2019 Annual Appeal

Dear Friends,

Our funding needs are great because we consistently live our mission!

The mission of the Branford Compassion Club is to provide for the feeding, shelter and care of homeless, abandoned and feral cats; to educate the public about the importance of spay/neuter population control, responsible pet ownership and kindness to animals; and to establish an ongoing community network to achieve these goals.

We need your help to accomplish this mission!

In many ways, 2019 has been another successful year of cat rescue. We have accepted more than 221 cats and adopted out over 183 since January 1st, bringing the total adoptions since we opened our shelter in 2011 to more than 2033! Cats are domesticated animals that deserve to be housed in loving homes. These cats no longer face the possibility of being injured, hungry, or disease-ridden. They are now in loving homes and no longer cause stress to residents of those neighborhoods, who worried daily about their fate!

Large numbers of intakes bring great financial challenges. Most of the cats and kittens that enter our shelter have had no veterinary care. Often, they suffer from illness, malnutrition, parasites and neglect. Most of our senior cats require costly dental surgery and blood work prior to adoption. Our adoption fees do not even begin to cover the cost of the care we provide.

During this past year the board and volunteers have focused our efforts on increasing our funds to sustain our mission. Our monthly expenses hover around $12,000 and we have instituted several new funding programs to help support our increasing expenses. These include a “Sustaining Donor” program and “Support a Shelter Cat” program. We have applied for and received grants, participated in The Community Foundation’s “Great Give” and held many fundraisers, including Comedy Night, Animal Awareness Day and Cool Cats Jazz Brunch.

Some of our cats have rescued and improved the lives of their new owners! They have helped their humans cope with bereavement, pain management, and change of life events such as retirement or a child leaving home!

It is important for people to know that we receive no municipal funding from any town and many state programs have been eliminated. Our operating costs in all areas – shelter maintenance, supplies, and veterinary care – continue to increase. With the exception of one paid shelter manager, our shelter is run entirely by dedicated volunteers! We are a non-profit, no-kill, volunteer-driven program.

Thank you in advance for your support, generosity and compassion!