Anderson Humane seeks community support as it rebounds from financial trouble

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – Anderson Humane, the animal welfare nonprofit where people look for dog and cat adoptions and care for injured wildlife, is turning the corner on its financial trouble.

According to a letter to supporters from Bill Papp, business adviser and board chairman, after CEO Beth Foster resigned last October, “an in-depth review of Anderson’s financial situation found it to be in deep peril.”

“Quite simply, we were growing expenses at a much faster rate than we were growing income,” Papp’s letter said. “I’m thrilled to share that Anderson Humane is now in a much stronger position compared to a year ago.”

Papp said the financial situation is being addressed. He said he could not be specific because potential litigation is connected to how the charity got to this point.

“We have had some very good donors come forward and help stabilize our situation. Right now we are stabilizing it and starting to turn it around,” Papp said.

“Our purpose [in sending the letter] was to reassure everybody – our donors, our employees, our vendors, our volunteers – that we’ve gotten control of the situation,” Papp said. “We revamped the board. We went from a low of five people and we now have 18 people with a lot of different skills we didn’t have before, too, with much more oversight than before.”

Former chief operating officer Dean Daubert was named CEO on June 1.

In addition to donors stepping up, the nonprofit made staffing cuts and reduced hours at its three adoption centers, Papp said.

“Cuts are pretty much across the board, but Dean has been diligent in not impacting the number of animals we are taking care of,” Papp said. “People are stepping up great, doing double duty, just to get our break-even down.”

Anderson Humane, which used to be Anderson Animal Shelter, is located at 1000 S. La Fox St., on the edge of St. Charles Township near South Elgin.

In 2021, the shelter merged with Fox Valley Wildlife Center in Elburn and expanded its services to include injured and orphaned wildlife.

“We have adopted out more than 4,000 pets last year and saved about 3,000 through our wildlife center,” Papp said.

The long-term plan is to build a campus for an animal shelter, veterinary clinic and horse and wildlife rescue on an almost 82-acre site on Route 38 and Harley Road in Campton Hills.

Papp said that is still the goal, but straightening out the charity’s finances comes first.

“We thought about breaking ground this year, but we’re not going to,” Papp said. “We’re going to be in a good financial place before moving forward.”

Daubert said the organization has helped animals for 50 years and continues to do so on several levels including:

• Healing Paws, a therapy dog program where certified therapy dogs visit nursing home residents every week.

• START – Short Term Animal Refuge, which provides a foster home for pets of people who are victims of domestic violence.

“We are blessed with thousands of volunteers and hundreds of volunteer hours a week and it takes staff to run that,” Daubert said. “And like everything else in the world, expenses have gone up. We are at a critical point asking the community to help us maintain these programs.”

While a new campus in Campton Hills has not yet been realized, the building on La Fox Road needs remodeling, Daubert said. It needs an upgrade in the area where dogs are kenneled and its HVAC system is past its useful life.

“We are asking the community to help us continue to operate and continue to provide the services that we have provided to the Fox Valley area for the last 50 years,” Daubert said.

More information is available at ahconnects.org.