Giving Day for Apes 2025: Early Giving Opens Tomorrow!
One of the most exciting times of the year is here—Giving Day for Apes 2025! Tomorrow, September 16, Early Giving begins, leading up to the big day on Tuesday, October 7.
Giving Day for Apes brings together donors worldwide to support sanctuaries and rescue centers in Africa, Asia, and North America that provide safe haven for chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons, and bonobos. Since its launch, the campaign has raised more than $8 million to rescue and care for apes in need.
Every donation made through givingdayforapes.org not only helps sanctuaries continue their critical work but also gives them a chance to win additional prize funds.
Join us by donating, sharing with your networks, and following the excitement on October 7. Together, we can make this the most impactful Giving Day for Apes yet!
Save the Date – Sanctuary Awards Week
Please join us in honoring all the amazing work of Sanctuaries, Rescues and Rehabilitation Centers! To celebrate the announcement of the Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards, we have planned a week of educational webinars, as well as the virtual awards ceremony to end the week and celebrate the winners!
Please be sure to mark your calendars for the week of October 20. We will have educational webinars taking place Monday through Thursday and then Friday, October 24, we hold our annual Virtual Awards Ceremony where we will announce the winners of the 2025 Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards!
During this week, we are thrilled to have topics on Writing Effective Protocols, Building Trust Online: What Donors and Volunteers Expect From Your Website and more to be announced.
Keep an eye on our social media and website for more details and registration information.
Practical Tools for Showcasing Impact in Animal Sanctuaries Webinar – Registration Now Open
Please join us for another informative webinar from GFAS and HEART.
Practical Tools for Showcasing Impact in Animal Sanctuaries
Presented by: Dr. Sara Konrath, Indiana University
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
10:00 a.m. Pacific/1:00 pm. Eastern
Animal sanctuaries do more than provide safe haven—they inspire compassion, care, and conservation in their communities. This webinar, hosted by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and H.E.A.R.T., shares simple, low-cost ways to capture and showcase that impact. Discover how everyday observations, visitor feedback, and brief surveys can highlight your sanctuary’s value to funders, volunteers, and the public. With real examples and adaptable tools, we’ll show how “data is everywhere” and can be turned into powerful stories that strengthen support for your mission and programs.
Monkey Neighbors in the North
GFAS is proud to recognize, Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary (SBFPS), our first Verified monkey sanctuary in Canada. The organization became a registered Canadian charity in 2011. Story Book rescues exploited monkeys and lemurs once held as captive pets, neglected in roadside zoos or retired by research labs. With growing support, Story Book recently built a second building to house additional monkeys who needed a home. The new building includes a medical facility, to allow veterinarians to care for the residents on site. It was named “George’s Haven” after a beloved long-time former resident.
The Story Book team believes that all animals have rights; that animals have the right to live free of fear or pain from humans, in any form; and that everyone can make a difference, one being at a time. The philosophy of care has been there from the beginning, where relationship building and companionship are encouraged between residents. Freedom of choice and the ability to make decisions and control events are foundational to each resident’s life.
Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary’s mission is made clear when they declare, “we are a place of safety, we offer freedom from fear and we are a place of healing and recovery from trauma.” In other words, true sanctuary.
Welcome to the GFAS family, Story Book!
To learn more about Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, please visit: storybookmonkeys.org
Sanctuary Spotlight: Full Circle Farm Sanctuary Debuts new Climate-Controlled Stall
We love getting sanctuary updates. When this one landed in our inbox it was simply too good not to share. Accredited Full Circle Farm Sanctuary in Georgia has completed work on a new climate-controlled stall that will provide emergency medical space for residents and relief for two horse residents that need a little extra TLC due to their Cushing’s Disease and Asthma. Given the extreme heat possible in the region, this is a major benefit for residents.
Better still? It was made possible by volunteers. Here’s the story:
“We are beyond excited to share that the new Climate-Controlled Stall is officially finished—and it’s a game-changer for the care we can provide.
This special project was designed with Magic and Eclipse in mind—a mother and daughter, both living with Cushing’s disease. For Magic, the condition impacts her ability to sweat, leading to dangerously elevated respiration rates that can quickly become a medical emergency—as she experienced in 2024. The Care Team monitors her respiratory rate multiple times a day, and when she’s in distress, they act fast—hosing her down, moving her to the horse barn with large fans, and doing everything possible to keep her safe and comfortable.
