I found the No Kill Advocacy Center as I usually find such things, by browsing the Internet. OK, I feel a visit to my soap box coming up….

Their online “tour” of shelters is a chilling reminder of how publicly funded shelters can be deceiving us into thinking they are killing adoptable pets to make room for others. Yes, irresponsible members of the public who do not spay/neuter are part of the problem. But so is the attitude of county officials, jaded shelter workers, and the unwillingness of the many to change the rules for the few.

The challenge as the No Kill Advocacy sees it:

“…From entrenched bureaucrats who are content with the status quo, to uncaring shelter directors hostile to calls for reform; from agencies mired in the failed philosophies of the past to those who have internalized a culture of defeatism—the roadblocks to No Kill are substantial, but not insurmountable. We have a choice. We can fully, completely and without reservation embrace No Kill as our future. Or we can continue to legitimize the two-prong strategy of failure: adopt a few and kill the rest. It is a choice which history has thrown upon us. And a challenge that the No Kill Advocacy Center is ready to take on. The No Kill Advocacy Center is the nation’s first organization dedicated solely to the promotion of a No Kill nation. And it is the only national animal welfare agency that is staffed by people who have actually worked in and created a No Kill community.
The power to change the status quo is in our hands.“
If you want to become proactive in your community they offer numerous free .pdf files detailing every step to take to help change the status quo. They have a free enewsletter and listserv signup. They accept donations and offer a paying membership which includes a magazine.
Just to show you how detailed and well thought out their program is, with the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, they created a “matrix” of injuries, illnesses and other conditions (like being an adult cat or dog versus a kitten or puppy, or having fleas) for shelters to use in order to determine adoptability of the pet. The ultimate goal being to stop the killing.

They have information for educators, students, shelter advocates, dog owners whose dog faces a “dangerous dog” hearing, grants, and how to start your own no kill shelter.

Go forth, learn and become proactive!