“We, the stakeholders of, and donors to, the Nevada Humane Society, have lost faith in the organization’s ability to address the needs of Washoe County’s homeless and stray animals. By a preponderance of evidence (see NHS Watchgroup's website), we find the current NHS Board of Directors unable or unwilling to act in the best interest of the vulnerable animals they are supposed to help. We also find the current NHS Board of Directors unable or unwilling to make the necessary modifications to the organization, to ensure donor funds are used in a manner that best supports the homeless animals in their care. Recent actions taken by the NHS Board of Directors have demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to provide transparency into systemic problems within the organization, in the past and at present. It is for these reasons that we, the donors of NHS, make the following demands: 

1. The NHS Board of Directors must publicly release data on NHS funds that were provided to Board Members, their family members, or their friends (including the Board member's, the family's, or the friends' affiliated companies). The data should cover all disbursements that have occurred since Jan 1, 2013 (the last 10 years). The data must include W-2s, 1099s, contracts, and the Conflict of Interest forms submitted by the associated Board member(s) at the time the funds were provided.
2. The NHS Board of Directors must publicly release data on NHS funds that wereprovided to each organization/person contracted for services with a total amount of $5,000.00/year or greater. The data should cover all contracted services occurring since Jan 1 2013 (last 10 years), and the name of the organization, 1099s, and a copy of the contract(s) for services.
3. The NHS Board must release all Conflict-of-Interest (COI) policies, and individual COI declarations from current and past Board members since Jan 1, 2013.
4. The NHS Board of Directors must post Board Members' biographies on the NHS website. Biographies must detail each member’s work experience, and their qualifications to be on the NHS Board of Directors. Each Board Member will provide a written statement that describes how their experience supports NHS objectives to provide quality care for homeless and stray animals. Each Board member must have his or her email address displayed so that the public, including donors, may contact them.
5. The NHS Board of Directors must post the biographies of all senior NHS Managers (CEO, COO, CFO, and key animal managers) on the NHS website. These must detail each member’s work experience, and their qualifications to be a manager at NHS.
6. The Board will amend the bylaws to create an open and transparent process for the election of board members. Applications for director positions will be accepted from interested parties immediately. Resumes and qualifications must be made available to the public and donors via the NHS website. Members of the Board must consist of representatives from each of the following interested parties and professional fields: animal care professionals, animal shelter professionals, donors, management experts, business owners, accounting experts, legal experts, Washoe County representatives, shelter volunteers, and representatives from the cities of Reno, Sparks, and Carson City. At least one director from each group must be represented on the Board. A consultation must be made by the Board with interested donors and members of the public to develop an election procedure whereby donors will have a majority say in who gets elected to the Board, to arrive at 13 elected Board members.
7. All Board members must immediately sign a code of ethics undertaking that they, their associates and/or families (as well as each of their associated companies and entities) will not benefit financially from NHS. No payments may be made to members of the board without written and documented proof (e.g. detailed statements of work, and bids from at least three providers) that the member of the board provides the best value for money.
8. Members of the Board will establish a committee to draft a robust set of bylaws that will govern the management of NHS, including the minimum and maximum number of directors, term limits, and criteria for determining when funds should be spent on products or services that do not directly benefit NHS' mission statement of caring for homeless and stray animals in Northern Nevada. Members of the group drafting the bylaws should include individuals from the same list provided in #6. NHS shall publish the draft bylaws, and hold a meeting on the bylaws, allowing the public to comment on them, prior to adaptation.
9. NHS shall recommit to its longstanding mission of saving all healthy and treatable animals countywide, and as part of this commitment, report on its performance on at least a monthly basis, including the following information: Number of animals taken in by source; Number of animals adopted out, euthanized, and other outcomes by species, including all animals regardless of age or medical status; Average length of stay of each animal by type (i.e., by dogs, cats, small mammals, etc); The veterinary and medical services provided for the month. This will enable the public to assess NHS’ commitment to helping animals from the community.
10. All bylaws, changes in bylaws, tax returns must be filed and reported promptly (within 30 days of filing) on NHS' website; and financial payments over the amount of $5,000/year must be reported in yearly financial reports, whether or not the IRS requires such reporting.
11. All key management positions (CEO, COO, CFO, and other directors and officers) must be hired only after an open nationwide search for qualified candidates, for a minimum of 30 days. All other managerial positions must be advertised for at least two weeks.
12. All board members must spend at least one day a month at NHS.
13. A member of the Board will act as a liaison between NHS staff and the Board. The Board member will ensure that the NHS is in compliance with its whistleblower policy.

All of the persons signing this petition will cease to provide NHS any monetary funding, until such time as the Board of Directors commit to implementing the above demands immediately. Until our demands are met and in action, we will continue to investigate, and disseminate information on the inner workings, past and present, of the NHS Board of Directors, and their questionable use of donor funds. We will continue to investigate, and disseminate information related to the inadequate care of animals by NHS. We will also seek legal guidance on means to obtain NHS financial, operational and employment records via discovery. In other words, we will keep watching the NHS. 

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