Now, Magic can access the climate-controlled stall, where she has heat relief and reduced exposure to allergens that worsen her condition.
Both Magic and Eclipse also suffer from equine asthma and severe allergies, making a calm, clean, temperature-regulated environment critical to their health. This new stall not only offers them the relief they need but also provides a safe, stress-free space for any resident requiring emergency care—especially during extreme heat.
This stall allows Full Circle Farm to deliver advanced at-home care, reducing stress and avoiding unnecessary travel during critical moments.
This project was made possible by the leadership of a small but mighty team of volunteers—led by a talented and passionate professional with 32 years of product engineering experience. He not only designed the stall and donated a full project plan, but also traveled twice, with his family, from several states away to help bring it to life.”
We hope Full Circle’s work might also serve as inspiration for those working with equines with similar conditions. Learn more about Full Circle Farm Sanctuary at https://www.fullcirclefarmsanctuary.org/
Pro-Tip: 5 Accounting Errors Animal Sanctuaries Can’t Afford to Make
Discover the top bookkeeping blunders that could put your nonprofit, and your animals, at risk.
Running an animal sanctuary is already a wild ride – between feeding, fundraising, and the occasional goat who thinks your office computer is the perfect perch. But while you’re busy caring for your furry, feathered, or even scaly residents, accounting mistakes can sneak in and wreak havoc you can’t fix with a treat or a cuddle. Let’s keep your numbers as tidy as your barn after a great volunteer shift! Here are five accounting mistakes animal sanctuaries simply can’t afford to make:
- Mixing Restricted and Unrestricted Funds
Every donation comes with its own “breed”: some gifts are for rescue operations, others for building the new duck pond (quack quack!). Tossing restricted and unrestricted dollars into one big pile? That’s asking for IRS trouble and donor disappointment. Keep funds clearly separated with specialized nonprofit fund accounting, and both your grantors and your animals will rest easy. - Neglecting Proper Documentation
You’d never let an animal’s adoption file go missing, right? Don’t lose your receipts or invoices either! Poor documentation can turn an audit into a hair-raising experience (and not the good, fluffy kind). Move to digital document storage and keep your paperwork in paw-sitive order; both auditors and grant funders will thank you. - Delaying Data Entry and Reconciliation
Would you postpone feeding time for your sanctuary? (Cue the stampede!) Likewise, don’t let bookkeeping backlog until year-end panic. Timely monthly financial reports and regular reconciliation mean you’ll always know if your treat budget is on target, or if your board is planning a surprise visit. No more “where did that $500 for feed go?” mysteries. - Overlooking Payroll and Volunteer Stipends
Managing staff, contractors, and volunteers is complex, especially around payroll. Mix-ups bring unhappy coworkers (and nobody wants grumpy animal caretakers before morning chores!). Get payroll taxes, stipends, and timesheets handled the right way (hint: nonprofit payroll pros can help) so you stay on the IRS’s good side and keep your team motivated. - DIY Bookkeeping without Nonprofit Know-How
You can tame a runaway goat, but nonprofit accounting is a different beast! Using generic business software or going it alone for grant tracking, fund accounting, or Form 990 compliance could mean costly errors. Hiring nonprofit accounting professionals is like welcoming an experienced barn manager: organized, detail-oriented, and a lot less stress for you.
Your sanctuary—and your residents—deserve rock-solid books! Avoid these common nonprofit accounting mistakes to keep your mission thriving, donors smiling, and audits a breeze. Want to spend more time with your rescues and less time wrangling receipts? Schedule a complimentary call with Non-Profit Books and see how expert support can keep your finances (and your animals) happy and safe.
Using Natural Markings to Identify Burros
Interested in learning more about how to identify individual burros among a herd by recognizing individual physical markers?
Improve your team’s ability to care for donkeys by attending this invaluable webinar. Register for Know your burro: A practical guide for field identification by Humane World for Animals here: https://humanepro.org/trainings/know-your-burro-practical-guide-field-identification
Event date: November 12, 2025, 12:00 pm CST.
Certifications and Renewals
Over the past month GFAS has certified two new groups and renewed one organization!
Congratulations to all these groups!
New Certifications
Farm of the Free Animal Sanctuary, Georgia
FarmHouse Fresh Animal Sanctuary, Texas
Renewal
The Elephant Sanctuary, Tennessee