CharityWatch
recently released our updated rating of National
Foundation for Rescued Animals, dba Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary (Tiger Creek).
The stated mission of this Texas charity, founded in 1996, is “to provide a
safe and secure environment for animals in need of rescue or rehabilitation
while conserving endangered and threatened species,” according to its fiscal
2022 IRS tax Form 990. As of January 3rd, 2024, the charity is still actively
soliciting donations through its website, with suggested donation amounts
ranging from $50 to $500.
CharityWatch
analyzed Tiger Creek’s audited financial statements and IRS tax Form 990 for
the charity’s fiscal year ended 9/30/2022 and assigned it a final rating of
“D” on our “A+”
to “F” rating scale. Our analysis concluded that Tiger Creek spent only 48% of its cash
expenses on programs and spent $36 to raise each $100 of cash support in fiscal
2022, adjusted for joint
costs.
Lawsuit
Animal
Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) filed a lawsuit
in March 2022 against Tiger Creek, as well as its founder and former director,
Brian Werner Ferris, and his daughter, Chairman and Executive Director, Emily
Owen, for allegedly violating the ESA’s [Endangered Species Act] “take” and
“transfer” provisions by allegedly “harming, harassing, and killing numerous
animals — including nine lions and tigers who have died there since 2018 — and
by transferring members of endangered and threatened species across state lines
without the necessary permits,” according to a press
release on ALDF’s website dated June 7th, 2023.
According
to the Memorandum
Opinion and Order Denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (the Memorandum),
Case No. 6:22-cv-97-JDK, ALDF alleges that Defendants “have injured, wounded,
or killed ‘at least nine big cats in the past five years’ by their substandard
care and husbandry practices,” and have “’delayed providing timely and adequate
veterinary care to sick and/or injured animals,’ which resulted in animal
suffering and death.” According to the Memorandum ALDF also alleges that in
November 2017, “Defendants failed to provide a male tiger named Tibor ‘any
veterinary care in the 48 hours he laid immobile up to his death,’” and that in
early 2018, “Defendants failed to provide veterinary care for a tiger named
Lexie whose ‘prolonged immobility in urine-soaked hay caused wounds to fester
on her legs’ and resulted in her death.”
More
information about the case can be found on ALDF’s
website.
Governance
& Transparency
Tiger Creek
fails CharityWatch’s governance and transparency benchmarks. The charity does not post a copy of its
audited financial statements on its website. Tiger Creek reports that its board
of directors includes 5 voting members, however, only 1 voting member is
reported as being “independent.”
The IRS defines “independence”
in the following way:
“A member
of the governing body is considered ‘independent’ only if all four of the
following circumstances applied at all times during the organization’s tax
year.
(1) The
member wasn’t compensated as an officer or other employee of the organization
or of a related organization (see the Instructions for Schedule R (Form 990))
except as provided in the religious exception discussed below. Nor was the
member compensated by an unrelated organization or individual for services
provided to the filing organization or to a related organization, if such
compensation is required to be reported in Part VII, Section A.
(2) The
member didn’t receive total compensation exceeding $10,000 during the
organization’s tax year (including a short year, regardless of whether such
compensation is reported in Part VII) from the organization and related
organizations as an independent contractor, other than reasonable compensation
for services provided in the capacity as a member of the governing body. For
example, a person who receives reasonable expense reimbursements and reasonable
compensation as a director of the organization doesn’t cease to be independent
merely because she or he also receives payments of $7,500 from the organization
for other arrangements.
(3) Neither
the member, nor any family member of the member, was involved in a transaction
with the organization (whether directly or indirectly through affiliation with
another organization) that is required to be reported on Schedule L (Form 990)
for the organization’s tax year.
(4) Neither
the member, nor any family member of the member, was involved in a transaction
with a taxable or tax-exempt related organization (whether directly or
indirectly through affiliation with another organization) of a type and amount
that would be reportable on Schedule L (Form 990) if required to be filed by
the related organization.”
