“Ginger’s Pet Rescue is a volunteer-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that relies on donations to fund rescue efforts. We are a volunteer based network of fosters support the rescue of homeless dogs. We couldn’t function without the support of our donors. There are no salaries, as we are all volunteer.” – Ginger’s Pet Rescue website
My research shows this statement from Ginger’s Pet Rescue is FALSE. Ginger’s Pet Rescue has had paid staff for the last several years.
In January 2022, I wrote an article showing that Ginger’s Pet Rescue paid founder Ginger Luke over $300,000 in 2019 and 2020 (Ginger’s Pet Rescue Paid Founder Over $300k in 2019 & 2020).
These payments were significantly higher than the rescue previously paid Ms. Luke. Here’s how much the rescue paid Ms. Luke from 2015 – 2020:
2015 $5200
2016 $35,600
2017 $18,900
2018 $19,200
2019 $138,312
2020 $163,801
From 2018 to 2019, her salary increased by 620%. It went up more than 18% the following year.
Ms. Luke’s average salary for 2019-2020 represented more than 15% of the rescue’s average revenue during the same period. That’s a significantly higher percentage than any of the major Seattle area rescues I examined.
| ORGANIZATION | AVG CEO SALARY | AVG YEARLY REVENUE | CEO SALARY % OF INCOME |
| Ginger’s Pet Rescue * | $151,057 | $970,933 | 15.7% |
| Homeward Pet Adoption Center | $88,465 | $1,982,850 | 4.5% |
| Humane Society for Tacoma/Pierce County | $163,001 | $7,181,550 | 2.3% |
| The NOAH Center | $90,277 | $3,192,726 | 2.8% |
| Seattle Humane Society | $162,297 | $12,401,892 | 1.3% |
Homeward Pet Adoption Center had the next highest percentage of average CEO salary to average organizational revenue at only 4.5%.
And although Seattle Humane Society’s average revenue was more than 12 times higher than that of Ginger’s Pet Rescue ($12.4 million vs. $970,933), Ms. Luke’s average salary was almost the same as that of Seattle Humane’s CEO ($151,057 vs. $162,197).
In addition, Ms. Luke’s salary was 15.7% of the rescue’s average revenue. Seattle Humane’s CEO made $162,297, which was only 1.3% of its average revenue.
I don’t have a problem if people who run large, multifaceted animal rescues make a reasonable salary. But the fact that Ms. Luke, whose organization’s revenue averaged less than $1 million, made almost as much at the CEO of the Seattle Humane Society, which averaged over $12 million in revenue, is ethically questionable.
Although Ms. Luke passed away in September of 2021, the rescue continued to pay what I believe are exorbitant, inappropriate salaries for a charity of its size.
Ms. Luke was head of the rescue’s Board of Directors until 2020. After that, a woman named Sian Bond, who previously wasn’t on the board, is listed as its Chair. I assume that means she is now head of the organization although the group’s website mentions nothing about this transition.
As you can see above, in 2021 Ginger Pet Rescue reported on its IRS Form 990 that it paid Ms. Bond $98,900. The IRS Form 990 below shows that in 2022 the rescue reported that it paid Ms. Bond $81,250 and a woman named Amber Journeaux $60,000. Ms. Journeaux is listed as Secretary of the board in 2021 although she didn’t get any compensation that year.
To make a fair assessment these payments I Iooked at the salaries for the CEOs at the Seattle Humane Society in Bellevue, Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville, The NOAH Center in Stanwood, and the Humane Society for Tacoma/Pierce County in Tacoma from 2015-2022.
I then checked the groups’ revenue to get an idea of the size of the organizations. I also looked at the percentage of average revenue their CEOs’ salaries represented.
This information came from the groups’ 990s, which are financial statements they must to submit to the IRS annually. Some of the groups hadn’t turned in their 990s for 2022 to the IRS yet so I didn’t have their information for that year.
This chart does not include the $60,000 payment to Ms. Journeaux in 2022 since her role in the organization is unclear.
| ORGANIZATION | DATES | AVG CEO SALARY | AVG ANNUAL REVENUE | CEO SALARY % OF INCOME |
| Ginger’s Pet Rescue * | 2019-2022 | $90,075 | $914,330 | 13.2% |
| Homeward Pet | 2015-2021 | $88,463 | $2,035,987 | 4.3% |
| The NOAH Center | 2015-2021 | $93,437 | $3,583,967 | 2.6% |
| Humane Society for Tacoma/Pierce County | 2016-2022 | $180,322 | $7,143,085 | 2.5% |
| Seattle Humane Society | 2016-2022 | $171,318 | $12,128,443 | 1.4% |
You can find the detail behind this data at the end of this post.
Even without factoring in Ms. Journeaux’s salary, Ginger’s Pet Rescue continues to pay its CEO a huge percentage of its total income (13.2%) compared to what larger rescues pay their CEOs.
The Seattle Humane Society only pays its CEO 1.4% of its total income despite the fact that its income is more than 9 times larger than Ginger’s Pet Rescue.
As I noted in my previous post, the IRS is the federal agency that determines whether or not an organization can be classified as a 501(c)(3) charity. Charitable organizations are exempt from paying taxes and contributions to them are tax deductible.
The IRS has no specific rules regarding how much a charity can pay its staff; however, its Compliance Guide for 501(c)(3) Public Charities states that:
“A public charity is prohibited from allowing more than an insubstantial accrual of private benefit to individuals or organizations. This restriction is to ensure that a tax-exempt organization serves a public interest, not a private one. If a private benefit is more than incidental, it could jeopardize the organization’s tax-exempt status.”
The guide goes on to say specifically that no part of an organization’s net earnings “may inure to the benefit of an insider.” It defines an insider as “a person who has a personal or private interest in the activities of the organization such as an officer, director, or a key employee.”
The IRS notes that an example of a prohibited inurement includes “payment of unreasonable compensation to an insider.”
So according to the IRS, Ms. Bond and Ms. Journeaux were insiders at the time of their excessive salary payments because both of them were officers, a directors, and key employees.
Because of Ms. Bond’s excessive salary in 2021 and 2022 and the $60,000 payment to Ms. Jopurneaux, and because the percentage of their salaries compared to the rescue’s revenue was approximately 3-9 times higher than that of other CEOs of much larger rescues in the region, I believe their salaries during that period were prohibited inurements as defined by the IRS.
In addition to paying excessive salaries, Ginger’s Pet Rescue charges astronomical adoption fees.
This isn’t new news. In the recent past, Ginger’s charged up to $800 to adopt a dog, which was already significantly higher than other local rescues charge.
But while researching this story I found that the rescue is now charging up to $2500 to adopt a dog. That’s more than many breeders charge for their puppies!
When I saw Ginger’s raised its already high prices to adopt a dog, I looked at how much the rescue charged for each dog on its website.
On September 17th I viewed all the dogs available for adoption that Ginger’s had its website. I found a total of 56 dogs with prices ranging from $595 to $2500.
