Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi everyone,

My name is Chelsea, and I volunteer with Save Our Strays, a small, foster-based cat rescue located in Avalon, Pennsylvania.

Every day, we are on the front lines of a growing problem-cats being abandoned, left behind, or born outside with no one to care for them. These aren't just numbers to us. They are the sick kittens we rush to the vet, the scared strays learning to trust again, and the overlooked cats who just need a chance.

Over the past year, we've helped care for and place hundreds of cats into loving homes. Many of the cats we take in require medical treatment, spay/neuter, vaccinations, and time in foster care before they are ready for adoption. We operate entirely through volunteers and fosters, and every dollar we receive goes directly toward saving lives.

Right now, we are in a very difficult position financially.

The need in our community has not slowed down-but our resources are being stretched thinner than ever. We are seeing more urgent medical cases, more stray litters, and more cats needing immediate care than we can comfortably support. Every time we say yes to helping another cat, we are also taking on the responsibility of making sure we can afford their care.

A grant like this would make a direct and immediate impact for us.

With $3,000, we would be able to:

• Provide medical care for multiple cats in need, including urgent and emergency cases
• Fund spay/neuter surgeries to help reduce the cycle of overpopulation
• Cover vaccinations and basic care to prepare cats for adoption
• Support our foster network with essential supplies

Most importantly, it would allow us to say "yes" to more cats who otherwise might not get help in time.

Save Our Strays is deeply rooted in our community. We're not just rescuing cats-we're working to create a more compassionate, responsible environment for animals and the people who care about them. Every adoption, every life saved, and every cat given a second chance is a step toward that goal.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting organizations like ours that are doing this work every single day.

We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be considered.

Chelsea A. Dungan
Save Our Strays Pittsburgh
cdungan@tprsold.com

Chelsea, the work you are doing matters and it is clear your team cares deeply about every cat that comes through your program. That kind of commitment is what keeps small rescues going.

One thing worth considering as you look at sustainability: the spay/neuter piece you mentioned is your biggest long-term lever. Every unspayed community cat can produce multiple litters a year, and each of those litters eventually lands on a rescue like yours. A targeted TNR (trap, neuter, return) effort in the neighborhoods where you are seeing the most strays can dramatically reduce the number of cats coming in over time, which frees up your medical and foster resources for the animals that truly need rescue-level care.

There is a model worth looking at out of Wenatchee, Washington where the local humane society partnered with their city government on a matching grant for community cat TNR. The city put in $2,500, the humane society matched it, and they funded 100 surgeries. One staff person manages the whole program. They served 30 cats from a single area in the first month. That kind of partnership lets a small organization punch way above its weight without burning through its own budget.

On the funding side, a few places to look beyond this forum. Banfield Foundation Pet Advocacy Grants fund spay/neuter work directly ($1,000 to $10,000). PetSmart Charities has community cat program grants. And if you are not already connected with your local municipality about the cost they are spending on stray cat complaints and intake, that conversation alone can open doors. When you can show a city that prevention costs a fraction of what they are spending on reactive animal control, the math does the convincing for you.

Keep going. What you are building matters.

Hi everyone,

My name is Chelsea, and I volunteer with Save Our Strays, a small, foster-based cat rescue located in Avalon, Pennsylvania.

Every day, we are on the front lines of a growing problem-cats being abandoned, left behind, or born outside with no one to care for them. These aren't just numbers to us. They are the sick kittens we rush to the vet, the scared strays learning to trust again, and the overlooked cats who just need a chance.

Over the past year, we've helped care for and place hundreds of cats into loving homes. Many of the cats we take in require medical treatment, spay/neuter, vaccinations, and time in foster care before they are ready for adoption. We operate entirely through volunteers and fosters, and every dollar we receive goes directly toward saving lives.

Right now, we are in a very difficult position financially.

The need in our community has not slowed down-but our resources are being stretched thinner than ever. We are seeing more urgent medical cases, more stray litters, and more cats needing immediate care than we can comfortably support. Every time we say yes to helping another cat, we are also taking on the responsibility of making sure we can afford their care.

A grant like this would make a direct and immediate impact for us.

With $3,000, we would be able to:

• Provide medical care for multiple cats in need, including urgent and emergency cases
• Fund spay/neuter surgeries to help reduce the cycle of overpopulation
• Cover vaccinations and basic care to prepare cats for adoption
• Support our foster network with essential supplies

Most importantly, it would allow us to say "yes" to more cats who otherwise might not get help in time.

Save Our Strays is deeply rooted in our community. We're not just rescuing cats-we're working to create a more compassionate, responsible environment for animals and the people who care about them. Every adoption, every life saved, and every cat given a second chance is a step toward that goal.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting organizations like ours that are doing this work every single day.

We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be considered.

Chelsea A. Dungan
Save Our Strays Pittsburgh
cdungan@tprsold.com

BJ, thank you for giving Chelsea such wonderful advice! I have a very small nonprofit in a rural area of Texas. We focus solely on TNR. I am planning on meeting with the city leaders in the 3 town that make up our county. I'm hoping to convince them all to work with me in developing community cat TNR programs. Your advice to Chelsea regarding matching funds is a great idea. I think I will ask each town to match whatever funds I can raise for their city, up to $2,500.  I think that will motivate city leaders, and I think it will also motivate the communities to give!

