The organization was founded by Carole C. Noon in 1997 with support from Jon Stryker of the Arcus Foundation.

The majority of the chimpanzees at Save the Chimps live in large social groups on 12 separate three-acre islands located on 150 acres in a rural area of Fort Pierce, Florida.

[1] As a GFAS sanctuary, Save the Chimps is not open to the public but holds occasional events for members.

After losing her bid to the Coulston Foundation, a biomedical research lab, Noon sued the Air Force and settled out of court for custody of 21 out of the 140 chimps.

[2][3] Coulston eventually lost its NIH funding due to repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act and filed for bankruptcy in 2002.