Christie Lagally

From:  Maddie’s Fund.

Blogger note:  This is an excellent article on how small rescues working together make a big difference and are getting major support.

Maddie’s Fund Gives New York City’s Shelters and Rescue Groups Additional $3 Million to Pull Dogs, Cats from City Shelters

January 17, 2011:

We’re heartened by a groundswell of public interest in the plight of shelter animals. Folks no longer accept at face value that the killing of our best friends on four legs is inevitable, and many are actively getting engaged in changing the fate of shelter animals in their own communities.

With so many economic challenges facing local governments, private shelters, rescue groups and individuals in these tough times, animal lovers sometimes ask Maddie’s Fund^® to step in and directly use our resources to fix a problem at their municipal shelter, especially if we’re funding a project in their community.

We do this by investing in community collaborations and growing the infrastructure of the not-for-profit sector. While this is not the only way to save lives, it’s our belief that coalitions provide the best safety net for animals over time by creating sustainable, accountable systems. This method strengthens all of the partners and helps the weaker get strong through common purpose and cooperation. If a municipal agency gets hit by a cut in funding, or if the economy takes the legs out from under a private humane society, a strong coalition can pick up the slack and provide safe haven for animals in peril.

As part of our commitment to this approach, Maddie’s Fund has just approved an additional $3 million for a coalition of 111 rescue groups and shelters in New York City. Sixty percent of this money will go directly to our partner rescue groups to take more than 12,000 animals out of the city’s Animal Care & Control (AC&C) shelters and find them loving homes. With New York City’s municipal shelters reeling from a $1.5 million cut in the budget, the assistance of 111 AC&C coalition partners is more critical now than ever before.

There are many ways to save lives; this is ours. We believe that all of us can all work towards reaching the no-kill goal in our own way, and show by our daily actions that we’re committed to making the world a better place for shelter animals.