| Organization information | |
|---|---|
| Organization Name | Al-Van Humane Society Inc. |
| Please tell us the amount of funding you are requesting Aware to raise for your organization from the Aware annual fundraising event. | We are requesting $8,600. |
| 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? | 2. We have received Aware funding in previous years. In other years, we did not receive any grant monies, however West Shore has generously provided us with monies which has gone towards our general operating costs. For example, we did not receive a grant in 2023 but West Shore Aware did donate $3,000 which was used for general operating costs. If we receive funding this year, we would be able to impact approximately 200 cats and the people who adopt them. |
| Please provide a listing of the Officers and Board members of your organization. | Co-President - Kathy Korse |
| Your Contact Information | Maria Hampton |
| Phone | 269-637-5062 |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
| Scoring Criteria | |
| 1. Description of the Organization (maximum 5 points, please limit to ½ pages) | Al-Van Humane Society, a non-profit no-kill animal shelter, was founded in 1968 and has served the community and companion animals of Van Buren and Allegan counties for over 50 years. The shelter provides day-to-day care, vet care, and facilitates adoptions for over 500 animals a year. Al-Van provides shelter to dogs and cats brought in as strays, unwanted by their owners, or by residents who are unable to continue to care for them. Each animal is medically assessed, vetted and provided a warm, safe caring place to live until a permanent home can be found. All animals are spay/neutered before adoption, microchipped, and receive rabies and initial vaccinations. In addition, Al-Van also serves the community by providing services to pet owners, such as microchipping, low cost spay/neuter clinics and donations to a pet food bank. Al-Van advocates for resposible pet ownership. Animal shelters around the U.S. are bursting at the seams amid the rising cost of living and Al-Van is no exception. Al-Van tracks the reason animals are surrendered and the number of animals surrendered due to housing or financial challenges has jumped significantly. The shortage of veterinarians and the rising cost of vet care have contributed significantly to the problem. |
| 2. Funding Request (maximum 35 points, total, please limit to 1 page) | Al-Van is requesting funding for a specific organizational need. We are requesting funding for the medical vaccinations, tests and microchips to prepare 200 cats or kittens for adoption. This does not include spay/neuter fees as we have other grants for spay/neuter. Total per cat $43.00 The costs to test, vaccinate and chip 200 cats would be $8,600. Al-Van adopts out between 350 - 400 cats each year. In addition to these costs, Al-Van has spay/neuter costs which average between $50 - 80 per cat. We also have unexpected medical costs, as well as daily costs of food and cat litter. The adoption fee for a senior cat or a cat that has been at the shelter over 1 year is $10.00. The adoption fee for an adult cat is $45.00. Our adoption fees do not begin to cover our costs for cats. These vaccines and tests are necessary for the health and well-being of both the cats and the community. Most of the cats Al-Van intakes are strays rather than owner surrenders. By intaking these strays and helping them to find homes, Al-Van is reducing the feral cat colonies in our communities. |
| 3. Funding Justification (maximum 40 points, please limit to 1 page) | Funds requested through this grant will provide us with the ability to continue to ensure the animals we adopt are healthy and free of disease. This medical need is an ongoing need. The grant funds requested would cover 100% of the cost to vaccinate, test and microchip 200 cats or kittens entering the shelter. Al-Van’s operating budget is approximately $544,000. We receive approximately 32% from general donations, 25% from fundraising events (private donors); 24% from Rescued Treasures resale shop (also private donations); 7% from grants, such as West Shore AWARE, and 3% from municipality service agreements. The balance of funds (9%) is raised through shelter services, such as adoption fees and microchipping. |
| 4. Summary | Al-Van Humane Society’s mission is “To compassionately serve the companion animals in our community by providing the best shelter, adoptive homes, education and resources available.” Our request for $8,600 will allow us to test, vaccinate and microchip 200 cats or kittens to prepare them for adoption. Al-Van is at capacity with homeless animals, as is every shelter right now. The rising cost of vet care has made pet ownership challenging for many families. We have seen that in serving this group of animals, we also serve a group of people in our community whose lives are forever changed by bringing one of them into their home. Making the commitment to become a no-kill shelter means serving more of our community animals, as we strive to give them every chance at being someone’s beloved pet; which they deserve. We hope to continue to offer this through your support. Al-Van would love the opportunity to partner with West Shore AWARE providing adoption opportunities for the most vulnerable animals who need us and need to know they have not been abandoned. Thank you for your consideration. |
| 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 | 04/29/2024 |
| Ready to Submit |
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