PRESS RELEASE FOR: May 9, 2015
Seattle Humane kicked off its capital campaign at the 26th annual Tuxes & Tails gala tonight with a surprise announcement: the nonprofit has raised more than $21 million and is on its way to raising $25 million to build a new shelter and veterinary teaching hospital opening in 2017.
The special “Fund-A-Need” project was the highlight of tonight's auction and raised $4.7 million for Seattle Humane's campaign to build the new facility at its current location in Bellevue. The $21 million milestone propels the agency into the public stage of their campaign. A fun, engaging advertising campaign will be launched this summer.
Seattle Humane has been saving animals and completing families since 1897, and the impact has been tremendous. In 2014, Seattle Humane placed more than 7,000 pets, rescued more than 3,500 pets from other shelters, and spayed and neutered 2,300 pets belonging to low-income families, all while achieving a 98 percent life-saving rate, one of the highest in the nation.
"The demand for our resources continues to grow, and Seattle Humane's aging facility is less and less up to the task," said CEO David Loewe. "A safe, efficient, and modern new facility would allow our organization to adopt 3,000 more animals each year, and spay and neuter 5,500 more pets each year to reduce pet homelessness."
The new facility will also provide high-quality veterinary care for both Seattle Humane animals and outside rescue organizations and shelters with limited resources.
In an alliance with WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, fourth-year vet students will continue to do rotations at the shelter as part of their training. Their participation expands Seattle Humane’s capacity to provide medical care to shelter pets.
"We are so grateful for the support of our generous donors at tonight's event, who have brought a long-awaited dream closer to reality," said Loewe. "We invite everyone in our animal loving community to join us in our mission to save more lives!"
To learn more about Seattle Humane's campaign to build a new shelter and teaching hospital, watch our "Fund-A-Need" video or go to seattlehumane.org/campaign.
If you couldn’t make it to Tuxes & Tails this year, it’s not too late to make a difference! You can still make a donation to Seattle Humane at tuxesandtails.org.
Tuxes & Tails was sponsored by Xtreme Consulting Group Inc., bestselling author Susan Mallery, Pineapple Hospitality, Jeannie & Bruce Nordstrom, Auto Nation, Ferguson Construction, Gene Colin & Susan Janus Charitable Fund, Abbott Construction, and KeyBank Foundation.
