 11

    Jerry Cesak sits on the boards of both HSLF and HSUS. 12

    Johanie V. Parra serves as secretary of the boards of HSLF, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the Fund for Animals, and the South Florida Wildlife Center. 13

    Katherine Karl serves as general counsel for both HSLF and the Humane Society International. Karl formerly served as deputy general counsel of the American Cancer Society. 14

    Kathleen Linehan sits on the boards of both HSLF and HSUS. 12

    Michaelen Barsness is the assistant treasurer of the boards of both HSLF and Humane Society International. Barsness is the vice president of finance and controller at HSUS, and the former vice president and controller at the United Way Worldwide. 15 Barsness is the treasurer of the board of the Fund for Animals. 16

    Nikki Lafferty serves on the boards of HSLF and the California Wildlife Center. Lafferty works with Animal Aid USA, and formerly served on the National Council of HSUS. 17

    Susan Atherton serves on the boards of both HSLF and the Humane Society International. 11 Atherton serves as the vice chair of the boards of both the Humane Society Legislative Fund, and the San Francisco SPCA. Atherton formerly served as chair of the board of the American Red Cross Bay Area. 18

    Theresa Reese is the assistant treasurer of the boards of both HSLF and HSUS. Reese is also the deputy controller at HSUS. 19

    Thomas J. Sabatino, Jr. sits on the board, and is also the co-chair of the board of HSUS. 12

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $11,417,226 $6,330,546 $6,065,084 View
    2023 $10,726,461 $7,330,907 $7,655,999 View
    2022 $10,034,678 $5,406,886 $7,205,777 View
    2021 $11,185,575 $14,350,994 $5,052,737 View
    2020 $1,472,278 $5,732,356 $5,273,137 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 23

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Sara AmundsonPresident$305,016
    Tracie LettermanVP. Federal Affairs$197,455
    David BalmerSenior Philanthropy Officer$149,224
    Jennifer EskraDirector, Legislative$146,816
    Bradley PylePolitical Director$141,197
    Katherine BlocherDirector, Digital Communications$136,681
    Miriam BrodySenior Policy Adviser, Federal Affairs$133,931

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $19,636,844
    • Number of Grants: 51
    • Number of Funders: 23

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $3,548,5152023 Humane World for AnimalsGeneral Support
    $2,100,0002024 Humane World for AnimalsGENERAL SUPPORT
    $1,780,0002022 Humane World for AnimalsGeneral Support
    $1,617,1592021 Humane World for AnimalsFunds to cover federal affairs costs
    $1,387,7182020 Humane World for AnimalsFunds to cover federal affairs costs
    $890,0002020 Doris Day Animal LeagueSupport for social welfare activities
    $1,0502022 Richard and Peggy Greenfield FoundationTO FURTHER THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE
    $1,0002022 Mcclanathan Family FoundationGENERAL
    $1,0002020 Crystal Family FoundationHumane Treatment of animals
    $5002024 The Joselow FoundationFOR GENERAL SUPPORT
    $5002022 Crystal Family FoundationHUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS
    $3502022 Munro FoundationANIMAL ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT
    $1752020 Grace and Li Yu Family FoundationCHARITABLE PURPOSE
    $1002023 The Pesky Family Foundation Inc C/o Ba Harris LLPFOR UNRESTRICTED USE.
    $1002022 The Lasalle Family FoundationSUPPORT OF PRIMARY MISSION
    $1002022 The Wahrsager FoundationFOR DONEE'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $1002022 Duncans and Tuquis Legacy Organization DBA DatloBENEFIT OF ANIMALS
    $752021 The Lasalle Family FoundationSUPPORT OF PRIMARY MISSION
    $752020 Duncans and Tuquis Legacy Organization DBA DatloBenefit of animals
    $502021 Duncans and Tuquis Legacy Organization DBA DatloBENEFIT OF ANIMALS
    $502021 Sol & Hilda Furst FoundationAN ORGANIZATION THAT ATTEMPTS TO PASS ANIMAL PROTECTION LAWS AT STATE & FEDERAL LEVELS, TO EDUACATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT ANIMAL PROTECTION ISSUES, & TO SUPPORT HUMANE CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE.

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $1,040,833
    • Number of Grants: 10
    • Number of Recipients: 10

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $8,3332021 DORIS DAY ANIMAL FOUNDATIONAnimal Welfare

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “History.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2020. http://www.hslf.org/about-hslf/history.html#.XkB6-BNKjMU.
    2. “Issues.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2020. http://www.hslf.org/issues/.
    3. “2019 Humane Scorecard.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, 2020. Accessed May 5, 2020. https://hslf.org/humane-scorecard.
    4. “Current Legislation.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, 2020. Accessed May 5, 2020. https://hslf.org/current-legislation.
    5. “Please Direct the USDA to Halt Higher-Speed Slaughter to Protect Workers & Animals.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, 2020. Accessed May 5, 2020. https://hslf.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/20.05.04_20%20Groups%20Urge%20Congress%20to%20Direct%20USDA%20to%20Stop%20Higher-Speed%20Slaughter.pdf.
    6. “2020 Endorsements.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, 2020. Accessed May 5, 2020. http://elections.hslf.org/.
    7. “Human Society Legislative Fund.” The Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed May 5, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00466813&cycle=2020.
    8. “Sara Amundson.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2020. http://www.hslf.org/about-hslf/meet-hslf/leadership-and-staff/sara-amundson.html#.XkB46BNKjMU.
    9. “Bernard Unti.” The Humane Society of the United States, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2020. https://www.humanesociety.org/leadership/bernard-unti.
    10. “Chuck Laue and David K. Robb Elected to Lead Humane Society Legislative Fund Board of Directors.” Humane Society Legislative Fund, January 9, 2019. Accessed February 9, 2020. http://www.hslf.org/news/press-releases/hslf-board-of-directors.html.
    11. “Board of Directors.” Humane Society International, 2020. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://www.hsi.org/news-media/board_council/.
    12. “Board of Directors.” The Humane Society of the United States, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2020. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/board-directors.
    13. “Leadership Team.” South Florida Wildlife Center, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2020. http://www.southfloridawildlifecenter.org/about/our_team.
    14. “Katherine Karl Joins the Humane Society of the United States as its New General Counsel.” The Humane Society of the United States, July 19, 2016. Accessed February 9, 2020. https://www.humanesociety.org/news/katherine-karl-joins-humane-society-united-states-its-new-general-counsel.
    15. “Michaelen Barsness.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelen-barsness-a983b7b2/.
    16. “Board of Directors and Key Staff.” The Fund for Animals, 2020. Accessed February 9, 2020. http://www.fundforanimals.org/about/board-of-directors.html.
    17. “Meet the Team.” Animal Aid USA. Accessed February 9, 2020. http://animalaidusa.org/meet-the-team/.
    18. “Philanthropist and Animal Advocate Susan Atherton Joins the Humane Society of the United States Board of Directors.” The Humane Society of the United States, 2020. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://www.humanesociety.org/news/philanthropist-and-animal-advocate-susan-atherton-joins-humane-society-united-states-board.
    19. “Terri Reese.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/terri-reese-1b8083a/.