From former lurker RL:
I’m a long-time lurker at Balloon Juice. I was first drawn in by the writings of Sarah Tall and Proud and have grown to love the site’s contributors over the years. I start every day perusing a few blogs and BJ is one of them.
My parter (business and life) has a Go Fund Me for her cat rescue operations. We have had more than a dozen stray cats walk up on our property in the last 3 years. We have kept a few, adopted some out, and trap-and-released some. We live on a dead end street that is sort of rural, but right against a very urban area, so apparently people use it as a cat dumping area. We try to keep up.
Then Romeo – one of our trap and release cats that stuck around – got into a some kind of scuffle and required surgery for his ear. That sort of pushed us over the edge cat fund-wise.
I’ll tell you a very quick, Readers Digest version of where we are. When Covid struck, my partner was employed as a waitress at a high-end restaurant and I was touring as a drummer in bands and filling other time with a construction crew. We were lucky enough to buy a small house in Stone Mountain, GA just before Covid hit. I am immune compromised, Crohn’s Disease. We realized we had to reassess quickly, as neither of our employment situations was safe. So we both left our jobs and started a company that specializes in “outdoor improvement.” I build fences and decks, pressure wash and do various outdoor things; my partner gardens and does things such as hardscaping. Also, my partner found part time contactless employment filling orders for a print shop. Through this and help from awesome Joe Biden, we kept our house.
(BTW – as an aside, I have lots of fun stories from touring. I’ve played for Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, John Sinclair, and lots of bands you probably have not heard of, lol. Glad to trade stories for funds!)
So – A friend convinced my partner to set up a Go Fund Me. I’m helping spread the word and I thought of the BJ community…
There’s a picture of Romeo over at the GoFundMe:
HELP ME SURVIVE KITTEN SEASON!
I never set out to work in cat rescue. But I live near an industrial area where cats are dumped a lot, and they just started walking up to the house. At last count, there have been 15 and I have gotten them all fixed.
Some have been feral, and I have trapped, neutered and released them (TNR). I have socialized some and gotten them adopted into loving homes. I’ve personally housed as many as I can, both inside and out. I can either fix the adults or else be swarmed with kittens, many of whom will be in rough shape.
Each year brings a fresh wave of tomcats, all duking it out to be king of kitten season. The mamas with fragile kittens are right behind them. I am committed to spaying or neutering every cat that comes to my yard (or that I help someone trap in their yard) so that the feral population can be controlled instead of euthanized in shelters (they are all full) or suffering life on the streets.
There are vet bills. TNR spay/neuter surgery fees currently range from $30-$50, depending on where there are available appointments. Recently, retired community tomcat Romeo was attacked by a feral tom and had to have his head stitched up ($580, before suture removal). I also keep up with yearly vaccination and registration.
Another feral tom has already shown up (I will be TNRing him immediately) and I just heard about another group of cats that were dumped nearby, so I’ll be seeing them soon. I cannot afford to do this on my own, but I will rise to the challenge of trapping them all and keep the population in check with your help. Your donations will pay for:
– Spay/neuter fees for cats and vet costs for Romeo’s injury
– A humane cat trap (I have been borrowing traps, and sometimes miss catches that way)
– Gas to and from spay/neuter appointments and vet visits
– Food for trap bait and recovering cats from surgery/fosters
– Supplies (sanitation, etc.)I am happy to show receipts to anyone who contributes. Thank you for your time, attention, and kind donations. They are greatly appreciated.
P.S. For those who have asked, I am 100% open to creating a nonprofit to expand rescue and population control in my area. I already know of colonies that need help. It will take more funds and a little time. If this fundraiser exceeds its goal, I will look into doing that. Thanks again!
I have already donated a bit. I’ll probably repost this later, but I know there are experienced TNR / rescue folks who read the early morning threads, and I wanted to be sure they saw this.
On The Road – Albatrossity – Snow Days
Percysowner
Donated and good luck with kitten season
satby
Hi RL! I’m on the board of a Spay/ Neuter program that is in Michiana (the border area of NW Indiana-SW Michigan) and I wish you the best of luck because there’s a huge need.
You’re going to have to fundraise constantly, so start the paperwork to get a non-profit org 501 tax ID ASAP if you haven’t already. Otherwise you’re liable for taxes on the funds you raise as ordinary income. Which cuts into the funds available for the cats; but more importantly, with a nonprofit org designation you can apply for grants for funding and link up with national spay/ neuter groups for advice and help. Our organization survives on fundraising (we do a lot of garage sales), adoption fees for the adoptable ones we can save, and grants. It sounds insurmountable, but it’s not, just take it each step at a time, but get that 501 tax-exempt charity designation first
I’ll ask my board president to contact you via email and give you some advice, as she’s the expert on these things. Right now, heading to the GFM to donate. Best of luck, it’s a neverending job until people become more responsible.
RL
@satby: Thanks! I will pass all of this on to my partner.
satby
Everyone, I know donor fatigue is real and there’s been a lot of requests here for fundraising, but even if you can only donate a tiny bit and share the link far and wide, it will really help them. Thanks in advance from me and my group that has been so generously helped through some awful times by you all.
debit
Donated! Thank you for stepping up and helping out these cats.
CaseyL
Donation made. Kudos and bless you for caring for these kitties!
eclare
@satby:
That is great advice. As a tax person I can tell you RL, it takes maybe thirty minutes to fill out the forms for a 501(c)(3) and maybe five to get a taxpayer ID. That is the first step to getting much more funding.
Charitable orgs are not my specialty, but if you have basic questions, I can help. Oh, one last piece of advice, get a PO box for your charity, don’t get that stuff commingled with your home address. Just my advice, YMMV.
I just looked, oh poor Romeo. Donated. Not much, but it all helps.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Being volunteers at a low-cost cat clinic that supports efforts like these, plus doing cat rescue going back to Katrina, this is a no-brainer donation.
Good luck.
debit
@eclare: That is such good advice.
I would also suggest (if you haven’t already) get a checking account just for the rescue work. If you are ever audited you don’t want to open up all your personal stuff. Having a dedicated account keeps all your expenses and income clear.
eclare
@debit:
Yes! Very important, thank you.
Maxim
Donated. Thank you.
O. Felix Culpa
Done. As a retired CPA with extensive nonprofit experience, I second everything that satby and eclare said. It’s not hard to apply for 501(c)3 status, and definitely keep your personal and organizational finances separate. Thank you for your rescue kitty work
ETA:
Professor Bigfoot
Donated and shared.
Thank you so much!
artem1s
@satby:
satby has good advise here. After having started a 501, my advise is DO NOT try to do this by yourself. Check your local university’s business/law schools and/or bar associations see if they have legal aid programs. Our start-up would have taken years longer if we hadn’t had the help of the Kramer Law Clinic and Mandel Center for NonProfit Management at Case Western Reserve University. Kramer assigned us grad student interns that took us thru incorporation and our IRS application. And they advised us on various legal issues over the first 5 years off and on. Our local city council woman helped us find a fiscal agent (local community development corporation) to manage our startup funds while we were working on our IRS paperwork. If you are serious about starting a non-profit, you absolutely need a fiscal agent to handle donations while you are working on the red-tape. The rules have changed somewhat but once you reach a certain level of fundraising you’ll need licensing at both the state and federal level to take in donations – and file 990 tax returns.
As a result of many, many partners we were incorporated, had aboard of directors, obtained start up money, and had our 501 within two years – that’s very, very fast. Even though we had a seasoned group of non-profit managers and fundraisers on our founding board, there is no way we could have done it by ourselves.
O. Felix Culpa
@O. Felix Culpa:
Oops, my editing window closed.
What I was adding is that once you establish nonprofit status, you’ll need to file a 990-N with the IRS annually. Fear not! It’s all online and beyond simple: you just need to confirm your address, TIN, name of principal officer, that your annual gross receipts were less than $50,000, and that you’re still in operation. Takes maybe 3 minutes to file. But do it! Organizations can lose their nonprofit status if they chronically fail to file.
O. Felix Culpa
@artem1s: Also excellent advice. :-)
satby
@eclare: @debit: @artem1s: @O. Felix Culpa: All such great advice, and what I was hoping my board president would have said, since she handles and has done all that stuff! Thanks guys!
MazeDancer
May many blessings be returned to you. Always in awe of people on the front lines.
You are managing to keep new kittens down on your little piece of property. Miracle workers you are
There are thousands and thousands of stable TNR colonies. And more needed, of course. But if everyone took care of the cats surrounding their house, there would be no kitten season. And just happy cats..
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
I have no non-profit start-up advice. Fortunately it looks like you’ve got some great advisors here already. Fortunately I did have a little money to toss into the kitty (appropriate name!) as I sit here with one of my own rescue kitties on my lap.
Good luck. You and your partner are doing Dog’s work. ;-)
Barbara
I donated. I am lucky to live in a “net recipient” location, where most of the animals in our shelter come from other parts of the state and even out of state, and where roaming strays are rare. I admire your commitment to protecting our four legged friends.
evap
Donated a bit. RL, I am in Atlanta and I know there are several T/N/R groups, have you tried getting in touch with some of those? They could help with the fees for spaying or at least help you find vets that will give you a discount.
RL
Thanks everyone for donations, sharing and advice! We are overwhelmed with kindness. I am passing all tips and such on to Partner, who is the brains behind it all. They have posted an update on the Go Fund Me page this morning with a new picture of Romeo. Thank you!
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
Wow! I noticed AL’s advice that sharing helps the algorithms, so when I got an update email I shared the link in Xitter. I still have an account, but don’t use it At. All. any more. Nevertheless, I’ve received multiple notifications of likes & reposts in the minutes since I shared, so I guess it really works!
satby
@KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)): it really does, sharing is caring for sure. xitter, FB, threads, whatever gets the word out.
Kristine
Donated and shared link on FB.
TaMara
Donated and shared. You’re angels for taking care of this tribe.
dnfree
@Percysowner: Every time I see your nym I think of my aunt, whose last cat while she could still care for cats was named Percy. (She died two years ago, so I know you’re not her.). She was the cat rescuer of her neighborhood in Tampa—taking in strays, getting them neutered, finding homes for kittens, so remembering her is appropriate to this post. When coyotes started ravaging the outdoor cats, she housed some of them in her laundry room.
HinTN
Shared and working up to a donation.
Rileys Enabler
Donated and glad to see poor Romeo is on the mend. Hope you trap the Matrix twin successfully!
Chris T.
Side note: someone in San Jose (where I used to work about 10 years ago) told me their organization changed the “R” in “TNR” from “release” to “return”. Apparently this helps with people who think “TNR” means “we’ll trap kitties anywhere, then release them all at your place” – the word “return” makes them think “oh, well, they’ll be back where they were originally, that’s not bad after all”.
So: Trap Neuter Return, not Trap Neuter Release.
Ann Marie
You are wonderful! I donated, but have you contacted Alley Cat Allies? They may be able to give you useful advice. They are at http://www.alleycat.org.