Chelsea, the work you are doing matters and it is clear your team cares deeply about every cat that comes through your program. That kind of commitment is what keeps small rescues going.

One thing worth considering as you look at sustainability: the spay/neuter piece you mentioned is your biggest long-term lever. Every unspayed community cat can produce multiple litters a year, and each of those litters eventually lands on a rescue like yours. A targeted TNR (trap, neuter, return) effort in the neighborhoods where you are seeing the most strays can dramatically reduce the number of cats coming in over time, which frees up your medical and foster resources for the animals that truly need rescue-level care.

There is a model worth looking at out of Wenatchee, Washington where the local humane society partnered with their city government on a matching grant for community cat TNR. The city put in $2,500, the humane society matched it, and they funded 100 surgeries. One staff person manages the whole program. They served 30 cats from a single area in the first month. That kind of partnership lets a small organization punch way above its weight without burning through its own budget.

On the funding side, a few places to look beyond this forum. Banfield Foundation Pet Advocacy Grants fund spay/neuter work directly ($1,000 to $10,000). PetSmart Charities has community cat program grants. And if you are not already connected with your local municipality about the cost they are spending on stray cat complaints and intake, that conversation alone can open doors. When you can show a city that prevention costs a fraction of what they are spending on reactive animal control, the math does the convincing for you.

Keep going. What you are building matters.

Hi everyone,

My name is Chelsea, and I volunteer with Save Our Strays, a small, foster-based cat rescue located in Avalon, Pennsylvania.

Every day, we are on the front lines of a growing problem-cats being abandoned, left behind, or born outside with no one to care for them. These aren't just numbers to us. They are the sick kittens we rush to the vet, the scared strays learning to trust again, and the overlooked cats who just need a chance.

Over the past year, we've helped care for and place hundreds of cats into loving homes. Many of the cats we take in require medical treatment, spay/neuter, vaccinations, and time in foster care before they are ready for adoption. We operate entirely through volunteers and fosters, and every dollar we receive goes directly toward saving lives.

Right now, we are in a very difficult position financially.

The need in our community has not slowed down-but our resources are being stretched thinner than ever. We are seeing more urgent medical cases, more stray litters, and more cats needing immediate care than we can comfortably support. Every time we say yes to helping another cat, we are also taking on the responsibility of making sure we can afford their care.

A grant like this would make a direct and immediate impact for us.

With $3,000, we would be able to:

• Provide medical care for multiple cats in need, including urgent and emergency cases
• Fund spay/neuter surgeries to help reduce the cycle of overpopulation
• Cover vaccinations and basic care to prepare cats for adoption
• Support our foster network with essential supplies

Most importantly, it would allow us to say "yes" to more cats who otherwise might not get help in time.

Save Our Strays is deeply rooted in our community. We're not just rescuing cats-we're working to create a more compassionate, responsible environment for animals and the people who care about them. Every adoption, every life saved, and every cat given a second chance is a step toward that goal.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting organizations like ours that are doing this work every single day.

We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be considered.

Chelsea A. Dungan
Save Our Strays Pittsburgh
cdungan@tprsold.com

Hi everyone,

My name is Chelsea, and I volunteer with Save Our Strays, a small, foster-based cat rescue located in Avalon, Pennsylvania.

Every day, we are on the front lines of a growing problem-cats being abandoned, left behind, or born outside with no one to care for them. These aren't just numbers to us. They are the sick kittens we rush to the vet, the scared strays learning to trust again, and the overlooked cats who just need a chance.

Over the past year, we've helped care for and place hundreds of cats into loving homes. Many of the cats we take in require medical treatment, spay/neuter, vaccinations, and time in foster care before they are ready for adoption. We operate entirely through volunteers and fosters, and every dollar we receive goes directly toward saving lives.

Right now, we are in a very difficult position financially.

The need in our community has not slowed down-but our resources are being stretched thinner than ever. We are seeing more urgent medical cases, more stray litters, and more cats needing immediate care than we can comfortably support. Every time we say yes to helping another cat, we are also taking on the responsibility of making sure we can afford their care.

A grant like this would make a direct and immediate impact for us.

With $3,000, we would be able to:

• Provide medical care for multiple cats in need, including urgent and emergency cases
• Fund spay/neuter surgeries to help reduce the cycle of overpopulation
• Cover vaccinations and basic care to prepare cats for adoption
• Support our foster network with essential supplies

Most importantly, it would allow us to say "yes" to more cats who otherwise might not get help in time.

Save Our Strays is deeply rooted in our community. We're not just rescuing cats-we're working to create a more compassionate, responsible environment for animals and the people who care about them. Every adoption, every life saved, and every cat given a second chance is a step toward that goal.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting organizations like ours that are doing this work every single day.

We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be considered.

Chelsea A. Dungan
Save Our Strays Pittsburgh
cdungan@tprsold.com