Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries

To accredit and recognize sanctuaries and rescue centers, support them to achieve the highest Standards of Excellence, promote collaboration, and raise awareness of their work.

A world in which true sanctuary is given to animals in need.

Goal One: Accreditation/Verification Program - efficiency of process; enhance international efforts; and refinement and review of GFAS Standards

Goal Two: Services and Communications - enhance benefits and value; communications; and advocacy

Goal Three: Operational Excellence -sustainability, promote stability and continuity internally to ensure organizational effectiveness through investments in appropriate infrastructure and operational needs

GFAS facilitates membership and participation in several professional associations to its staff, such as the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the World Federation of Animals (WFA), and the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA). This allows staff access to a multitude of resources such as models/samples and professional development. GFAS also maintains a budget line item for staff professional development.

The cancellation of visitor programs, conferences and in-person fundraising events, as well as the closing of national borders had real costs and implications for GFAS and our accredited sanctuaries dependent on these activities and sources of revenue. GFAS was able to maintain staffing levels throughout the last year partially due to a PPP loan which was received. GFAS is actively taking measures to sustain a healthy and safe workplace environment for all employees and to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, ensuring that intended travel really is “essential” to the work being proposed. Staff travel for accreditations and renewals recommenced March 1, 2021, under a thoughtful and rigorous Temporary COVID-19 Travel Policy, approved by the GFAS Board of Directors. Since GFAS’s inception, our accreditation programs have grown tremendously, and now support 210+ sanctuaries, providing care for more than 35,000 animals at any one time, in addition to many more each year, as new animals come in. In 2021, GFAS staff conducted over 70 site visits to sanctuaries to ensure the welfare of animals in sanctuaries worldwide. Over the last year, it was imperative that GFAS continue activities of monitoring and enforcing compliance. Several factors facilitated this work; GFAS is fortunate to have embraced a completely remote staffing model since our inception, negating any need to pivot to such over the past year; utilization of an online system which seamlessly collects accreditation applications and replaces outdated, manual processes; and capacity to pivot educational content to virtual events through webinars and virtual booths and the creation of a new suite of downloadable branding/marketing materials.