I've been trying to find spay neuter grant money to keep Poppa Inc. going. So, I took the bull by the horns and e-mailed Humane Society of the United States. I know they raked in over 80 million the year before last in donations from reading their tax return on Guide Star. I know they have over 40 employees making over 100k a year.
And, I found out, they have at least two employees in Oregon. I got answered by someone named Scott, who I guess lives in Oregon and is one of their employees. He responded very very briefly. One sentence in fact. He said they fund some groups that then give grants for spay neuter. I asked "What groups?" No response so far.
Then I e-mailed a Portland HSUS employee who used to live in Lebanon. I only know that because the local paper has a reporter who is a friend of hers and writes articles periodically about her. I figured, "Why not try her? She's from Lebanon. She has to know how bad the situation is there at least for cats."
I gave her the whole spiel, about how bad it is in this county, how there are no county services for cats, gave her a brief run down on Poppa Inc. and how many cats I've taken in just in the last two years, using Poppa Inc. funds and asked again if the HSUS could give out grants to fund spay neuter. I told her I was contacting her because this is a huge problem and we need the big national big money organizations on board, because they have the big bucks to help solve it. And the advertising and publicity to do it. Sure I was begging. I don't care anymore. The HSUS is a rich organization. I really have no idea what they do. No idea. I tried to find out specifics on their website to no avail. It's all very vague to me.
I know they have funded political campaigns, like for some measure once in CA. They say they've given funds to a horse rescue with 200 rescued horses somewhere in Oregon, which is good. But with as many high paid staff as they have and raking in the money they are, where is it all going?
I'd like to see a lot of it fund spay neuter. I hope I get a response from the former Lebanon resident who now works for HSUS. She must know how bad it is here. She couldn't not know if she lived there. So I hope she understands and can light some fires under the right people and get some money back here in grants for spay neuter. Wouldn't that be nice? I know she could do it. I am crossing my fingers that she will respond.
12 comments:
You may want to investigate PetsMart grants as well as Best Friends. It won't hurt to try them. I believe PetsMart is putting some major focus on funding TNR programs.
With Petsmart, you have to choose to apply either for a TNR grant or a targeted spay neuter grant. You have to have statistics from shelters to prove use of the grant reduces euthanasia rates. We have no shelter in Linn County and although Heartland said they would help, with statistics, they didn't and the deadline passed. It is hard to get big grants when you can provide no shelter statistics since we don't have one. Tough going. We'll probably try for Petsmart grant next time around, even though we will no shelter statistics. See they want to know their money is helping and that is a tough thing, in Linn County, unless you live in a neighborhood where all the cats suddenly get fixed.
I did not know Best Friends Animal Shelter gives out grants for spay neuter.
I don't see that Best Friends gives out grants. They say they have gone into two communities so far, to help set up comprehensive spay neuter programs I guess, L.A. and a city in Florida, but those are the only two cities. I don't see anywhere on the site where you can apply for a grant for spay neuter funds.
You may want to try Handsel Foundation handselfdn.org, Maddie's Fund maddiesfund.org, and ASPCA Grants aspcapro.org.
I found your blog a few weeks ago from watching random cat videos on youtube. I think what your doing is just wonderful. I am a little surprised that the Humane Society does not fund Poppainc or you, since your both listed on their website of Feral Cat organizations.
Must check that out!
Will check them out. Maddie's funds I believe take a massive amount of cooperation among all groups, shelters, animal control agencies, in an area, maybe even a state. Not completely sure.
You are not crazy for trying Strayer. In fact I would think you yourself have done more than anyone employed by HSUS to help animals in need.
Congrats and keep up the good work you do.
Thank Lamapunk. I just wish the big organizations would target spay neuter. The good achieved in helping animals/reducing costs is far reaching and begins immediately, with the first spay funded.
If you haven't seen this site already then it might be worth a read..
http://humanewatch.org/
Lamapunk is right, HSUS do little to actually help animals in need.
Well, the Portland HSUS woman did e-mail back and wants to try to help. Maybe it's because she is from here orginally or just cares about the animals. I had heard really good things about her, both from Poppa's president and from paper articles about her nonprofit Fences for Fido. So I guess I am not surprised she said she'd try and I think it's cool. She's probably way way more savvy on fund raising and finding grants than I could ever be, working like she does, for a big organization.
thats great Jody - wouldn't a grant from them be wonderful along with the grant POPPA already is going to receive? Just think what could be done with even more money!
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