Form 990 for tax year 2022

Totals

Total revenue

$1,535,037

Total expenses

$1,426,693

Contributions and grants received

$1,567,772

Grants paid

$0

Program service revenue

$0

Investment income

-$32,735

Other revenue

$0

Total assets, end of year

$3,203,915

Total liabilities, end of year

$19,604

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$3,184,311

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$887,536

Management and general expenses

$329,709

Fundraising expenses

$209,448

Program service expenses (Part III)

$887,536

Program services were 62.2% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2022

• BASED ON YEARS OF RIGOROUS RESEARCH AND DRIVEN BY THE SAME VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE THAT UNDERLIE HUMAN CIVIL RIGHTS, OUR UNIQUE LITIGATION CHALLENGES AN ARCHAIC, UNJUST, MILLENNIA-OLD LEGAL STATUS QUO THAT SEES ALL NONHUMAN ANIMALS AS LEGAL "THINGS" WITH NO RIGHTS. IN THE TEN YEARS SINCE THE NHRP FILED OUR FIRST LAWSUITS SEEKING CAPTIVE CHIMPANZEES AND ELEPHANTS' RIGHT TO LIBERTY THROUGH WRITS OF HABEAS CORPUS, WE HAVE ACHIEVED IMPORTANT LEGAL FIRSTS, CATALYZED A GLOBAL CONVERSATION ABOUT THE URGENCY AND IMPORTANCE OF NONHUMAN RIGHTS, AND INSPIRED AND EMPOWERED PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO JOIN THE FIGHT. IN 2022, TWO JUDGES ON NEW YORK'S HIGHEST COURT JOINED US IN CALLING FOR OUR ELEPHANT CLIENT HAPPY'S RIGHT TO LIBERTY FOLLOWING A HISTORIC HEARING COVERED BY MEDIA OUTLETS AROUND THE WORLD. ALSO IN 2022, WE HELPED DEVELOP OUR FIRST FEDERAL LEGISLATION, COMPLEMENTING THE JUDICIAL WORK THAT HAS BEEN OUR MAINSTAY SINCE OUR FOUNDING.OUR LITIGATION AND LEGISLATION ARE THE FIRST OF THEIR KIND. THEY DRAW ON VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF AUTONOMY IN NONHUMAN ANIMALS TO DIRECTLY CONFRONT THE FACT THAT ANIMAL WELFARE LAWS ARE NEITHER A SUFFICIENT NOR JUST MEANS OF PROTECTING NONHUMAN ANIMALS' LIBERTY.INCREASINGLY, AND AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE NHRP'S UNIQUE WORK, COURTS AND LEGISLATURES ARE BEGINNING TO RECOGNIZE THE SYSTEMIC PROBLEM OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS' RIGHTLESSNESS, THE SUFFERING IT HAS CAUSED THEM, AND THE WAYS IT UNDERMINES THE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE ON WHICH OUR OWN HUMAN RIGHTS DEPEND.AT THE SAME TIME, OUR GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS INVITE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO JOIN US IN CALLING FOR RECOGNITION OF NONHUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMANDING THE RELEASE OF OUR CLIENTS TO SANCTUARIES WHERE THEIR RIGHT TO BODILY LIBERTY WILL BE RESPECTED.INDICATORS OF SUCCESS AND POPULATIONS SERVED:LITIGATION: IN MAY 2022, THE NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS BECAME THE HIGHEST COURT IN AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING JURISDICTION TO HEAR AN APPEAL DEMANDING A LEGAL RIGHT FOR A NONHUMAN ANIMAL AND THE FIRST TO CONSIDER SPECIFICALLY WHETHER A NONHUMAN ANIMAL HAS THE COMMON LAW RIGHT TO BODILY LIBERTY PROTECTED BY HABEAS CORPUS. THIS WAS THE FOURTH TIME IN EIGHT YEARS THE NHRP ATTEMPTED TO REACH THIS COURT, WHICH ACCEPTS FEWER THAN FIVE PERCENT OF CASES THAT REQUEST TO BE HEARD. THE COURT'S DECISION TO ACCEPT HAPPY'S CASE WAS, IN ITSELF, A LANDMARK IN THE GLOBAL EFFORT TO ESTABLISH THE RIGHTS OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS. IN THE SUMMER OF 2022, TWO JUDGES, ROWAN D. WILSON AND JENNY RIVERA, DISSENTED