The Moose Jaw Humane Society’s (MJHS) “Plan B” strategy to raise funds for new cat cages has been met with considerable success.
“We put the plea out for donations in the middle of December because, unfortunately, we were not successful in the Aviva campaign,” said Karla Pratt, the fundraising and promotions co-ordinator for the MJHS. “We asked for ten donations of $500 each ... in less than a week, we had that money come in.”
The MJHS had applied to the Aviva Community Fund contest with hopes of securing small-budget funding to purchase new cat cages in order to replace the wooden cages it current uses that have fallen into heavy disrepair, Pratt said.
In spite of strong support that easily carried the shelter into the semifinal round, the MJHS proposal did not advance to the finals and as a result, the Plan B strategy was devised, she added.
The appeal for funds was so successful, Pratt said, that the Humane Society raised the cap on it’s target.
“Over the Christmas season, people were very generous to us ... we actually received enough donations to purchase 40 new cat cages — that’s over $20,000,” she said.
Donations were made by corporations and individuals, but the majority were personal donations, Pratt said.
“A lot of the people who donated had been affiliated with the Humane Society. They had adopted one of our pets ... or they got together as a family and decided to give back,” said Pratt. “And (some) people donated in memory of someone who passed away who loved pets.”
Because of the outpouring of support, the Humane Society will also be looking to bring in some new cages for it’s isolation rooms and for cat families, she said.
The MJHS is still determining exactly which cages it will be bringing in, but they have “narrowed it down a bit,” said Pratt.
“These ones will be stainless steel, so they’re easy to clean and disinfect. They’ll also have shelves the cats can jump up on to and stretch out a bit,” she said. “We will be purchasing them very soon.”
