| Name | inga |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Fricke |
| Home Address | 221 Tremont Street Chattanooga, TN 37405 United States |
| Organization Name | McKamey Animal Center (Animal Care Trust) |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | I am honored to serve as the Executive Director of McKamey Animal Center. |
| Organization Address | 4500 North Access Road Chattanooga, TN 37415 United States |
| Website | https://www.mckameyanimalcenter.org |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 4236616068 |
| Alternate Phone Number | 4233056500 |
| Email Address | ifricke@mckameyanimalcenter.org |
| Alternate Email Address | advancementmanager@mckameyanimalcenter.org |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | The economic challenges caused by the pandemic and the pandemic recovery period have hit pet owners hard. We estimate that there are over 14,000 pets (approximately 8,200 dogs and 6,100 cats) living with owners below the poverty line in the City of Chattanooga, and most of these individuals have little to no access to basic animal care supplies and services, exemplifying the ongoing challenges faced by those living in the most underserved neighborhoods of Chattanooga. Even middle income and higher pet owners are being negatively impacted by rising inflation, skyrocketing housing costs, and other economic challenges, making this a City-wide crisis. This all comes at a time when veterinary care is in shorter supply than ever, with Covid restrictions reducing daily client visits and increased numbers of pets creating higher demands on veterinarians’ time. Pet owners in Chattanooga need assistance and relief, and McKamey Animal Center requests funding for a 4-pronged plan designed to provide the help and support they need to keep their families intact: 1. Free pet supply pantries for pet owners in need: Chattanooga is filled with generous pet lovers who want to help others through a temporary rough patch, if they are provided the opportunity. That’s why we would like to place Little Pet Pantries in strategic locations throughout the City. Employing the familiar concept of the “Little Free Library”, our kiosks would use the same “take what you need, give what you can” model but instead of books they will be filled with donated pet food and supplies, to help those struggling with how to meet their pets’ most basic needs. Ideally, we will place the kiosks in locations owned by the City, like neighborhood community centers, and/or private community partners like the Family Justice Center, since these are groups with which we already partner or plan to partner with to provide pet-related services, and will focus on areas with the greatest economic need and least access to supplies. We anticipate that each weatherproof kiosk will cost approximately $400 each to purchase and install, and once in place they will cost nothing to serve pet owners in need for years to come. A dozen kiosks strategically placed around the City will cost approximately $4,800.00. 2. Assistance for those temporarily displaced: Many pets are sadly separated from their owners when they find themselves in housing transition, particularly when they have been evicted, displaced by a fire or other natural disaster or have left an abusive home situation. These people often have no choice but to surrender their pets while they work to stabilize their lives. Although MAC can sadly not house every displaced animal, we would like to keep families together by paying temporary boarding facility costs (which will generate income for local businesses like boarding establishments), pay damage deposits for hotels willing to allow pets to stay with their families, pay rental pet deposits for friends or family members who would be willing to temporarily take the pets, etc. A fund from which up to $500 per person could be drawn for 50 pet owners in need during 2022 would cost $25,000 (and because these would be deposits, we would expect that at least a small portion of that money will be returned to be spent on other individuals the following year). 3. Rehoming support for those taking in displaced/abandoned pets: We frequently receive calls from individuals who have either taken in pets from friends or loved ones affected by or who have passed away from Covid or who are experiencing other hardships. We also receive many calls from individuals who find abandoned pets who would keep them if they had support with basic care. If we were to offer this basic care, including core vaccines, spay/neuter surgery, internal and external parasite prevention, nutritious food, bowls, leashes, and litterboxes, and pet licenses, we believe that we can successfully keep dozens of animals out of our shelter next year. At approximately $250 per animal (to cover the cost of surgery, vaccinations, microchips, crates and general supplies, food, etc.), $25,000 would allow us to support the successful rehoming of at least 100 animals. 4. Lost-to-found pet support: Even in the best homes pets can escape, but it doesn’t take much to reunite the majority of them with their owners. Most lost pets are found within close proximity to their homes, so empowering communities to identify and return them is key – and it is much more effective than simply having return to owner support here at the shelter, which can be difficult to access and where people may fear they don’t have the financial resources to pay required reclaim fees. We propose bringing lost pet support directly into Chattanooga communities by: providing pet owners with ID tags, collars and microchips; providing universal microchip readers to community centers or other easily accessible locations so pets can be scanned and returned home as quickly as possible; and training interested “lost pet detectives” on lost pet behavior and reunification to serve as educated community points of contact to facilitate increased lost pet reunifications. MAC is happy to provide the community training for free; we estimate that a dozen microchip readers will cost approximately $5,000, and providing 1,000 pets with basic collars, id tags and microchips will cost an additional $25,000.00. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | This project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan in that it addresses many of the negative economic impacts caused by the pandemic. Many families acquired “pandemic pets” and now are struggling to provide basic care for them (according to the Insurance Research Council’s October 2020 report, nearly 1 in 3 Americans adopted a pet during the pandemic). Others have had family pets for some time and were able to provide essential care, but are now without the necessary disposable income to do so. Providing things like pet food and supplies, temporary boarding, etc. will alleviate these financial concerns and allow many pet owners to avoid having to give up their pets for financial reasons. The various elements of this project also address the negative impacts the pandemic has had directly on McKamey Animal Center itself. In particular, the Center regularly receives calls from individuals who don’t want to give up their pets but find themselves in economic circumstances that make keeping them impossible; at the moment we have no choice but to take those pets into our care, adding to an already overburdened shelter system. MAC is also seeing more and more stray animals arriving at our doors, so a lost-to-found program could make a huge impact on our population. Overall, we believe that each of the proposed elements would meet the requirements of the American Rescue Plan – put together, they will make an enormous difference for MAC and for the citizens of Chattanooga, particularly those in areas of greatest economic need. |
| Where would your project take place? | Our project is intended to serve the entirety of the City of Chattanooga with particular focus on the City's most underserved neighborhoods. |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 84800.00 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | No |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | January 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | 12 months |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | The milestones for measuring our progress towards supporting local pet owners in need and easing the burden on MAC itself will be different for each project element: Free pet supply pantries for pet owners in need: Assuming supply chain issues are not a problem, we should be able to have all 12 kiosks in place within 3 months of receiving funding. If, for some reason, the kiosks are delayed, we will nevertheless have kiosk partner locations identified within 3 months. We will also have a volunteer corps in place with plans for routinely checking and restocking the kiosks within that time frame. Careful tracking of pounds of food distributed from each kiosk, etc., will be used to help establish the success of this element. Assistance for those temporarily displaced: As this element is dependent on who reaches out for support, our goal will be to have all program plan elements in place within 3 months of distribution of funds, including identification of boarding facilities, collaboration with the Family Justice Center, Red Cross and other social services agencies regarding placement options for displaced families with pets, etc. Careful tracking of numbers of individuals served, deposit totals, etc. will be conducted to ensure this element is successfully implemented. Rehoming support for those taking in displaced/abandoned pets: This element is also dependent on who we are able to connect with, so our goal will be to have all program plan elements in place and ready for disbursement within 3 months of distribution of funds. Careful tracking of numbers of individuals served and supplies and services provided to each will be conducted to ensure this element is successfully implemented. Lost-to-found pet support: We can begin ordering scanners, microchips, collars and ID tags immediately upon receipt of funds, and will then begin establishing host locations for clinics, trainings, etc. We will host our first clinic within 3 months, and will distribute all free chips and other supplies within 9-12 months of funding receipt. Careful tracking of numbers of pets and pet owners served and numbers of services received will be conducted to ensure this element is successfully implemented. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | As a non-profit agency that receives funding from the City, we are already subject to Tennessee’s Open Records Act, which by necessity dictates that we maintain accurate records and assure transparency with respect to how we operate. We are subject to an annual audit obligation which verifies our revenues, expenses and accounting processes. We also hold monthly Board meetings which are open to the public. If awarded funding, these measures will ensure accountability and transparency, but we will happily go further by providing regular reports to the City detailing how the money has been spent and how many animals/residents have been served therewith. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | All of the elements of this project are designed to keep pets in homes with the people who love them and depend on them for support. There can be no doubt that pets are critical to peoples’ emotional and physical well-being, and in these most trying times it is more important than ever to keep families, two-legged and four-legged alike, together. Happy healthy families are essential to helping Chattanooga thrive, and our plan will certainly help achieve that. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | Because the love of pets is universal, we expect to receive a huge outpouring of support for this plan. People already reach out to us for support of various types, and many more aren’t even aware yet that we could be a source of support. There is no doubt that pet lovers across the City will support this effort to keep pets in happy, healthy homes, and will be grateful to the City for allowing us to implement these critical and quite literally lifesaving measures. |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | We are grateful to have the opportunity to submit this proposal, and appreciate your careful review of our application. While we believe that all four elements are essential to achieving our goal of keeping families intact and meeting the needs of those in underserved communities, we are certainly open to considering lesser funding that would allow us to implement whichever elements the Commission believes will be most impactful. |