Significant
Deferred Compensation to Founder
Charities
are typically required to publicly report employee compensation as it is
earned, including earned retirement compensation, irrespective of when it is
paid. This gives donors the ability to consider whether a charity executive’s
compensation is reasonable within the appropriate context of its other annual
financial data. Charities can, however, award millions in additional
compensation to their leaders decades after an executive’s employment begins.
Based on IRS reporting rules, those payments may not be required to be reported
until the same year as the payment is received. Charities also are not required
to report future executive compensation until it is paid if it is “contingent
on satisfaction of specified organizational goals or performance criteria”
under a deferred compensation plan. In such cases, donors who previously
contributed to a charity, in part due to its executives receiving low salaries,
may later end up feeling duped.
Tiger Creek
approved a payout to the charity’s founder and CEO/Executive Director, Brian
Werner, that includes deferred compensation plus interest for “work performed
from 1995-2013,” according to the group’s fiscal 2015 tax filing and audit. A
note in the charity’s 2014 audit states: “The Tiger Missing Link Foundation
Board of Directors held a special meeting on November 18, 2014 to approve a
7.5% interest accrual for the deferred compensation amount for Executive
Director Brian Werner. This interest is retroactive back to Mr. Werner’s hire
date of September 3, 1995 creating an accrued interest amount of $1,670,324.18.
This interest will continue to accrue until his deferred compensation is paid
in full.” This “accrued interest amount” represents more than 12 year’s
worth of additional salary to Werner based on his 2014 base salary of $130,000.
According
to the Tiger Missing Link Foundation [Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary’s former
name] audit of September 30, 2015 (Note L, Prior Period Adjustment):
“On
November 18, 2014, the Organization’s Board of Directors approved the payment
of deferred compensation and 7% interest to the Executive Director [Brian
Werner] retroactive to his September 1995 hire date. The adjustment relating to
prior periods was $1,416,764. This amount was adjusted to restate retained
earnings as of the beginning of the year. Interest expense was restated and
increased by $85,777 for the year ended, September 30, 2014.”
CharityWatch
analyzed the charity’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 audited financial
statements, Note N, Related Party Transactions. The audit note states that the
total due to Brian Werner for “Accounts/accrued salaries/accrued interest to
Brian Werner” was $2,226,597 as of September 30, 2022. The audit note does not
provide further breakouts of accounts, principal, and interest for this amount.
However, the charity’s tax filing cites the original principal of this loan as
being $1,598,449 (IRS Form 990, Schedule L, Part II).
Loans to
and/or from Interested Persons
According
to the National Foundation for Rescued Animals dba Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary
(Tiger Creek) tax filing for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022,
Tiger Creek reports re: Loans to and/or from Interested Persons (IRS Form 990,
Schedule L, Part II):
(1) A loan
from Tiger Creek to Brian Ferris, Development Director, with an original
principal amount of $533,305 and a balance due of $554,627 at 9/30/2022. The
purpose of the loan is reported as being for an “Advance.”
(2) A
loan to Tiger Creek from Brian Ferris, Development Director, with an
original principal amount of $1,598,449 and a balance due at $2,226,597 at
9/30/2022. The purpose of the loan is reported as being for an “Accrued
Interest & Compensation.
(3) A loan
to Tiger Creek from Cat Daddy’s Properties LLC, which is 90% owned by the
Organization’s founder. The original principal amount of the loan is
reported as $127,250, and the balance due was $347,928 at 9/30/2022. The
purpose of the loan is reported as being for rent.
Each of the
three loans is reported as being approved “by board or committee,”
having a written agreement, and not being in default.
Related
Party Transactions
According
to the National Foundation for Rescued Animals [dba Tiger Creek Animal
Sanctuary] consolidated audit of September 30, 2022 (Note N, Related Party
Transactions):
“The
Organization leases a duplex, owned by the Organization’s founder, and managed
by Cat Daddy’s Properties, LLC, that is utilized as living quarters for interns
at the Sanctuary and also serves as office space and conference room for the
Organization’s staff and weekly meetings. Cat Daddy’s Properties, LLC is 90%
owned by the Organization’s founder. Total rent expense under this agreement
was $66,759 for the year ended, September 30, 2022. This lease was terminated
in August 2022.
