Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 to combat the abuses of factory farming, advocate for institutional reforms, and inspire a deeper understanding of farm animals and the benefits of plant-based living. What began with a single act of compassion—the rescue of Hilda, a downed sheep found alive on a pile of dead animals at a Pennsylvania stockyard—grew into the nation’s premier farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization, igniting a movement that has inspired hundreds of sanctuaries worldwide and millions of people to take action for animals, people, and our planet.
For 40 years, Farm Sanctuary has combined rescue, education, and advocacy to change hearts, minds, and systems. As we celebrate four decades of progress, we invite you to join us in honoring our shared legacy, while continuing our critical work and imagining what’s possible now and for the next 40 years.
FARM SANCTUARY’S MISSION HAS NEVER BEEN MORE URGENT
Industrial animal agriculture is responsible for egregious harms to animals, people, and our planet. As climate change accelerates and public health threats intensify, the window to build a just, sustainable, and compassionate food system is rapidly closing.
Adding to the urgency for change, our increasingly polarized political climate has created divisions even regarding broadly supported issues. Sadly, environmental and animal protection laws are being threatened. This poses significant risks to precious resources and natural ecosystems, public health, climate resilience, and the progress Farm Sanctuary has made in critical humane legislation over the decades, as in the years-long battle to uphold Proposition12.
At the heart of what drives our mission is the shared concern that billions of farm animals suffer daily— enduring anguished lives of unimaginable cruelty before being slaughtered for food at just a fraction of their natural lifespans. They are also largely excluded from legal protections, and despite clear evidence of their sentience, industry policies continue to value profit over basic decency. In the U.S. alone, 10 billion animals are slaughtered each year, making up 99.6% of all land animals exploited and killed—yet farm animal protection remains drastically underfunded compared to other animal causes.
Animal agriculture’s impact reaches far beyond animal suffering—it’s a driving force behind some of the world’s most urgent crises:
• Responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions—more than all transportation combined—it accelerates climate change while consuming 83% of the world’s farmland to produce only 18% of our calories and 37% of our protein.
• Industrial animal agriculture requires immense resources and is a leading cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss, freshwater depletion, and the spread of zoonotic diseases like bird flu.
• It also entrenches social and economic injustices, exploiting slaughterhouse workers, small farmers, and vulnerable communities.
Transforming our food system isn’t just an ethical issue—it’s a necessity for planetary health and human survival.
OUR LEGACY OF CHANGE: Landmark Victories for Farm Animals
A Snapshot of Highlights: 1986 to Now
For four decades, Farm Sanctuary has been at the forefront of change for farm animals. These victories empower us to keep moving forward.
≥ Established the first
sanctuary
in the United States for farm animals, inspiring a global sanctuary movement
As the first organization in the nation dedicated to the rescue and refuge of this grossly underserved population, our sanctuaries provide a home for hundreds of rescued animals, modeling compassionate, sustainable care.
Through the years, Farm Sanctuary has saved thousands of lives from cruelty, neglect, and natural disasters.
Visit here to learn more about our victories and milestones through the decades.
1986
As a young activist, Co-founder Gene Baur rescues a sheep named Hilda left for dead at a stockyard, the first ambassador of the farm animal rescue movement.
1990
2000
Buckeye Egg Farm Rescue: After tornadoes lay waste to the battery-cage warehouses at Buckeye Egg Farm in Ohio, Farm Sanctuary helps more than 1,500 hens trapped in crushed and twisted metal cages.
Farm Sanctuary establishes the first permanent farm animal sanctuary in the U.S., on 175 acres in Watkins Glen, NY.
2007
Live Market Escape: Farm Sanctuary rescues more than 200 animals from live markets in New York City this year, notably Maxine, the cow from Queens. Her rescue becomes one of our largest media stories of the year, putting a spotlight on city slaughterhouses that hide in plain sight.
2005
Hurricane Katrina Rescue: In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Farm Sanctuary rescues 725 chickens abandoned in a Tyson-contracted facility, a colossal warehouselike farm in Mississippi. These birds, like millions of farm animals across the South following the disaster, had been left to die or be bulldozed into mass graves.
2023
Nine Cows Find Sanctuary: Neglected cows are seized from a former dairy farm in Pennsylvania, in what the local SPCA called one of the worst cruelty cases they had ever seen.
Farm Sanctuary works with partners and our Farm Animal Adoption Network (FAAN), and transports animals to safety.
≥ Established the largest farm animal rescue and placement community in North America, the Farm Animal Adoption Network (FAAN)
Many more animals are assisted through our Farm Animal Adoption Network (FAAN), comprised of a growing national community of trusted sanctuaries and homes. Through FAAN, Farm Sanctuary provides our partners with guidance, training, transport, financial grants, and other means of assistance, to provide for the rescue and placement of animals who they would otherwise not be able to assist.
2002
Cattaraugus Rescue: SPCA investigators alert Farm Sanctuary to a massive cruelty case in Cattaraugus County, NY, where animals were starving in the bitter cold. More than 100 pigs, some frozen to the ground, are brought to sanctuary for emergency care and later adopted into loving FAAN homes across the country.
2020
FAAN Fund Established: A day after winning an Academy Award, Joaquin Phoenix rescues Liberty cow and her calf, Indigo, from a CA slaughterhouse and brings them to Farm Sanctuary, reaching millions with our message. Soon after, Farm Sanctuary establishes our FAAN Fund to advance farm animal rescue, with pilot funding from Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara.
2023
Maui, HI Wildfire Support: In Sept 2023, a sanctuary partner contacts Farm Sanctuary to help facilitate on-the-ground rescue and vet care for pigs affected by the Maui fires. With team support, we provide an urgently needed one-time grant.
2015
Hudson Valley Rescue: With fellow sanctuaries, Farm Sanctuary provides emergency rescue for more than 170 animals from a backyard butcher. Survivors were found starving amid filth, debris, and the remains of their herdmates. The animals were placed with partner sanctuaries or through FAAN.
2022
A Change of Heart: Dan, a former beef farmer, asks Farm Sanctuary to help rehome his cows, who he had grown to care for and see as intelligent beings. Through FAAN, we help place many members of Dan’s herd of 60 cows, and provide thousands of miles of transport to their new homes.
≥ Secured passage of the first U.S. laws prohibiting cruel practices on factory farms through landmark legislation
Recognizing that a single piece of legislation can lessen the suffering of billions of animals, Farm Sanctuary has set critical precedents, including the passage of state and federal laws protecting farm animals from the cruelest abuses and confinement.
1994
Downed Animals: Our ‘No Downers’ campaign has driven landmark protections: from The California Downed Animal Bill in 1994, to a 1998 federal lawsuit that inspired the Downed Animal Protection Act, and the 2003 USDA ban on slaughtering downed cows for human consumption.
2004
California Bans Foie Gras: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs Farm Sanctuary sponsored S.B. 1520 into law, banning sales of foie gras and its production by force-feeding ducks and geese. In 2019 the law goes into full effect despite industry challenges.
2018
Proposition 12: In 2018, CA passed Prop 12 with wide voter support, criminalizing severe farm animal confinement and banning products made using such practices. Through coalition legal efforts, we continue to support Prop 12.
2002
The Nation’s First Ballot Initiative to Ban Intense Confinement: In Florida, Farm Sanctuary spearheads the nation’s first successful ballot initiative to ban the use of gestation crates. The campaign has since paved the way for 15 states to pass laws prohibiting one or more forms of extreme confinement, including gestation crates, battery cages, and veal crates.
2016
Question 3 in Massachusetts: As a founding member of the Citizens for Farm Animals Coalition in Massachusetts, Farm Sanctuary helps secure a 77% victory for Question 3, banning cruel confinement of breeding pigs, calves raised for veal, and egg-laying hens.
Farm Sanctuary’s litigation furthers our efforts to protect farm animals and increase transparency in the unjust and exploitative animal agriculture system.
2001
Landmark Cruelty Case: Farm Sanctuary has been at the forefront of ending extreme confinement on factory farms. After discovering two chickens discarded in a trash can among dead birds, Farm Sanctuary brings a cruelty lawsuit against major egg producer, ISE Corporation. The case marks the first time a U.S. factory farm is found guilty of cruelty for abandoning sick and injured “laying hens.” The conviction is overturned on appeal.
2019
Suing USDA Over Slaughter Line Speeds: Farm Sanctuary and six other groups sue USDA over reducing supervision at pig slaughterhouses and removing limits on the speed with which they send animals to slaughter.
2021
Public Access to Slaughter Records: In a significant victory for transparency and accountability, USDA agrees to post slaughter records on its website to settle a lawsuit brought by Farm Sanctuary and the Animal Welfare Institute. These records routinely expose inhumane treatment of animals.
2008
Farm Sanctuary publishes the Highway Accidents Involving Farm Animals report documenting 233 crashes killing about 27,000 animals in six years, exposing the lack of oversight in truck transport—a gap later closed by expanding the 28-Hour Law. The recently reintroduced Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act would strengthen enforcement and ban transporting animals unfit for travel.
2020
Bird Flu Lawsuit: Farm Sanctuary and Mercy for Animals join the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in its lawsuit against USDA over the agency’s 2015 response to bird flu, which led to the mass killing of around 50 million farmed birds in 15 states and the expenditure of roughly $850 million in taxpayer funds. In 2022, the parties enter a settlement which requires USDA to produce an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addressing the devastating impacts of its plan.
≥ Advanced federal and state policies and collaborated with coalition and community partners to transition the U.S. toward a more just and sustainable plant-based food system
While we advance our long fight for farm animals, we also pursue expanded opportunities to unite with coalition partners and community partners across aligned interests to advance measures to incentivize an environmentally just and socially equitable plant-based food system.
2017
Meet Your Neighbors: An initiative is launched revealing the hidden realities of factory farming in Eastern North Carolina—where pigs outnumber people. Nearby communities, mostly people of color, suffer from the resulting water and air pollution and daily exposure to industrial waste. This campaign underscores that factory farming is not only an animal welfare crisis, but also a human rights and environmental justice issue.
2024
USDA Expands Plant-Based School
Meals: USDA’s updated child nutrition standards now broaden student access to fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Farm Sanctuary and coalition partners persuade the agency to expand these options and move federal policy forward.
2025
Green Rural Redevelopment Organization
(GRRO): A Farm Sanctuary pilot helps GRRO grow by 1020%, shifting 1.4M meals to plantbased options. This year, we set a joint goal to shift 40M meals by 2030 for health, food justice, and the environment.
2021
Suppor ting the Farm System Reform Act: Farm Sanctuary endorses and backs this legislation through lobbying, education, and coalitions.
The bill would halt the expansion of factory farms, phase them out by 2040, and invest $100B to support farmers in transitioning to more just and sustainable agriculture. In 2022, we become the only farm animal group invited to join Sen. Booker and Rep. Khanna’s anti-factory farming working group.
2024
Federal Roadmap for our Food System: In partnership with the Center for Biological Diversity, Farm Sanctuary releases a groundbreaking blueprint for transforming the food system. The report outlines dozens of recommendations that federal officials and policymakers can implement.
≥ Educated thousands of tomorrow’s leaders through our award-winning humane education program
Farm Sanctuary’s humane education program has been recognized as a national model in its field because it significantly impacts the way young people view their responsibility both to animals and other people. Educators, parents, and academic communities likewise benefit, because Farm Sanctuary provides our flagship educational resources at no cost. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders in every sphere of public life. Reaching young minds is essential to creating lasting change.
2017
Relaunch of our Humane Education Program: Farm Sanctuary launches our humane education program, offering NY and Philadelphia students a virtual-reality sanctuary tour. The program expands next to the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.
2019
Farm Sanctuary Gains National Recognition: In 2019, Farm Sanctuary is awarded the Excellence in Humane Education Award from the Humane Education Coalition. In 2024, Farm Sanctuary is honored as the Best Youth Humane Education Program by the Association of Professional Humane Educators’ 2024 Educator’s Choice Awards.
2025
250K Students Reached: Farm Sanctuary reaches a historic milestone, over a quartermillion students reached worldwide since 2017. Through free webinars, downloadable curricula, and online resources we reach students across 32 states and five countries.
2017
Youth Advocacy Program: Farm Sanctuary establishes the Youth Leadership Council, providing a community and support network for like-minded student peers from across the country. The initial cohort is comprised of 54 total members.
2024
The Bold Choice Fund: An impactful humane education initiative launches with the aim to reach millions more people by 2027 with a comprehensive educational experience that fosters empathy, promotes sustainable practices, and inspires informed choices for a kinder world.
≥ Reached millions to change the way society views farm animals
From pioneering the first undercover investigations at factory farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses to public awareness campaigns promoting plant-based food systems, Farm Sanctuary has reached hundreds of millions with our message, furthering the public’s awareness of factory farming and an understanding of farm animal sentience.
1987
Adopt a Turkey: Farm Sanctuary launches the annual Adopt a Turkey Project, encouraging people to save a turkey instead of eating one at Thanksgiving. The campaign continues to this day and has allowed us to reach millions with a message of compassion for these wonderful birds.
1989
Vigil Against Veal: Hundreds from more than 20 states join Farm Sanctuary for the first ever Vigil Against Veal, maintaining a constant vigil for three days on the doorstep of the American Veal Association’s convention in PA.
1992
Burger King Veggie Burger: Farm Sanctuary persuades the Watkins Glen Burger King to sell a veggie burger. Its success leads to the 2002 introduction of the BK Veggie burger nationwide. As of 2019, Burger King also sells its Impossible Whopper, using Impossible Foods meatless patties.
1988
Vegetarian Van and the Grateful Dead: Stocked with meatless food, cookbooks, and advocacy literature, Farm Sanctuary’s Vegetarian Van travels to Grateful Dead concerts, building awareness around the harms of animal agriculture, and raising funds for the fledgling organization by selling veggie hot dogs.
1991
Larr y King Live: Gene Baur appears to debate a meat industry representative about agribusiness’ mistreatment of animals.
2001
Mary Tyler Moore Chairs Sentient Beings Campaign: Farm Sanctuary launches its “Sentient Beings Campaign,” which works to improve the status of farm animals and to achieve basic legal protections; Mary Tyler Moore signs on as chair. The campaign results in over 60 government proclamations stating that farm animals are sentient beings, capable of awareness, feeling, and suffering.
≥ Reached millions to change the way society views farm animals
Through powerful sanctuary tours and events, the voices of celebrity allies, and the growing reach of our social media platforms, Farm Sanctuary has inspired countless people to see farm animals in a new light and take action on their behalf.
2008
Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food: Co-founder Gene Baur’s first book is released. The book traces the roots of Farm Sanctuary, relating stories about rescued animals, accounts of factory farm conditions, groundbreaking campaign efforts, and practical solutions for citizens to make a difference.
2011
Time Magazine: Time Magazine hails Gene Baur as the “conscience of the food movement”.
2016
Accolades from Oprah: Gene Baur is included as one of Oprah’s Super Soul 100’s Soul Givers, “a collection of 100 awakened leaders who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity.”
2018
Reaching All Audiences: Gene Baur appears on Tucker Carlson Tonight on FOX News, finding common ground for farm animals.
2025
Farm Sanctuar y’s most popular post hits 3.6M views: Our wide-reaching Instagram post combines fun and education with fascinating facts about cows. Remarkably, 96% of those reached are new to our work. To date, Farm Sanctuary has 1.7M social media followers.
2015
The Daily Show: Gene Baur appears on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to discuss his book Living the Farm Sanctuary Life and the benefits of a plant-based diet for health, the environment, and animal welfare. This milestone moment brings veganism to mainstream conversation.
2024
YouTube Sensations: Farm Sanctuary is featured on the popular children’s show, Blippi and Meekah, celebrating animals' unique personalities and the importance of loving and caring for them. This show receives one billion monthly views and over 36 million dedicated followers across YouTube, making it the most watched fact-based, presenter-led show in the world.
Looking to The Future: Building a Just and Compassionate World
Our wins are only possible because of the powerful community that stands with us and shares our vision for a kinder, more compassionate world.
For 40 years, Farm Sanctuary has led with courage, raising awareness, offering hope, and driving change for millions. As we celebrate this milestone, we’re reflecting on our legacy, reigniting our voice, and rallying our movement to boldly shape the next era of impact.
From our earliest days, Farm Sanctuary has grown and deepened our impact by integrating rescue, education, and advocacy. In the years ahead, we will build on this proven three-pronged approach to confront the abuse of farm animals and inspire a more compassionate way of living. Our sanctuaries will be immersive hubs where visitors connect with rescued animals, experience thriving plant-based farm ecosystems, and discover pathways to systemic change. Nationwide, our partnerships, networks, and policy work will drive a food system grounded in empathy, sustainability, and justice. Your support in this milestone year will give us the stability to plan boldly, seize emerging opportunities, and build unstoppable momentum.
Please join us in this milestone moment. Your gift to Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary Fund will allow us to focus on the following areas and carry our mission forward in the years to come.
Farm Sanctuary is committed to ecological responsibility in action. We are investing in eco-friendly practices across our sanctuaries and developing forward-looking, immersive hubs for sustainable living. In the next two years, we are making essential capital and operational improvements that will strengthen Farm Sanctuary for decades to come. We are developing healthier pastures to support our residents’ well-being, creating pollinator gardens, and protecting wildlife habitat. In New York, we are expanding our garden and orchards to supply food for our on-site cafe, our visitors, and the community. This will lower food costs, support food access, foster local collaborations, and enable training and educational programming about the benefits of a sustainable plant-based food system. We are actively working to lighten our environmental footprint by upcycling materials, reducing waste through food recovery efforts, improving energy efficiency, and planning to install solar panels and electric vehicle chargers.
Sustainability Initiatives
Capital Improvements
Farm Sanctuary manages more than 90 structures across our two locations, including animal barns sheltering nearly 500 residents, visitor and education spaces, a cafe, overnight accommodations in Watkins Glen, staff housing, offices, and other essential facilities.
Maintaining property on hundreds of acres with numerous buildings, miles of fencing, tractors, vehicles, farm equipment, and energy and water infrastructure requires ongoing repairs and upgrades to ensure the safety of our staff and animal residents. With your support, we will undertake critical building improvements to ensure our sanctuaries remain a safe and inspiring place of refuge for animals and people, while reducing our environmental footprint and lowering operating costs.
The Visitor Center—our central hub for guests and outreach—will receive key updates such as roof repairs, bathroom accessibility enhancements, and electrical improvements. We also plan to improve parking and roadways to ensure better access and traffic flow.
Guest accommodations, including our rustic cabins, deluxe cabin, and tiny houses, will undergo significant upgrades, from foundation repairs and new siding to refinished decks and updated windows. Finally, barns and animal care facilities will see critical updates, including new roofing, siding, flooring, lighting, and improved ventilation for our goat, sheep, pig, chicken, and cattle areas.
Rescue and Refuge
Caring for farm animals rescued from cruelty and neglect is both deeply meaningful and incredibly demanding. Our shelter staff face daily challenges— emotional strain, physical rigor, and even compassion fatigue—while nationwide shortages of veterinary and caregiving professionals make their work even harder. To honor the dedication of our caregivers and ensure the best possible lives for our animal residents, Farm Sanctuary is committed to continued investment in our Animal Care team, providing strong compensation and benefits packages including paid time for therapy services, as well as more robust training, career opportunities, and continuing education to ensure a fully staffed, skilled, and supported workforce on the ground.
