AHeinz57 launches $1M capital campaign to expand
An Adel-based canine rescue operation that has found homes for thousands of dogs over the past eight years is poised to get a new home of its own this fall.
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Amy Heinz |
AHeinz57 Pet Rescue & Transport plans to build a boarding facility and shelter in two buildings on 4 acres of land it recently purchased in De Soto, said Amy Heinz, the nonprofit’s founder. Proceeds from the boarding facility will be used to provide a sustainable funding source to pay staff salaries; any extra funds will be used to help fund the rescue operation, Heinz said.
“This has been my goal since I started this,” said Heinz, who plans to leave her day job once the new facilities are up and running. “I think I’ve shown staying power and we’ve built a wonderful reputation. We’ve just gotten to the point where we’re ready, and where we can’t grow anymore with all of us working our full-time jobs.”
The organization has launched a fundraising campaign for the new facilities with a $1 million goal. “Donation dollars will all stay with the dogs; they won’t be used for wages,” Heinz said. Heinz will be paid by the nonprofit, along with some paid staff who will be hired to manage the boarding facility.
The largest donation to date for the expansion was $100,000, which went toward the purchase of the land, she said.
Heinz said the nonprofit will remain primarily a foster-based organization, but the new shelter space will provide much-needed space for dogs as well as programs and services. The shelter will be capable of accommodating up to 50 dogs and feature a medical suite, a training center, an adoption area and additional kennels for strays.
Heinz estimates that since 2008, AHeinz57 volunteers have driven some 5,000 dogs from shelters throughout Iowa where they would have been put down to other rescue operations that could take them in. Additionally, the nonprofit has rescued and adopted out an additional 5,000 dogs through its network of foster home volunteers.
Currently, AHeinz57 is averaging about 100 adoptions a month, Heinz said. The majority of the dogs it rescues are housed at between 30 and 40 foster homes at any one time. Its current building, a former veterinary clinic that it leases, accommodates just six to 10 dogs at a time.
The new boarding kennel, which will have 34 doggy suites, will also have space for training classes as another income generator for the organization, Heinz said. Part of the space will be used as an education area for area school students as well.
Heinz also hopes to be able to start a program that places older dogs with area seniors on a permanent basis, while involving high school seniors as volunteer helpers to visit the seniors to help with the dogs and provide them further companionship.
“We’re trying to get as much commitment as we can before we go to the bank for a loan,” she said. “We’re just really excited to start these programs. I think with these buildings we’ll be such a good resource for our community, which is really needed around here.”
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