The Howard T Petrie Charitable Trust (the Trust) seeks to distribute a perpetual annual gift to a few small-to-medium sized animal welfare organizations. In return, the recipient organizations (RO) agree to operate in a manner that makes them likely to survive into the long term. Each year, the Trust and the RO will establish benchmarks for organizational growth and development, and reaching these benchmarks will be required not only for receipt of the annual gift, but for remaining as a RO in this program. Ultimately, our RO will have the following qualifications:
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they will be IRC 501(c)(3) public charities, as defined in IRC 509(a);
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they will have a mission that focuses on hands-on animal care of longer-lived animals such as parrots, horses, tortoises, etc.;
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they will have a Board of Directors that is actively engaged in oversight and development of the organization. As a component of this, minutes of regular (at least quarterly) meetings of the Board of Directors must be maintained;
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they must establish a written plan for succession for all key staff. This plan must include a crisis plan that can be implemented in the case of sudden catastrophic loss of key personnel;
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they must maintain accurate and comprehensive financial records, including a ledger, as well as receipts for all financial transactions;
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they must promote explicit policies prohibiting animal breeding, the sale of animals for profit, use of animals for entertainment, or any other type of animal exploitation;
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they must comply with applicable state, local, and federal guidelines or laws regarding nonprofit businesses and tax exempt organizations;
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they must be insured against general liability;
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they must operate on property that is owned by the organization.
These practices are common in large, well-established organizations, which is why those organizations survive and thrive. In contrast, many small organizations do not survive their founders, often because they were literally too overwhelmed with animal care to develop these essential principles of operation. Unfortunately, it is their animals that often suffer the consequences. The goal of this Trust is to guide and assist our RO through the process of long-term planning, and to provide financial incentives for doing so.
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2025 is our first year of funding under this program, and after reviewing nearly 200 applications we are proud to announce our six selected recipients. These organizations will receive $5000 in the first year for achieving specific developmental milestones. In subsequent years, the size of the annual gift will scale up to a maximum amount that preserves the current Trust principle in perpetuity, divided by the number of organizations in the program.
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The HTP Trust Recipient Organizations:
(Arizona, wild or domestic donkeys in family units)
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(Mississippi, wildlife education and wildlife care)
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(Michigan, farm and domestic animals)
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(South Carolina, pigs and other farm or domestic animals)
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(Arizona, pigs)
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(Florida, parrots and other exotic or domestic animals)
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The following organizations have also received one-time gifts from the Trust in 2025:
Animal Guardians Horse Rescue
(senior horses, $1000)
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Creature Safe Place
(wildlife and exotic animal rescue, $1000)
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Domino’s Cat Rescue League
(cats, $100)
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Freedom Acres Mustang Sanctuary
(wild horses, $1000)
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Las Vegas Rescue Center
(dogs and cats, $1000)
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Maryland Horse Rescue
(horses, $1000)
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Parrot Outreach Society
(parrots, $5000
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Pregnant Mare Rescue
(pregnant horses and foals, $1000)
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The Association to Rescue Kritters
(wildlife, $5000)
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The Gabriel Foundation
(parrots, $1080)
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The Guardians of Martin County
(environmental conservation, $1000)
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Florida Native Plant Society/Martin County
(environmental conservation, $1000)
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The Humane Society of Portage County
(dogs and cats, $500)
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The House of Feathers
(parrots, $2150)
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The Ocean Riven Institute
(environmental conservation, $500)
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The Whole Horse Place
(horses, $1000)
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Brighter Days/Hill Country Horse
(horses, $1000)