At Farm Sanctuary, our residents live far beyond the short, painful lives they would have experienced in industrial farming systems. Most farm animals are slaughtered in their youth. For example, while chickens raised for meat are slaughtered at just five weeks old and pigs at only six months, animals of both species have been known to live up to 10 years at Farm Sanctuary. An estimated 99% of our current residents have lived beyond the lifespan they would have experienced in industrial farming systems.
While this longevity is a triumph of compassion, it also creates an ongoing and evolving need for advanced elder care services. Many of our most
vulnerable residents are seniors who now rely on us for everything. As our population continues to age, we face rising needs: more specialized veterinary care, pain mitigation, tailored nutrition, and enrichment, and the dedicated staff required to provide daily support. Farm Sanctuary established the Elder Care Program to support our unique animal care operations and ensure that our rescued animals can thrive in their golden years.
Beyond our sanctuaries in New York and California, we are expanding our impact through the Farm Animal Adoption Network (FAAN), building greater movementwide capacity for sustainable rescue and placement. Each year, we respond to over 1,000 inquiries for farm animals in need and cover thousands of miles as we provide transport, veterinary care, and placement for as many animals as possible, thanks to our trusted FAAN community. As a network leader and liaison,
Farm Sanctuary elevates rescuers and smaller groups, fostering creative and collaborative partnerships that amplify our collective impact. Every rescue becomes an opportunity to educate, advocate, and inspire change.
By strategically building deeper FAAN partnerships and cultivating new alliances, we will extend the reach of our rescue, education, and advocacy work and save even more lives.
Education & Advocacy
The Bold Choice Fund gave us the foundation to launch three key areas of growth for our educational programming through 2027. In honor of Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary, your support will help us expand our work further. Your partnership will help us:
• Expand plant-based options for more than 30 million students. In 2024, we successfully shifted federal policy to better support plant-based options in official meal pattern guidelines. We can build on this success with state policies designed to help all of us: animals, people, and our planet.
• Expand our community-driven strategies to shift meals to plant-based. With Farm Sanctuary’s help, our partners have committed to shifting 40 million meals, saving 4 million farm animal lives by 2030. Your support will help us grow this work, ensuring plant-based meal access for healthy families, farmers, and communities.
• Grow our nationally recognized humane education curricula. The National Association of Professional Humane Educators named Farm Sanctuary’s youth education the best in the country, and we now reach 70,000 students every year. We plan to increase annual student reach to more than 300,000 by the end of 2027.
We will also continue to fight animal agriculture’s most severe harms—such as advancing a foie gras ban in Rhode Island, pursuing a moratorium on factory farms in Oregon, defending Proposition 12 in courts and Congress, and launching new federal campaigns to defund factory farming. These efforts challenge cruelty at its source while building public awareness and momentum for compassionate change.
Your gift will allow us to enrich the visitor experience at our sanctuaries—deepening educational impact, fostering compassionate connections, and inspiring action long after guests leave. Guests will participate in resident enrichment, new signage will support selfguided tours, and new seasonal and special tour offerings will create unique visitor experiences for firsttimers and longtime supporters alike. By enhancing our tours, events, and sanctuary spaces, we will create more powerful, values-aligned encounters that grow our community of advocates.
Strengthening our Annual Giving Program
By strengthening our annual giving program, you aren’t just funding today’s work—you’re building tomorrow’s legacy. Every day, our work spans from the individualized care of nearly 500 rescued animals at our two sanctuaries to the far-reaching impact of our advocacy, education, and rescue programs. Together, these efforts create a powerful engine for change— showing the world what compassion in action looks like and inspiring thousands to join us.
But operating at this scale requires more than dedication—it requires resources we can count on. Our annual giving program is key to keeping every part of our mission thriving. This funding provides the foundation to support the barns, pastures, nutrition, and veterinary care our residents depend on; it sustains our
advocates and educators as they strive for systemic change; and it strengthens our connections with supporters like you who make this work possible. It ensures the stability to carry out our programs with confidence, covering essential operations that restricted gifts or grants might not support.
Perhaps most importantly, our annual giving program gives us the flexibility to act when urgent needs arise— whether it’s a rescue, a policy opportunity, or a chance to amplify our message and engage new audiences.
Philanthropic trends have shown a decline in the number of donors year after year, underscoring the critical importance of strategic fundraising and proactive efforts to counter this sectorwide attrition. What helps offset this loss is a positive trend: More donors are stepping up with higher-level gifts. This makes support from our closest partners all the more critical.
Farm Sanctuary is always working to diversify our revenue stream—but with 83% of our funding coming from individual donors, we rely deeply on the partnership of supporters like you.
As nonprofits continue to face challenges in the years ahead, recurring gifts are vital in weathering unpredictable times of financial uncertainty. A strong annual giving program ensures that Farm Sanctuary has a reliable foundation to draw from as we meet the needs of today and plan confidently for the future.
Your gift sustains not just one area of our work, but the full breadth of our mission: care, compassion, and change for farm animals.
The Critical Importance of Our Partners: 40th Anniversary Individual Giving Opportunities
In a world where billions of animals are bred only to suffer and die, caring for even one animal is a bold act of compassion. It’s a declaration that their lives have inherent value—that someone sees them and believes they deserve a life of dignity, free from harm.
Farm Sanctuary planted the seed of the farm animal protection movement 40 years ago. Today, we honor that past, celebrate our progress, and invite our community to help shape the next 40 years of compassionate impact.
Support from individuals and foundations is the lifeblood of Farm Sanctuary’s work.
To advance our mission, Farm Sanctuary has set an ambitious $5 million goal. Thanks to the leadership of our Board and key supporters, we’ve already secured new pledge commitments to launch this campaign.
Please keep up the momentum: Join us to honor the legacy, continue the work, and imagine what’s possible now and for the next 40 years of hope and healing.
40th ANNIVERSARY FOUNDERS CIRCLE
Charitable Investment: Pledge commitment of $250,000 or more (may be a multi-year pledge of up to 3 years)
• Invitations to special events and opportunities to connect directly with senior leadership and program experts
• Complimentary two-night stay and private tour for up to four guests in our on-site Watkins Glen accommodations during the 2026 Hoedown or Celebration for the Turkeys events
• Virtual friends-and-family roundtable with President & Co-Founder, Gene Baur
• Name recognition on Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary website, promotional materials, supporter newsletters, and a special edition of Sanctuary magazine
• Friends of Hilda Club membership, including a dedicated Farm Sanctuary liaison, and exclusive behind-the-scenes updates
• A signed copy of Gene Baur’s new book, due out in Fall 2026
• Exclusive invites to our anniversary celebrations and events across the country
40th ANNIVERSARY VISIONARY CIRCLE
Charitable Investment: Pledge commitment of $100,000 or more (may be a multi-year pledge of up to 3 years)
• Invitations to special events and opportunities to connect directly with senior leadership and program experts
• Complimentary VIP passes (up to 10) and a private tour at our 2026 Hoedown or Celebration for the Turkeys events
• Virtual friends-and-family roundtable with President & Co-Founder, Gene Baur
• Name recognition on Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary website, promotional materials, supporter newsletters, and a special edition of Sanctuary magazine
