Best Friends

Totally excellent

RACHAEL RAY NO-KILL EXCELLENCE GRANTS SUPPORT SHELTERS HELPING EACH OTHER

-

Not long ago, many people working in animal shelters believed that no-kill was a nice but impossible idea. Well, those days are over. More communitie­s than ever before are reaching no-kill for the first time, and we’re helping them every step of the way. But what happens once shelters reach that nokill benchmark of saving at least 90% of the animals who come to them? The answer: Their new goal is to maintain a high level of lifesaving, which means new and different challenges. Thanks to support from the Rachael Ray Foundation­TM, we’re here to help with that, too.

In January of this year, we gave out the first Rachael Ray No-Kill Excellence Grants to celebrate and help sustain organizati­ons in no-kill communitie­s. Six Best Friends Network partner organizati­ons received a total of $250,000 to help keep their programs going strong — and even expand them. The funds will go toward projects such as largescale adoption events, programs to save dogs with behavior challenges, and targeted efforts to spay or neuter and save more cats. These most excellent organizati­ons are not only going to do big things with their grants, they’ve agreed to pay it forward and mentor others who want to do similar work. This is what sustainabi­lity looks like — and it is totally excellent indeed.

$4,651,800

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States