Holly is one of the many animals available for adoption at the CSPCA. (Submitted photo)

by Patrick McLaughlin

Executive Director,

Chenango SPCA

I've mentioned before that one of our best bits of news heading into 2024 is the re-launch of the Safe Haven Fund for Animals, through the amazingly generous gift of $20,000 from an anonymous friend of the Chenango SPCA who is passionate about getting shelter animals into loving forever homes as quickly as possible.

As a reminder, the purpose of that donation is to cover 100% of adoption costs until the funds run out. In other words, adoptions are free until the funding is gone. But how does that work? In the time since we initially broke the news, we've gotten some follow-up questions, so let's try and clear things up:

First, the money in the Safe Haven Fund is restricted, which means we're only allowed to use it in certain ways. In this case, it's been set aside (in its own bank account, actually), and the only way we're allowed to spend it is to subsidize adoptions. In other words, if tomorrow we need a new furnace or water pump (that happened twice in 2023), we wouldn't be able to use the Safe Haven Fund to get one. Honoring our donors' wishes is a basic responsibility of any nonprofit, and it's one that we take very seriously.

So, how does the money in the Safe Haven Fund get spent? Essentially, the Safe Haven Fund is there to take the place of an adopter's payment. Before the Safe Haven Fund, we charged adopters $100 to adopt a cat or $155 to adopt a dog, except when we were offering special discounts, like the Bissell Pet Foundation's "Empty the Shelters" events or the Subaru Loves Pets discount.

The Safe Haven Fund is similar to those programs, but there are two big differences:

First, the Safe Haven Fund doesn't have a time limit. Bissell ETS events last a few weeks, and then they're over. The Subaru Loves Pets event took place in October, but it was gone on November 1. The Safe Haven Fund has no expiration date.

Second, the Safe Haven Fund covers our entire adoption price. Bissell ETS and Subaru Loves Pets both make a contribution to the shelter's adoption prices, but don't cover them completely. The Safe Haven Fund covers our adoption price in full.

For adopters, that means they can come meet our shelter animals, find the one (or two, or...) that best fits their lifestyle, fill out our application, and once they're approved, they can adopt their new pet from us without spending a cent.

For the Chenango SPCA, this system gives us extra motivation to adopt animals into their new homes as quickly as we can: Not only is it better for the animals, but we only have access to the money in the Safe Haven Fund after the animals are adopted. If (heaven forbid) we had a month with no adoptions, the money in the Safe Haven Fund would just sit there, untouched.

The bottom line is simple: As I said above, our anonymous donor is passionate about getting animals into loving adoptive homes as quickly as possible. The Safe Haven Fund is there to make sure that money doesn't stand in the way. People can adopt without worrying about that one-time cost, and the Chenango SPCA can encourage people to come adopt without worrying about whether they can afford it.

So, come adopt! If now isn't the right time for you, what about your friends and family? If you can think of anyone who has love to give to an animal in need, or whose life would be improved by welcoming a new companion animal, please let them know: Adoptions at the Chenango SPCA are currently free!

Visit chenangospca.org to complete an adoption application.