The
Organization leases 15 acres of land that is owned by an undivided interest
between Decision Points, LLC and Terri Gilley, an individual. Decision Points,
LLC is owned and managed by the Organization’s founder. The rent is $14,676 per
month and is scheduled to increase 10% in 2022 and every third year thereafter.
Total rent expense under this agreement was $176,123 for the year ended,
September 30, 2022.
The
Organization pays a 4% licensing fee for trademarks, copyrights, logos and
slogans, created by the Organization’s executive director and managed by Cat
Daddy’s Properties, LLC. Cat Daddy’s Properties, LLC is 90% owned by the
Organization’s founder. The fee is based on total prior year gross revenues of
the Organization. The licensing fee was $199,923 for the year ended, September
30, 2022 and is accounted for under taxes and licenses.
The
Organization leases 10 acres of land that is owned by the Organization’s
founder and Lisa Werner that is utilized as pastureland for hoof stock. The
rent is $10 per year and other considerations. Rent expense for the years
ended, September 30, 2022 was $-0- as the rent was waived by agreement between
both parties.
Minimum
lease payments under the non-cancellable operating land lease at September 30,
2022 was $189,397 for years 2023 and 2024 and $208,337 for years 2025 through
2027.”
Business Transactions Involving Interested Persons
According
to the National Foundation for Rescued Animals dba Tiger Creek Animal
Sanctuary (Tiger Creek) tax filing for the fiscal year ended September 30,
2022, Tiger Creek reports that the portion of rent expense related to the 15
acres of land from Decision Points, LLC (cited above in Note L of the audit)
received by Brian Werner amounted to $107,252, and that the portion received by
Terri Gilley, Brian Werner’s former spouse, amounted to $68,871 (IRS Form 990,
Schedule L, Parts IV & V re: Business Transactions Involving Interested
Persons).
According
to the National Foundation for Rescued Animals dba Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary
(Tiger Creek) tax filing for the fiscal year ended September 30,
2022, (IRS Form 990, Part VII), Tiger Creek reports Emily Brooks as
Chairman/Executive Director and Brian Werner Ferris as Former Development
Director.
Tiger Creek
reports having five voting members on its governing body at fiscal year-end
2022, with one member being independent (IRS Form 990, Part VI, Section A,
lines 1a & 1b).
Family
Relationships
According
to the National Foundation for Rescued Animals dba Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary
(Tiger Creek) tax filing for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022,
Tiger Creek reports re: the existence of a family or business relationship
among officers, directors, trustees, or key employees (IRS Form 990, Schedule O
re: Part VI, Section A, line 2):
“Brian
Werner and Emily Owen are father and daughter.”
Fundraising
Company
According
to the National Foundation for Rescued Animals [dba Tiger Creek Animal
Sanctuary] consolidated audit of September 30, 2022 (Note L, Concentrations):
“Approximately
69% of the Organization’s revenue is derived from the fundraising efforts of a
professional fundraising company. In the event the professional fundraiser no
longer performed services for the Organization, the current level of the Organization’s
operations and services would be negatively impacted. At September 30, 2022,
there is no provision in the financial statements for such an event as a
reasonable estimate cannot be made and no losses are anticipated.”
Conversion
of Outstanding Debt
According
to the National Foundation for Rescued Animals [dba Tiger Creek Animal
Sanctuary] consolidated audit of September 30, 2022 (Note A re: Organization
and Nature of Activities):
“During
2019, the Organization’s board of directors approved a measure to convert the
outstanding debt owed to the Organization by Tigerlink, Inc. to investment
equity. The Organization owns 100% of Tigerlink, Inc., a holding company,
which owns 99% of Tiger Creek Safari Resort, LLC.”
Tiger Creek
Safari Resort is described on its website as “a beautiful and spacious resort
surrounded by gentle rolling hills of East Texas,” and as being “nestled near
Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge” where “adventure and luxury await.” The website,
at tigercreek.com, lists the tax ID number of Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary at
the bottom of the page, while listing its contact information as Cat Daddy
Properties, LLC.
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| Charity | |
|---|---|
| Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary |