Cat’s Cradle recently earned ​a Gold Seal of Transparency from ​Candid (the organization formed by the union of Foundation Center and GuideStar), the world’s largest database of nonprofit organizations.  Less than five percent of non-profits registered with ​Candid (guidestar.org)are recognized with a Gold Seal. Gold Seal status is ​recognized as a symbol of non-profit transparency and accountability. ​Candid's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving.  Seals of Transparency promote that mission.

Cat’s Cradle has achieved a ​Gold ​Seal for not only providing basic information about the organization including financials, but also sharing our mission, strategies and progress with our goals and fundraising efforts. We have a proven record, documented by our financials and informational tax returns​, of spending approximately 90% of donor dollars directly on programs, rather than non-program management or fundraising.  

Achieving ​this level of ​recognition from Candid helps to build trust in our donors by ​publicly sharing information that will be useful when making decisions on what organizations to support. It also shows that we embrace high standards of transparency and accountability while ​focused on our mission to ensure and maintain and safe, compassionate community for cats in the Shenandoah Valley.  We do this by facilitating and promoting spay/neuter and Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR), conducting foster-based rescue and adoption from local shelters, and providing pet retention and rehoming programs. Our intent is to steadily decrease the intake of cats and kittens at local shelters and to ultimately end the euthanasia of healthy adoptable pets in the communities we serve.