FROM THE COURT'S MAJORITY DECISION, WHICH DENIED HAPPY'S RIGHT TO LIBERTY. THEIR DISSENTS HARSHLY CRITICIZED THE MAJORITY DECISION, EMBRACED THE CONCEPT OF LEGAL RIGHTS FOR NONHUMAN ANIMALS AS CONTIGUOUS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS, AND, IN JUDGE RIVERA'S WORDS, LINKED "OUR COUNTRY'S TORTURED HISTORY OF OPPRESSION AND SUBJUGATION" OF HUMANS BASED ON IMMUTABLE CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS RACE, GENDER, CULTURE, NATIONAL ORIGIN, AND CITIZENSHIP TO THE SUFFERING AND RIGHTLESSNESS OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS. IN SO DOING, JUDGE WILSON AND JUDGE RIVERA'S DISSENTS NOT ONLY CHALLENGED AN UNJUST LEGAL STATUS QUO THAT HAS EXISTED FOR CENTURIES; THEY WILL ALSO HELP LIGHT THE WAY TO A MORE JUST FUTURE FOR MEMBERS OF OTHER SPECIESJUST AS COURAGEOUS DISSENTS BY JUDGES HAVE DONE FOR HUMANS THROUGHOUT US LEGAL HISTORY. SINCE 2018, OUR WORK ON HAPPY'S CASE HAS RESULTED IN LEGAL FIRST AFTER LEGAL FIRST, WHILE THE STORY OF HER IMPRISONMENT AND OUR FIGHT FOR HER FREEDOM HAS REACHED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. THESE DISSENTS FOLLOW SIMILARLY SUPPORTIVE ARGUMENTS MADE BY JUDGE EUGENE M. FAHEY IN OUR CHIMPANZEE RIGHTS CASES BEFORE HE RETIRED FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS IN JANUARY OF 2022. IN A 2018 OPINION ISSUED IN RESPONSE TO OUR CHIMPANZEE RIGHTS CASES, HE WROTE THAT THE QUESTION OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS' LEGAL PERSONHOOD AND RIGHTS CONSTITUTES "A DEEP DILEMMA OF ETHICS AND POLICY THAT DEMANDS OUR ATTENTION. TO TREAT A CHIMPANZEE AS IF HE OR SHE HAD NO RIGHT TO LIBERTY PROTECTED BY HABEAS CORPUS IS TO REGARD THE CHIMPANZEE AS ENTIRELY LACKING INDEPENDENT WORTH, AS A MERE RESOURCE FOR HUMAN USE, A THING THE VALUE OF WHICH CONSISTS EXCLUSIVELY IN ITS USEFULNESS TO OTHERS. INSTEAD, WE SHOULD CONSIDER WHETHER A CHIMPANZEE IS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH INHERENT VALUE WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT."IN 2020, BEFORE HAPPY'S CASE REACHED NEW YORK'S HIGHEST COURT, BRONX SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ALISON Y. TUITT ISSUED A DECISION IN HAPPY'S CASE THAT BUILT ON JUDGE FAHEY'S ARGUMENTS, RECOGNIZING HAPPY AS AN AUTONOMOUS BEING AND REJECTING THE BRONX ZOO'S ARGUMENTS THAT IT'S IN HAPPY'S BEST INTEREST TO REMAIN IMPRISONED IN THE BRONX ZOO. SHE ALSO CONCLUDED (WHILE BELIEVING HER COURT TO BE BOUND BY A WRONGLY DECIDED APPELLATE COURT DECISION OUR CHIMPANZEE RIGHTS CASE) THAT HAPPY "IS MORE THAN JUST A LEGAL THING, OR PROPERTY. SHE IS AN INTELLIGENT, AUTONOMOUS BEING WHO SHOULD BE TREATED WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY, AND WHO MAY BE ENTITLED TO LIBERTY." JUSTICE TUITT AND JUDGES RIVERA, WILSON, AND FAHEY JOIN A GROWING BODY OF JUDGES FROM AROUND THE WORLDFOR EXAMPLE IN PAKISTAN, INDIA, COLUMBIA, AND ARGENTINAWHO HAVE CONSIDERED AND RECOGNIZED NONHUMAN ANIMALS AS RIGHTS-HOLDERS IN RECENT YEARS. SEVERAL OF THESE CASES HAVE BEEN MODELED ON OURS, AND SEVERAL OF THE DECISIONS RELIED ON OUR ARGUMENTS. OUR LITIGATION HAS GAINED THE SUPPORT OF DIVERSE EXPERTS IN CIVIL RIGHTS, HABEAS CORPUS, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, ANIMAL LAW, AND MORE, INCLUDING LEGAL SCHOLAR LAURENCE TRIBE, PHILOSOPHER MARTHA NUSSBAUM, PHILOSOPHER PETER SINGER, AND THE FOUNDERS OF THE FREEDOM TO MARRY MOVEMENT, EVAN WOLFSON AND SHANNON MINTER. IN SUPPORT OF HAPPY'S PETITION ALONE, EIGHTEEN AMICUS BRIEFS WERE FILED