2019 Summertime Challenge

OUR 20TH YEAR BRINGS LIFESAVING SUCCESS - LET’S HAVE A BLOCKBUSTER SUMMERTIME CHALLENGE!!

Did you know that Cat’s Cradle celebrated its 20th year in 2018? And we had good reasons to celebrate! Statistics reported to the VA Department of Agriculture’s Office of the State Veterinarian and Petco Foundation’s independent analysis show that Virginia has made “incredible progress,” with a save rate of over 88% statewide! This is a heartening and encouraging trend (with great indebtedness to the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies, which has spearheaded efforts to get save rates sky-high). Petco Foundation’s “Data Saves Lives” article (https://www.petcofoundation.org/data-saves-lives/) gives a detailed breakdown of cat lives saved by county. As their interactive map shows, Augusta County saved a whopping 97% of cats last year, and Page County saved 90%! Your support of our spay/neuter, rescue/foster/adoption, and pet retention programs have helped to create this incredible success! Our partnerships with the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center (the public intake shelter for Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro) and the Page County Shelter, and their partnerships with other committed rescues in the Valley and beyond, have made it possible for these two rural shelters to achieve no-kill status. But we can’t stop now! We want to do more to help all the shelters in the Valley place every adoptable cat in a loving, forever home.

With your support, we got off to a solid start on funding our programs for 2019: you exceeded goals for both the inaugural Foster Vetting Match in late 2018 and this spring’s Beat the Heat spay/neuter match. We have been able to hire a temporary second trapper to help us clear our Trap/Neuter/Return backlog so that we can prevent even more feral litters. Now we need your help to make the 2019 Summertime Challenge a real blockbuster!

Every summer, the sobering reality of kitten season sends animal welfare organizations like ours scrambling to ebb the tide of overpopulation. Keep in mind: we spend over 89% of our annual budget on critical programs like spay/ neuter, medical assistance, and TNR efforts to improve the lives of cats and human beings alike, so when you donate to Cat’s Cradle, you know your gift is going directly to help cats.

Will you join us and save lives during our most vital fundraiser of the year: the Summertime Challenge? An anonymous donor has once again donated a whopping $50,000 in matching funds, and we are ready to put your compassion into action, translating every dollar into lifesaving programs. Let’s make this summer a real blockbuster to match our record-breaking successes in reducing euthanasia. Donate to Cat’s Cradle between July 15th and August 16th, whether online, via check, or with an in-person cash gift. Every donation helps tremendously, and no gift is too small to make a big impact. If you want to think BIG this year, however, we certainly appreciate it and will be thanking you with the following sponsorship program:

$1000+: Aristocats

Acknowledged on social media for an entire day with photo and/or video and story, thanked by name on our website, shouted out on radio and television appearances, and named as the sponsor for an entire van of adoptable transport cats. You may also attend any paid admission Cat’s Cradle event free of charge for a year following your gift. 

$500+: In-cat-ibles

Acknowledged on social media for an entire day with photo and/or video and story, thanked by name on our website, and named as sponsor for three (3) adoptable cats/kittens.

$250- $499: Wizard of Paws

Acknowledged on social media as part of this giving level with photo and named as sponsor for two (2) adoptable cats/kittens.

$150- $249: Big Meowski

Acknowledged on social media via text and named as sponsor for one (1) cat/kitten. If you opt to give at one of these levels, simply use the memo line of your check or the comment box on our web donation page to specify whether you wish to be acknowledged by name on media (or if you want your gift to be anonymous). Thank you so much for helping us to make this a BLOCKBUSTER summer and getting Virginia closer to saving