The following is a story from the Herald Times that highlights the growing financial issues the Monroe County Animal Shelter is facing.
If you would like to make a donation and don't know what to do, let me know and I can help!
Also, here's a link to the MCHA website in case you have some items you'd like to donate. It hasn't been updated for awhile, but I can't imagine that these items aren't needed all the time.
GENERAL SHELTER SUPPLIES
- Unscented clay cat litter (non-clumping only, please!)
- Towels and blankets for bedding
- Paper Towels
- Cotton balls
- Liquid bleach
- Kuranda Chewproof Dog Beds (Call 333.MCHA for more info)
- Purina or better- dry puppy/kitten/adult dog/adult cat food (No food with dyes please!)
- Treats for cats and dogs
- Nyla brand dog toys
- Hard plastic cat toys
- Kongs for dogs
- Dried catnip
MCHA Wish List
Updated: 02/29/2008
GENERAL MCHA SUPPLIES
- Wild bird seed (oiled sunflower seeds especially)
- Plastic Storage Containers-medium to large
- Monetary donations
- KIND News sponsors
- CareFresh bedding (for education animals)
For more information, please call 333-MCHA.
Monroe County Humane Association in 'desperate' financial situation
Cuts to programming, staff likely unless Oct. 2 fundraiser is big success
There should be plenty of fun and laughs at the Monroe County Humane Association’s Run for the Animals 5K race, family fun walk and festival Oct. 2, but there is nothing funny about how much the association needs the event to be a smashing success.
“We really hate to put out a desperate plea, but our situation truly is desperate,” said Sarah Hayes, the association’s CEO. “The facts are the facts. We need more funds.”
Hayes said she hopes the event will raise $20,000 this year, far less than the $28,000 it used to generate but more than the $14,000 it brought in last year.
She said the Run for the Animals event is typically the association’s second-largest fundraiser, behind its benefit auction, which last spring brought in $42,000 — $10,000 less than its goal.
Hayes said that in addition to those two fundraisers taking major hits, donations in general are down about 50 percent from a few years ago.
“If this event does not meet our fundraising goal, we may have to cut staff or programming or both,” she said. “We are a small nonprofit. It’s extremely critical that this event does well.”
Hayes said the Monroe County Humane Association’s $224,000 annual budget this year is 15 percent less than last year’s due to cuts it made to its spay-neuter assistance program, office cleaning and supplies, and staff training and travel to conferences.
“We now clean our own office, and our supplies budget is non-existent,” she said. “We are using the office supplies we have, and if we run out of something we buy it out of our own pockets.”
Hayes said the association has a separate pot of money funded entirely by donations designated to help the animal shelter with expenses. She said that fund, which used to be about $15,000 a year, will be about half that amount this year.
The association has only three full-time staff, who have received just one 2 percent raise over the past three years.
“We are down to the absolute basics,” Hayes said. “Depending on how this event goes, and how much year-end giving we receive, we could potentially be facing a $30,000 deficit by the end of the year.”
Not in jeopardy is the association’s Paws and Claws day camp for children, where kids learn about pets through hands-on activities. It’s actually a money maker for the association.
Hayes said if the association is unable to increase its revenues, it could be facing a bleak future.
“Some humane societies in Indiana have closed down due to lack of funding,” she said. “The Putnam County Humane Society will be closing down very soon.”
Hayes said the association used to pay $30,000 a year to the spay-neuter assistance program, in which it provides vouchers to pet owners who can give them to local vets to offset a portion of the cost to spay or neuter their pets. This year the association could afford to pay only $10,000 to the program.
“That directly affects the number of animals that end up in the animal shelter,” she said. “The animal shelter and humane association have done so much the past few years to bring the intake number of animals to the shelter down, and a big part of that has been the spay-neuter program. If this program is underfunded, I’m afraid we’ll see the shelter numbers start to climb upward.”
When asked why the association cut the spay-neuter assistance program rather than something else, Hayes said, “We have nothing else to cut that would have any significant impact on our budget. Together, all our education programs and our day camp cost under $3,000.”
She added that in years past the association has relied on grants to help fund the spay-neuter assistance program, but the competition for those grants has become highly competitive, and humane associations can’t acquire them two years in a row.
Programs in jeopardy
Hayes said if the Monroe County Humane Association’s financial picture does not brighten, it may have to cut back on the humane educational programs it offers to preschoolers through college students.
“We began charging a minimum $10 donation fee for our education programs, which are normally free, to help offset the cost of transportation,” Hayes said. “But we have seen a decline in requests for these vital programs because groups cannot afford the $10 fee out of their program budgets.”
Also in danger is the humane association evaluation of VIPaws therapy dogs to become certified to be taken into hospitals and nursing homes, and into the Monroe County Public Library so children who are slow or reluctant readers can read books to the dogs.
The association also:
• Rescues animals from pet hoarders, puppy mills and animal fighting rings.
• Provides low-cost vaccinations and microchipping to pets.
• Provides certificates to pet owners, in exchange for $5, on Spay Day each spring that cover the balance of surgery costs to have their pets spayed or neutered by a participating vet.
• Provides animal-themed newspapers to school teachers to use in their classrooms.
• Does local, state and national advocacy work on behalf of animals.
Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment