| Organization information | |
|---|---|
| Organization Name | WISHBONE PET RESCUE ALLIANCE, INC. |
| Please tell us the amount of funding you are requesting Aware to raise for your organization from the Aware annual fundraising event. | $5000 |
| If your organization received Aware funding in the previous years, how many clients were serviced and/or how many services were provided with those funds. If you receive Aware funding this current year, how many clients will be serviced and/or how many services will be provided with these funds? | In 2022, Wishbone Pet Rescue Alliance received $4,500 from Westshore Aware for the purchase of software and computers to help the organization with the execution of day to day operations. |
| Please provide a listing of the Officers and Board members of your organization. | Scot Reynolds, Board President |
| Your Contact Information | Elaine Bosch |
| Phone | 269) 455-5247 |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
| Scoring Criteria | |
| 1. Description of the Organization (maximum 5 points, please limit to ½ pages) | The goal of Wishbone Pet Rescue Alliance is to alleviate the pain and suffering of homeless and at-risk pets in Allegan County by providing shelter and veterinary care and securing permanent, loving homes for animals in need. The organization is also committed to decreasing the number of homeless pets in the county by providing spay/neuter services for economically challenged Allegan residents. Caring for more than 3000 animals each year, Wishbone provides comprehensive animal welfare services to eliminate unnecessary euthanasia and to ensure pets can find and remain in loving forever homes. At the same time, Wishbone provides critical pet services to its target population of Allegan County residents, particularly those struggling to feed their pets and/or provide preventative health care and spay/neuter surgeries. Wishbone serves Allegan residents by providing free and low-cost spay and neuter clinics, vaccination services for owned dogs and cats and community feral cats, and pet food assistance (providing free pet food and supplies to at-risk pets). The organization partners with the Allegan County Animal Shelter, a no-kill facility for homeless pets, by providing extensive support for their operations including volunteer recruitment, foster home recruitment, marketing animals for adoption, and a medical fund to provide needed care for shelter animals. Wishbone also runs its satellite Wishbone House on Blue Star Highway in Saugatuck, which houses and cares for up to 50 cats. |
| 2. Funding Request (maximum 35 points, total, please limit to 1 page) | Wishbone is requesting funds ($5000) to purchase furniture and supplies-–including cat trees, beds, and toys—for Wishbone House, its cat rescue facility in Saugatuck. In enhancing Wishbone House’s environment, which now includes three cage-free rooms and many large- enclosure “cat condos,” cats housed there will benefit from increased opportunities for natural behaviors, like climbing and perching, and overall better welfare as they engage in more enriching activities. This environment, in turn, leads to improved socialization and the potential for higher adoption rates due to the diminishment of fearful behaviors and better interaction with prospective adopters. Wishbone House has undergone significant improvements in the last two years, making it largely cage-free and large-enclosure, with the goal of providing better quality living space for cats. The Allegan County Animal Shelter has limited space for cats and is not required to take in homeless or surrendered cats. In transferring cats to Wishbone House, space at the main shelter is freed up for more Allegan County cats, and the separate living quarters create a stress-free environment free of barking and other noise. The improvements at Wishbone House have enabled the organization to double the number of cats that can be accommodated, from 25 to 50. With this increase, a commensurate increase in furniture and supplies is required to successfully house the cats in an environment that encourages socialization and, ultimately, adoptability. |
| 3. Funding Justification (maximum 40 points, please limit to 1 page) | The funding being requested will fully pay for the entire project (furnishing Wishbone House with the necessary cat trees, beds, furniture and other cat supplies). Wishbone does not receive any funding from government grants. 90% of Wishbone’s funding comes from private donations; organizational grants provide the remaining 10% of funding. Please note that Wishbone received a major donation of $400,000 in early 2024, but those funds were restricted solely to providing spay and neuter services, including surgeries provided at no cost to financially disadvantaged Allegan residents. Included in that allocation was the purchase of a new van that is used to transport Allegan pets to low-cost spay and neuter clinics located in Grand Rapids and Holland. This free service alleviates transportation issues faced by residents by allowing them to bring their pets to a local meeting point in Allegan, where the animals are loaded into the van and driven to and from the clinic. |
| 4. Summary | Wishbone Pet Rescue Alliance provides critical services to the people of Allegan County by rescuing and finding loving homes for thousands of homeless dogs and cats each year, while working tirelessly to decrease the number of unwanted, homeless pets in Allegan County. In addition to its successful adoption, fostering, and spay/neuter programs, Wishbone also runs pet food pantries in Allegan and Douglas for residents struggling to feed their pets; covers dental work, diagnostic tests, and surgeries for cats (medical care that is not covered by the shelter); offers medical care for shelter animals that suffer from injury or illness due to abuse or neglect; and provides toys, beds, cat trees and more to enrich the lives of shelter animals. With a grant of $5000, Wishbone will continue to improve the lives of cats at Wishbone House, which has evolved into a stress-free shelter where homeless cats live separately from dogs and enjoy cage-free or large cage spaces. This environment allows them to engage in more natural behaviors like climbing, hiding, and socializing with other cats, which reduces stress levels and encourages more social behavior overall. Additional beds, cat trees, and toys would significantly enhance the cats’ environment and lives, ultimately leading to less fearful and more well-adjusted cats and the potential for a higher rate of adoption. |
| Application Agreement | This is an application, otherwise known as a Request for Funding (RFF), from
West Shore Aware. This RFF is a request from your organization to Aware, for Aware to host a
Fundraising Event for your organization. By completing this RFF, your organization is requesting to be considered by Aware’s membership for an Aware fundraising event to be held during the summer of this year, also known as the White Party.
If your organization is chosen for a fundraising event by the Aware membership, your organization will agree to the following terms and conditions for the said fundraising event. 1. Aware will be given and provided full credit for the fundraising event in all of you organization’s publicity and advertising for said event, to include but not limited to event posters, newspaper advertising, handouts, radio and television advertising for the event, and organizational announcements concerning the event. 2. Your organization will only use the funds raised by Aware from said event for the purpose described in the RFF submitted to Aware. 3. Your organization understands that West Shore Aware is a philanthropic organization of LBGTQ+ individuals and their supporters, and that the funds your organization receives from Aware will be coming from the West Michigan lakeshore community. 4. The funds received from Aware as a result of the fundraising event will be net, after expenses for said fundraising event are paid. 5. Aware may use the name of your organization in its own advertising and publicity as a recipient of funds.. 6. Your organization will supply Aware with written approval to hold, or be part of a fundraising event held by Aware. 7. West Shore Aware reserves the right to audit any organization that receives funding to determine whether the funds were used as described in its RFF. 8. Your organization will allow West Shore Aware to use you organization’s name on the West Shore Aware website. In addition, if your organization has a website, you will link that website to the West Shore Aware website and allow West Shore Aware to link to your organization’s site. West Shore Aware’s web site link must remain on your web site for a full year from the date of the monetary disbursement. Failure to do so will disqualify you from requesting future funding. Once you have completed the RFF and agreed to the aforementioned, please submit it. Please sign this document below, indicating acceptance of the aforementioned terms and conditions. By signing the document, you acknowledge your organization is a registered 501(C) 3 Charitable organization. |
| Signature | |
| Date | 03/08/2025 |
| Ready to Submit |
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