| Adoption Price | Dog Breed/Age |
| $1595 | 2yo Akita |
| $1695 | 1yo Pomeranian |
| $2200 | 5mo Samoyad |
| $2500 | 4yo Golden Retriever |
| $1695 | 1yo Poodle |
| $795 | 9 mo Mountain Dog |
| $1595 | 5mo Jindo |
| $795 | 9mo Mountain Dog |
| $1495 | 6yo Pomeranian |
| $1595 | 1yo Maltipoo |
| $1195 | 1yo Chihuahua |
| $1495 | 7mo Shiba Inu/Jindo |
| $1495 | 6mo Jindo |
| $1695 | 4mo Maltese |
| $1595 | 4yo Yorkie |
| $1795 | 7mo Samoyad/Jindo |
| $1495 | 8yo Poodle |
| $1995 | 5yo French Bulldog |
| $1595 | 10mo Terrier/Samoyad |
| $1595 | 5mo Jindo |
| $595 | 1yo Mountain Dog |
| $1595 | 6yo Pomeranian |
| $1295 | 1yo Terrier mix |
| $1495 | 8yo Maltese |
| $595 | 1yo Mountain Dog |
| $595 | 2yo Mountain Dog |
| $1695 | 2yo Poodle |
| $1395 | 1yo Terrier mix |
| $1695 | 3yo Poodle |
| $595 | 1yo Mountain Dog |
| $1595 | 1yo Samoyed mix |
| $695 | 7yo Poodle |
| $1995 | 9mo Doodle |
| $1495 | 5mo Shiba Inu/Jindo mix |
| $1495 | 7yo Bichon |
| $1295 | 2yo Spaniel mix |
| $1395 | 7mo Dalmatian |
| $1695 | 2yo Pomeranian |
| $1695 | 2yo Pomeranian |
| $1695 | 2yo Pomeranian |
| $1295 | 2yo Shiba Inu |
| $1595 | 1yo Poodle |
| $795 | 5mo Border Collie mix |
| $1695 | 4yo Maltese |
| $1195 | 8yo Pomeranian |
| $1395 | 7mo Dalmatian |
| $1695 | 1yo Shih Tzu |
| $1695 | 2yo Pomeranian |
| $1695 | 3yo Maltese |
| $1695 | 3yo Poodle |
| $1595 | 5yo Yorkie |
| $1395 | 5mo Sheltie |
| $1395 | 5mo Sheltie |
| $1495 | 3yo Chihuahua |
| $1495 | 1yo Jindo mix |
| $595 | 1yo Mountain Dog |
| $81230 | Total Adoption Fees |
| $1451 | Average Adoption Fee |
The average price Ginger’s charged for these dogs was $1451! Compare that to the adoption fees of other major rescues around Seattle:
Seattle Human Society: $285-$460
Homeward Pet: $75-$375
The NOAH Center: $125-$425
Humane Society for Tacoma/Pierce County: $80-$500
The lowest prices are usually for senior dogs and the highest prices for puppies.
According to these prices, the lowest price Ginger’s Pet Rescue charges is more than the highest prices these rescue charge. And out of the 56 dogs I saw on Ginger’s website that day, only 9 of them had a fee of less than $1000. That means 84% of them would have cost you more than $1000.
I’ve asked people at the rescue (including Ginger Luke when she was alive) why their adoption fees are so high. The only answer I’ve gotten is that bringing dogs here from Korea is expensive.
However, Ginger’s adoption fees are also higher than some other groups that rescue dogs from the Korean dog meat industry for adoption:
Korean Paws Rescue charges $250-$650
Free Korean Dogs charges $280-$780
KOCA Dog Rescue charges up to $1000
Furthermore, the total amount of salaries Ginger’s paid in 2022 ($158,900) was almost as much it says it paid on overseas dog rescue ($171,520). How many more dogs could the rescue have saved if it didn’t pay employees such outrageous salaries?
As I’ve said before, organizations designated as charities by the IRS don’t have to pay state or federal income taxes so they have more money available to use for the charitable purposes for which they were created. Also, it’s easier for them to raise money because donor contributions are tax deductible.
In return for these entitlements, none of their earnings may provide an excessive benefit to any employee or board member. They must also explain to the IRS their processes for determining these payments.
This ensures that resources aren’t diverted from an organization’s charitable purposes and into the pocket of an individual for their own benefit.
In my opinion, Ginger’s Pet Rescue’s own filings with the IRS shows excessive payments that provide a private benefit to its staff.
These payments, along with astronomical adoption fees, raise red flags that I believe should be investigated by the IRS. In addition, I believe the Washington Attorney General should determine the legality of the rescue’s statement that “There are no salaries, as we are all volunteers.”
I also hope that anyone in the Seattle area planning to adopt a dog knows that they don’t have to pay $2000 or more to get one. They can adopt one from several reputable local rescue groups for much less.
Here is all the data I collected regarding CEO Salary, Yearly Revenue, and CEO Salary % of Income for the largest pet rescue groups in the Seattle area from 2015-2022:
| GINGER’S PET RESCUE | YEAR | SALARY | INCOME | % of income |
| 2015 | $5,200 | $340,182 | 1.5% | |
| 2016 | $35,600 | $747,598 | 4.8% | |
| 2017 | $18,900 | $684,928 | 2.8% | |
| 2018 | $19,200 | $837,618 | 2.3% | |
| 2019 | $138,312 | $1,064,793 | 13.0% | |
| 2020 | $163,801 | $877,073 | 18.7% | |
| 2021 | $98,900 | $899,859 | 11.0% | |
| 2022* | $81,250 | $815,593 | 10.0% | |
| AVG 2019-2022 | $120,566 | $914,330 | 13.2% | |
| YEAR | SALARY | INCOME | % of income | |
| THE NOAH CENTER | 2015 | $91,146 | $1,878,105 | 4.9% |
| 2016 | $87,783 | $1,825,068 | 4.8% | |
| 2017 | $87,782 | $2,044,924 | 4.3% | |
| 2018 | $92,325 | $7,274,953 | 1.3% | |
| 2019 | $92,347 | $2,940,580 | 3.1% | |
| 2020 | $92,271 | $7,670,175 | 1.2% | |
| 2021 | $110,407 | $1,453,965 | 7.6% | |
| AVG 2015-2021 | $93,437 | $3,583,967 | 2.6% | |
| YEAR | SALARY | INCOME | % of income | |
| SEATTLE HUMANE SOCIETY | 2015 | $137,963 | $11,957,658 | 1.2% |
| 2016 | $159,463 | $17,304,789 | 0.9% | |
| 2017 | $144,225 | $14,462,517 | 1.0% | |
| 2018 | $161,562 | $10,593,622 | 1.5% | |
| 2019 | $175,100 | $10,290,807 | 1.7% | |
| 2020 | $195,468 | $9,801,958 | 2.0% | |
| 2021 | $199,649 | $11,093,341 | 1.8% | |
| 2022 | $197,115 | $11,522,855 | 1.7% | |
| AVG 2016-2022 | $171,318 | $12,128,443 | 1.4% | |
| HOMEWARD PET ADOPTION CENTER | 2015 | $68,750 | $1,456,954 | 4.7% |
| 2016 | $70,948 | $1,614,993 | 4.4% | |
| 2017 | $94,615 | $1,786,347 | 5.3% | |
| 2018 | $106,438 | $2,552,583 | 4.2% | |
| 2019 | $82,579 | $1,977,475 | 4.2% | |
| 2020 | $100,004 | $2,241,693 | 4.5% | |
| 2021 | $95,906 | $2,621,863 | 3.7% | |
| AVG 2015-2021 | $88,463 | $2,035,987 | 4.3% | |
| YEAR | SALARY | INCOME | % of income | |
| HUMANE SOCIETY FOR TACOMA/PIERCE | 2015 | $113,323 | $5,187,120 | 2.2% |
| 2016 | $113,149 | $10,734,480.00 | 1.1% | |
| 2017 | $193,009 | $6,455,325 | 3.0% | |
| 2018 | $208,666 | $5,630,426 | 3.7% | |
| 2019 | $199,275 | $6,212,756 | 3.2% | |
| 2020 | $194,437 | $6,874,761 | 2.8% | |
| 2021 | $221,298 | $7,484,997 | 3.0% | |
| 2022 | $199,420 | $8,564,811 | 2.3% | |
| AVG 2016-2022 | $180,322 | $7,143,085 | 2.5% |
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