I think it’s fair to see ALDF playing an important part in the animal protection ecosystem (I agree with this!) but I would not feel comfortable recommending a charity based on the amount of information available. I don’t have time to respond in detail, but here are some questions that I would need answered:
How do they prioritize their cases or work more broadly? I question this because of their companion animal work, like paying for this puppy’s leg surgery. Is their lack of transparency acceptable for a recommended charity?
~60% of the litigation work on farmed animal issues is a piece of information, but what does that mean? # of cases? hours of litigation staff time? What is the avg number of affected animals for each case, both directly and EV for precedent set? I’ve learned that relying on a single number can be misleading if the inputs and context aren’t clear.
How much staff time is litigation vs. other programs?
Again, I am glad they exist and appreciate their place in building and providing credibility to the animal law sector. Many of their wins are significant! They also appeal to a more right-leaning audience which is helpful in keeping animal issues bipartisan. I just don’t feel certain that enough of their 16M annual budge goes towards effective animal work.
In our evaluations, we prioritize outcomes over processes (assuming the processes are not unethical/illegal).
If you prefer to donate to organizations whose internal focus more closely aligns with your values, there are legal charities like Legal Impact for Chickens that focus exclusively on farmed animals. However, in terms of impact per dollar for farmed animals, we believe ALDF is the stronger choice.
Ultimately, it’s your decision as a donor how to weigh those factors, and we fully respect that.
Is their lack of transparency acceptable for a recommended charity?
Could you explain what you mean by a lack of transparency? From our perspective, ALDF’s transparency is well above average for a non-profit:
Cases are public: ALDF’s cases are well-documented and typically accompanied by easy to read summaries. Here are 199 of ALDF’s active and past cases.
ALDF releases numerous press releases describing their work:Here are over 500 press of ALDF’s press releases.
ALDF responds to donor inquiries: In our experience, ALDF has been more than willing to interact with donors.
I think it’s fair to see ALDF playing an important part in the animal protection ecosystem (I agree with this!) but I would not feel comfortable recommending a charity based on the amount of information available. I don’t have time to respond in detail, but here are some questions that I would need answered:
How do they prioritize their cases or work more broadly? I question this because of their companion animal work, like paying for this puppy’s leg surgery. Is their lack of transparency acceptable for a recommended charity?
~60% of the litigation work on farmed animal issues is a piece of information, but what does that mean? # of cases? hours of litigation staff time? What is the avg number of affected animals for each case, both directly and EV for precedent set? I’ve learned that relying on a single number can be misleading if the inputs and context aren’t clear.
How much staff time is litigation vs. other programs?
Again, I am glad they exist and appreciate their place in building and providing credibility to the animal law sector. Many of their wins are significant! They also appeal to a more right-leaning audience which is helpful in keeping animal issues bipartisan. I just don’t feel certain that enough of their 16M annual budge goes towards effective animal work.
Thank you for your comment, Allison.
In our evaluations, we prioritize outcomes over processes (assuming the processes are not unethical/illegal).
If you prefer to donate to organizations whose internal focus more closely aligns with your values, there are legal charities like Legal Impact for Chickens that focus exclusively on farmed animals. However, in terms of impact per dollar for farmed animals, we believe ALDF is the stronger choice.
Ultimately, it’s your decision as a donor how to weigh those factors, and we fully respect that.
Could you explain what you mean by a lack of transparency? From our perspective, ALDF’s transparency is well above average for a non-profit:
Cases are public: ALDF’s cases are well-documented and typically accompanied by easy to read summaries. Here are 199 of ALDF’s active and past cases.
ALDF releases numerous press releases describing their work: Here are over 500 press of ALDF’s press releases.
ALDF responds to donor inquiries: In our experience, ALDF has been more than willing to interact with donors.