Rita Reimers, Feline Behavior Consultant and Podcast Host
June 15, 2021
Andee Bingham, Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance
June 22, 2021
Community Cats Podcast is excited to announce another successful round of grantgiving! We recently received final reports from our Group 11 participants. Together, these organizations fundraised more than $13,000. Community Cats Podcast issued more than $10,000 in grants, which led to over 500 community cats being spayed or neutered in communities across the United States.
Group 11 included ten organizations from ten different states. From Maryland to Arizona, Texas to Pennsylvania, the organizations who participated in Group 11 fully embraced the challenge set before them and rose to the task—despite a little obstacle called COVID-19.
Yes, Group 11 was the first batch of CCP Grants Program applicants to be tasked with fundraising during a global pandemic. Yet they held the course, and have the results to prove it.
While annual galas and in-person events were no longer on the table, Group 11 seized the moment—and the requirement to create a brand-new fundraiser to qualify for the matching grant—to try something new.
Digital fundraising was a huge success, along with socially distanced yard sales and craft sales. Some groups saw success selling T-shirts and other assorted merchandise. One of our favorites was the 10x10x10 fundraiser organized by Spay & Neuter Nation in Fern Park, Florida. The concept was simple: Ask ten people to donate $10, and then they ask ten of their friends to do the same. Overhead was minimal, and yet this fundraiser raised nearly $2,000!
And that funding couldn’t have come at a more critical time. Communities were scrambling to play catch up after so many veterinary offices and clinics had been closed throughout the spring and summer months. Using the money they had raised, and the grant support from Community Cats Podcast, each group set out to provide spay/neuter for cats in their communities.
Islands Feral Cat Project utilized their grant funding to organize a mass trapping of a colony of thirty-five cats in Savannah, Georgia. PURR drew upon their funding to support their targeted TNR efforts, helping cats block by block in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Cats R Us used their funding to stabilize a large colony in Annapolis, Maryland that had started to see new, unsterilized cats join the group.
However the money was spent, we know it was used to save and improve the lives of cats around the country who call the outdoors their home.
Congratulations to all Group 11 grantees on a job very well done!
- Cats R Us (Maryland)
- Catsnip, Etc. (Indiana)
- God’s Feral Felines (Alabama)
- Islands Feral Cat Project (Georgia)
- Kentucky Kitty Cats (Kentucky)
- Pets in Need Action League (Arizona)
- PURR (Pennsylvania)
- Spay Memphis (Tennessee)
- Spay & Neuter Nation (Florida)
- Tomball SOS (Texas)
The Community Cats Grants Program accepts approximately ten to fifteen applications each cycle, with four cycles per year. Accepted applications are collectively referred to as a “group.” To qualify for grant funding, grantees must agree to create and implement a brand-new fundraiser for their organization. Fundraisers must be submitted to and approved by Community Cats Podcast prior to fundraising start. Grantees must each raise at least $1,000 in order to receive a matching grant of $1,000 from Community Cats Podcast.
All funds raised must be used for the spay/neuter of community cats only. Click here to learn more about the Community Cats Grants Program.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are currently being accepted for Group 13! To be considered for this group, applications should be submitted by June 30, 2021. Approved applicants for Group 13 will be notified by the end of July, with fundraising to begin mid-August.
Brianna Lovell Myers is an independent consultant who specializes in program support and project management for mission-driven organizations. She started her own business, Breezy Consulting, to aid and empower organizations serving and supporting animals. Her background includes management roles in outreach, programs, and events for Alley Cat Allies. Today, Brianna is a valued member of the Community Cats Podcast team, where she oversees the Community Cats Podcast Affiliate Program, Community Cats Grants Program, and more.
