Sep 03 2010
Wayne Can’t Balance His Millions
Here’s Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle, quoted in today’s Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette (emphasis added):
We have 11 million members because people want a strong advocacy organization that will defend all animals …
Eleven million? Oh, dear. Do we have to go through this again? There’s absolutely zero truth to the idea that 11 million Americans are members of HSUS. No chance. May God (and an HSUS lawyer) strike us down if we’re wrong.
Let’s review the evidence.
- HSUS’s 2009 Annual Report claims that the group has “11,546,803 Members and Constituents.” This is not a legal document, and no definition of “Constituent” is given.
- In HSUS's 1991 “Report of the President” HSUS president John Hoyt wrote that HSUS’s “voting membership” was 458,378—but he added that the number of people who “in one way or another are directly associated with The HSUS” was over 1.4 million.
- HSUS’s 2008 tax return (a legal document signed under penalty of perjury) says that the total number of monthly copies of All Animals (HSUS’s “membership magazine”) was 420,000.
- In a July 2010 direct-mail fundraising letter signed by Wayne Pacelle himself, he wrote: “One of my goals is to build this nationwide animal protection organization from 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 members.”
Here’s a set of reasonable conclusions (our opinion) that we can draw from all these numbers:
- It’s likely that about 400,000 Americans are actually “members” of HSUS (that is, they paid dues during the last 12 months). That would explain why HSUS prints 420,000 copies of the membership magazine each month: If another hurricane hits and they get a sudden surge in membership, they’ll have enough extra magazines to go around.
- Judging from the 1.2 million figure from Pacelle’s fundraising letter (that’s 400,000 x 3), we think HSUS is extending two years’ “grace” for current members to renew. So if you donated in 2008, HSUS will send you renewal letters in 2009 and 2010 before giving up on you and deleting you from the “current members” list.
- It’s also apparent that even if you only donate once, you’re forever counted among the millions of HSUS “constituents”—even if you have a serious case of buyer’s remorse. Since the “constituents” number has never decreased, it also probably includes people who donated decades ago, and those who are deceased.
If we’re right about this scenario, and the real number of dues-paying HSUS members is fewer than the number of member magazines the group prints each month, HSUS actually has fewer real “members” (400,000) than it did 19 years ago (458,378).
For an exploration of why this matters—and the unwarranted political power HSUS gets from inflating its membership figures—click here.
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Posted on 09/03/2010 at 12:04 PM by the HumaneWatch Team
Document Analysis • Fundraising & Money • (9) CommentsComments
I think they add people when the HSUS decides to send someone the ‘free address labels” and other things as publicity. I would love to know if they list me. I made a comment earlier this summer about how I care for animals, and quite ironically, received my address labels from HSUS within a few days. Just thinking this is very suspicious as I never had any contact with them and would never join. Any chance you can verify if I am a “member” or “constituent”?
if everyone would send this information to all of their state politicians and any other organization that bends to hsus maybe they would realize that hsus is not what it claims to be.
Yes, Mary, I am sure that you count as a constituent/member of HSUS. I believe that everyone who has ever shown enough interest to get on their mailing lists is counted. I get regular emails from them even though I have never sent them any money or received any swag.
I can’t believe that all the donations taken up for animals truly go to their cause. Not to mention any names but if some people lie about some things they will lie about other things.
As a dog federation delegate for two organizations and the AKC legislative liaison for my national breed club, I am responsible for monitoring a lot of group activities, at the top of the list is HSUS. I KNOW that they count me as a “member”, but there is nothing much I can do about that. They send me their E-newsletter, and regular Action Alerts. The Action Alerts give me the creeps - there is a form letter attached to each one, already addressed to the appropriate legislator or organization in my own district, with all my personal information already filled in. I am directed to just click and send, so easy. It is impossible to edit the letter, of course.
A small saving grace re these letters - since they are clearly form letters, I know through speaking with them that my legislators basically don’t read them, and many of the more conservative ones complain about the volume that comes through - but, all legislators do count them, anyway.
People need to make their points in personal letters, from personal experience, to make it past the circular file - or e-trash - after they are counted.
At a dog breeder license bill hearing last September, the HSUS state director claimed to represent “more than 220.000 members” - in a state with 6 million population that issues 600,000+ hunting licenses a year . . . go figure that one out if you can.
All my life, I have rescued animals, a total of 60 had wonderful lives,I currently have 6 cats, at 63, adopting may be over for me, but I look back on the glorious unconditional love, and it’s time to say thank you to each and every animal that has crossed my path. I Thank You, I may have not been perfect in any way but you accepted the time we had together. To anyone who has never rescued a pet, the gift is all in the receiving, Everyday my life is sunnier because I share it with rescued animals. I thank Samantha, Jasper, Violet, Lukieduke, Abbagale, and Madeleine for the pleasure of spending each day with you. My life has been so enriched because of animals. My wish is to live in a world where only no kill shelters exist.
Thank You HSUS for all you do.
Katherine,
HSUS doesn’t regularly rescue animals. They also do recommend killing animals as in Michael Vick’s case wanted all of the animals put down even when others were willing to rescue. The local humane societies regularly rescue animals and work very hard to find homes for them. Please thank them and donate to them if you are able.
Katherine, I am so glad to read your story. Please-please never equate what you do with what hsus does. You have accomplished so much more and I’ll bet you did it without soliciting $99million a year and killing most of the animals you encountered.
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Maybe they are counting all the members of every Humane Society in the country… Because, you know… When people donate to the local shelters, they probably REALLY meant to donate to HSUS, right? If only those pesky animal shelters weren’t sucking up all of their donors! Perhaps the name confusion that they claim doesn’t exist can work both ways when it suits them!
Seriously though, the 11 million number probably came from the number of people they send useless swag to. The only useful thing I have ever seen come out of HSUS is a fleece blanket with a puppy and kitten on it that nobody wanted so they donated it to our shelter… Now we use it to line cat cages.