Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  Need Help Calculating Live Release Rate

    Posted 01-27-2022 01:45 PM

    Our organization started in 2019 as a community TNR program and quickly expanded into a rescue. With this growth we got our 501(c)3 and moved beyond just a support project and plan on continued growth.

     I have been trying to get our Live Release figures up on our website, but I am very confused as what to post or even include into grant requests.

     Here our release rates based on the different formulas:

                Asilomar Live Release Rate – 100%

                    Asilomar LITE Live Release Rate – 83%

                    ASPCA Live Release Rate – 64%

                    Save Rate – 98%

                    Grant #1 Release Rate – 96%

                    Grant #2 Release Rate – 26%

     Our situation is a little different than anyone else in our community, I would have to say that 97% of our intake comes from other organizations and shelter that are ready to euthanize the cat. We take in the worst of the worst that other have given up on and we give them the best chance at life we can. While we have had great success with cases that even the vet did not think would pull through, these cats now have a clean bill of health and our living great lives. We do loose a lot that just did not have the will to go on, it is heart breaking.

    I feel that we are truly a No-Kill rescue, we do not turn away because of room, we only euthanize to prevent inhumane suffering after a vet has evaluated the situation.  We take in all the high-risk cases, poisoning and abuse cases from law enforcement, neonatal the cats that no one else seems to want to spend the time and effort on. In the end we do loose them from time to time, not because of a lack of effort on our part.


    #DataandTechnology

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    Charles Black
    Feral Cat Warriors Inc
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  • 2.  RE: Need Help Calculating Live Release Rate

    Posted 01-28-2022 07:41 AM
    Hi Charles,

    I spend a lot of time calculating live release rates and I use (and only accept) the "noses in, noses out" method you can read about in this Calculating LRR guide from the No Kill Advocacy Center.

    You're correct that when you take in only high-risk cats, your LRR may not be the 98+% of a different agency that only accepts challenge-free pets. That's why I also spend a lot of time doing euthanasia scrutiny and animal-by-animal data analysis into every single non-live outcome of my partner shelters to understand the bigger picture, as I believe it goes well beyond a generalized percentage. To clarify, I do think LRR is an important calculation method, but IMO, if you are saving every cat who can be saved, can document and prove that, then you have nothing to fear with showing your true LRR. Transparency above all builds trust. IME, funders and the public understand that some organizations specialize in geriatric, hospice, neonatal, trauma cases, etc and it's understandable that those pets simply do not have the same statistical outcome.

    I hope this helps!

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    Monica Frenden-Tarant
    Chief Innovation Officer: Feline Lifesaving
    Cincinnati Animal CARE with The Joanie Bernard Foundation
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  • 3.  RE: Need Help Calculating Live Release Rate

    Posted 02-01-2022 10:58 AM

    Hi Charles,

    Thanks so much for your post.  I completely agree with Monica's response, especially these statements: "To clarify, I do think LRR is an important calculation method, but IMO, if you are saving every cat who can be saved, can document and prove that, then you have nothing to fear with showing your true LRR. Transparency above all builds trust. IME, funders and the public understand that some organizations specialize in geriatric, hospice, neonatal, trauma cases, etc and it's understandable that those pets simply do not have the same statistical outcome."

    On Maddie's Fund website, we share a little more about why we ask for your lifesaving percentage and ways to calculate it: https://www.maddiesfund.org/posting-your-lifesaving-percentage.htm.  For other purposes, we trust the organization will use whichever method is best for their work, but do ask that you also include how you calculated the percentage on your website.  

    I hope this helps, but I am happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

    Thanks so much!
    Amber 



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    Amber Eby
    Maddie's Fund
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