WITH THE NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS BY A TOTAL OF 146 PEOPLE AND GROUPS. WE CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE WORLD'S LEADING EXPERTS IN NONHUMAN ANIMAL COGNITION IN ADDITION TO A VARIETY OF EXPERTS IN OTHER FIELDS.ALSO IN 2022, THE NHRP LAUNCHED OUR LITIGATION ON THE WEST COAST WITH THE FILING OF OUR FIRST HABEAS CORPUS LAWSUIT IN CALIFORNIA. LEGISLATION: IN LATE JULY, REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SCHIFF (D-CALIF.), REPRESENTATIVE JARED HUFFMAN (D-CALIF.), REPRESENTATIVE SUZAN DELBENE (D-WASH.), AND SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CALIF.) INTRODUCED H.R. 8514, THE STRENGTHENING WELFARE IN MARINE SETTINGS (SWIMS) ACTTHE FIRST FEDERAL LEGISLATION WE HELPED DEVELOP. THE BILL WOULD END THE FUTURE CAPTURE AND BREEDING OF WHALES FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY AND AMEND THE MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT OF 1972 TO PROHIBIT THE TAKING, IMPORTATION, OR EXPORTATION OF ORCAS, BELUGA WHALES, PILOT WHALES, AND FALSE KILLER WHALES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PUBLIC DISPLAY UNLESS THE ANIMAL IS BEING TRANSPORTED TO A SANCTUARY SETTING OR RELEASED TO THE WILD. THE BILL FURTHER AMENDS THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT TO PROHIBIT ANY BREEDING OF THESE SPECIES FOR FUTURE PUBLIC DISPLAY. THE BILL REFERENCES SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF THE COGNITIVE, EMOTIONAL, AND SOCIAL COMPLEXITY OF WHALES AND RECOGNIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIORITIZING THE AUTONOMY OF WHALES AS INDIVIDUALS, WHICH THE NHRP APPLAUDS. SIMILAR LANGUAGE UNDERLIES THE NHRP'S LEGAL ARGUMENTS. THE BILL ALSO UNDERSCORES HOW WHALES SUFFER WHEN HELD IN CAPTIVITY IN TANKS THAT CANNOT MEET THEIR COMPLEX PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, AND SOCIAL NEEDS. WE CONTINUE TO WORK BEHIND THE SCENES WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS ACROSS THE US TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR INTEREST IN NONHUMAN RIGHTS AND, WE HOPE, GAIN THEIR SUPPORT.EDUCATION: THE NHRP EDUCATES LEGAL AND NON-LEGAL AUDIENCES AROUND THE WORLD ON THE NEED AND BASIS FOR NONHUMAN RIGHTS, CREATES AND SHARES EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR BOTH LEGAL AND NON-LEGAL AUDIENCES, AND MAKES ALL OUR FILINGS FREELY AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE. IN 2021, WITH LIMITATIONS ON WIDELY ATTENDED PUBLIC EVENTS IMPOSED BY THE PANDEMIC, WE CONTINUED OUR SERIES OF FREE ONLINE WEBINARS TO DISCUSS OUR WORK, INTERVIEW LEADING EXPERTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND CONTINUE TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE NEED FOR NONHUMAN ANIMAL RIGHTS.

  Expenses $887,536

As filed on the 2022 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Related organizations on this return

Schedule R Part II: tax-exempt organizations related to the filer by control. It does not record shared board members or money.

• FLORIDA CENTER FOR CULTURAL COMPETENCE INC

  501(C)(3) · DEVELOP, DELIVER AND EVALUATE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND MATERIALS · FL · controlled entity

  Directly controlled by NONHUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT INC

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2022

Filed

14 November 2023

IRS schema version

2022v5.0

Source object

202343199349314009

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