If you live in Minnesota, there is a good chance that Animal Humane Society has touched your life, even if you have never walked through one of their doors.
Maybe it was the neighbor whose dog was rehomed there after a health crisis. The family that adopted their first pet from the Golden Valley location. The child who attended a summer day camp and came home talking about kindness and responsibility in a way they never had before. The community food drive that kept a struggling household from having to surrender the animal they loved.
AHS has been doing this kind of work since 1878. And nearly 150 years in, they are not slowing down. They are building.
At kpCompanies, we are proud to be their search partner as we work together to identify their next Chief Financial Officer.
Nearly 150 Years of Showing Up
Animal Humane Society was founded in 1878, making it one of the oldest and most established animal welfare organizations in the United States. Through more than a century of change, economic cycles, and shifting community needs, AHS has remained a constant: a place where animals are safe, families are supported, and the bond between people and their pets is treated as something worth protecting.
Today, AHS operates four locations across the Twin Cities metro: Golden Valley, Coon Rapids, Saint Paul, and Woodbury. They provide direct care and services to more than 50,000 animals each year. They are entirely independent: not affiliated with any national organization, and not supported by government funding of any kind. Every dollar that powers their work comes from the community they serve.
That independence is not a vulnerability. It is a reflection of how deeply this community believes in what AHS is doing.
The Work Itself: More Than You Might Expect
When most people think of an animal shelter, they picture adoption. And yes, AHS does that exceptionally well. In their most recent fiscal year, more than 86% of animals in their care were adopted into homes, reunited with their owners, or transferred to other welfare organizations. There is no time limit for animals in AHS’s care. Every animal gets a chance.
But the full scope of AHS’s work reaches far beyond shelter walls. In their most recent fiscal year:
- Their Humane Investigations team responded to more than 1,200 requests for assistance, opening over 1,000 formal cases that took agents into 77 of Minnesota’s 87 counties and directly impacted the lives of 7,700 animals. This is enforcement, advocacy, and rescue operating at a statewide scale.
- AHS cared for more than 2,000 animals transferred from overcrowded shelters across Minnesota and beyond, giving animals a second chance that other facilities could not provide.
- Their pet food pantry distributed more than 44,000 pounds of pet food and over 4 tons of cat litter to Minnesota families experiencing food insecurity. No family should have to choose between feeding themselves and caring for their pet.
- AHS provided temporary pet housing and foster care for 91 animals from 72 families navigating hardship, keeping bonds intact that would otherwise be forced apart.
- Their low-cost veterinary clinics in Saint Paul and Golden Valley provided 13,577 services to the public, including wellness appointments, dental and specialty surgeries, and spay/neuter procedures. These clinics expand access to care for families who would otherwise have few options.
- More than 5,200 youth and families were served through AHS education programs, including day camps, reading programs, Scout partnerships, and school initiatives that build lasting values around compassion and community responsibility.
- Over 700 active volunteers contributed their time to animal enrichment, foster care, shelter support, and community outreach. Among them, 218 dedicated foster volunteers provided temporary homes for more than 1,000 animals before adoption.
These programs reflect a core belief at AHS: that animal welfare and human welfare are not separate causes.
They are the same cause.
Why Their Next Chapter Matters
AHS is not a static organization. They are actively investing in the systems, leadership, and infrastructure that will allow their impact to grow, not just sustain.
That means building out financial systems that can support the complexity of a multi-location nonprofit with blended revenue streams. It means strengthening the leadership team with executives who bring both the strategic capability and the values alignment to guide AHS through a period of intentional expansion, including the Chief Financial Officer they are currently identifying, whose work will be central to the financial architecture of everything ahead. It means continuing to deepen community programs that meet families where they are, and building the organizational infrastructure to do so sustainably.
For an organization with 147 years of history, this is not reinvention. It is evolution: purposeful, well-resourced, and grounded in everything AHS has always stood for.
That is the chapter kpCompanies is proud to be part of.
How to Be Part of What AHS Is Building
Animal Humane Society is entirely community-powered. If their mission resonates with you, here are the most meaningful ways to show up:
- Donate: Every contribution directly funds programs, shelter operations, veterinary care, and community support. Give at animalhumanesociety.org.
- Volunteer: AHS engages hundreds of active volunteers in animal enrichment, foster care, shelter support, and community outreach year-round. Your time matters.
- Foster: Open your home to an animal in transition. Fostering is one of the most direct ways to give an animal stability while they wait for their permanent family.
- Adopt: Every animal at AHS is there because they deserve a home. Yours could be that home.
- Share their story: Awareness is a form of advocacy. Share this article with someone in your network who cares about animals, community, and the kind of organizations worth supporting.
- Explore open opportunities with kpCompanies: If you or someone you know may be interested in learning more about the CFO role at AHS, visit kpcompanies.com/careers.
The organizations that endure are the ones that never lose sight of why they exist. Animal Humane Society has not lost sight of that in 147 years. We do not expect they will in the next 147 either.
We are honored to be in their corner.
About kpCompanies kpCompanies is a Minnesota-based executive search and leadership consulting firm specializing in placing purpose-driven, equity-minded leaders across the nonprofit, corporate, and public sectors. We are proud to partner with organizations that are doing consequential work in the communities they serve. To learn more, visit kpcompanies.com.