• Friends of Hilda Club membership, including a dedicated Farm Sanctuary liaison, and exclusive behind-the-scenes updates
• A signed copy of Gene Baur’s new book, due out in Fall 2026
• Exclusive invites to our anniversary celebrations and events across the country
40th ANNIVERSARY LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Charitable Investment: Pledge commitment of $50,000 or more (may be a multi-year pledge of up to 3 years)
• Complimentary VIP passes (up to six) and a private tour at our 2026 Hoedown or Celebration for the Turkeys events
• Virtual friends-and-family roundtable with President & Co-Founder, Gene Baur
• Name recognition on Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary website, promotional materials, supporter newsletters, and a special edition of Sanctuary magazine
• Friends of Hilda Club membership, including a dedicated Farm Sanctuary liaison, and exclusive behindthe-scenes updates
• A signed copy of Gene Baur’s new book, due out in Fall 2026
• Exclusive invites to our anniversary celebrations and events across the country
40th ANNIVERSARY ANIMAL ADVOCATE
Charitable Investment: $25,000 or more (may be a multi-year pledge of up to 2 years)
• Complimentary VIP passes (up to four) and a private tour at our 2026 Hoedown or Celebration for the Turkeys events
• Name recognition on Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary website, promotional materials, supporter newsletters, and a special edition of Sanctuary magazine
• Friends of Hilda Club membership, including a dedicated Farm Sanctuary liaison, and exclusive behindthe-scenes updates
• A signed copy of Gene Baur’s new book, due out in Fall 2026
• Exclusive invites to our anniversary celebrations and events across the country
40th ANNIVERSARY SUPPORTER
Charitable Investment: $10,000, outright gift
• Complimentary VIP passes (up to two) and a private tour at our 2026 Hoedown or Celebration for the Turkeys events
• Name recognition on Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary website, and a special edition of Sanctuary magazine
• Friends of Hilda Club membership, including a dedicated Farm Sanctuary liaison, and exclusive behind-the-scenes updates
• A signed copy of Gene Baur’s new book, due out in Fall 2026
• Exclusive invites to our anniversary celebrations and events across the country
40th ANNIVERSARY GUARDIAN
Charitable Investment: $5,000, outright gift
• Name recognition on Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary website, and a special edition of Sanctuary magazine
• Private sanctuary tour
• Friends of Hilda Club membership, including a dedicated Farm Sanctuary liaison, and exclusive behind-the-scenes updates
• A signed copy of Gene Baur’s new book, due out in Fall 2026
• Exclusive invites to our anniversary celebrations and events across the country
40th ANNIVERSARY SANCTUARY STEWARD
Charitable Investment: $2,500, outright gift
• Name recognition on Farm Sanctuary’s 40th Anniversary website, and a special edition of Sanctuary magazine
• Friends of Hilda Club membership, including a dedicated Farm Sanctuary liaison, and exclusive behind-the-scenes updates
• Exclusive invites to our anniversary celebrations and events across the country
THANK YOU TO OUR COMMITTED 40TH ANNIVERSARY LEADERSHIP SUPPORTERS!
The Farm Sanctuary Board of Directors & Cheryl Olsten and Steven Grabowski
As we celebrate our 40th Anniversary and look ahead to Farm Sanctuary’s future, we’re honored to recognize The Bold Choice Fund supporters whose commitments through 2027 are making our expanded humane education initiative possible.
The Bold Choice Fund Founding Member
Dr. Martin D. Madaus and Susan Madaus
Enriching the Lives of Animals Fund
The Bold Choice Fund Visionary Supporter
Pietro Rotondi Foundation
Fred and Donna Nives Foundation
The Bold Choice Fund Advocate
Culley Carlson Foundation
Jennifer Keegan
Even Numbers Family Foundation
Cathy Unruh
The Bold Choice Fund Friend
Terrie Beloin
For four decades, we’ve fought for farm animals, with supporters like you by our side every step of the way. Farm Sanctuary’s leadership in the farm animal protection movement has given hope to hundreds of millions and inspired thousands of sanctuaries around the world. Our supporters are the reason we can continue to raise awareness of the disastrous harms of factory farming and give others the courage to dream of a more compassionate future.
Thank you for your kind consideration and for joining us in shaping the next 40 years of hope and healing.
