We've had some donations of cupboards, lumber and other materials from some wonderful people and organizations. We've been blessed to have contractors donate their services and suppliers donate material. But costs also arose that we never anticipated, such as a foundation when the building location was shifted unexpectedly. Our Feeder Meter stages needed to be moved to accommodate the unexpected. But we're still 'in the ballpark'.
Planning
a new facility more than a year in advance is difficult, especially when
you've never done it before! We re-prioritized some of our objectives.
For example, due to the pressing need and the sheer number of feral cats
that need sanctuary, we created a safe and separate, off-site feral area.
While this will not negate the need for a dedicated feral area at our new
facility, it allowed us to shuffle our time goals around. With their new,
fenced-in area, the ferals are okay for now.
Seeing expenses increase and different needs grow more urgent could be discouraging. But just as we reviewed our goals, we were fortunate enough to receive substantial funding in grants. The $19,911 Vancouver Foundation grant was a blessing! We're so close to finishing. Just a few more hurdles and the place will be safe, secure and comfortable for the animals.
We also still have to maintain our current shelter with its 100+ residents (on average). Summer is traditionally the slowest time for donations and the busiest time for animals, so we told ourselves that once we made it through a summer of running one shelter while building another, nothing could scare us.
By January 2008, we reached our planned goal! It was so hard to predict exactly what we'd need since there were numerous unexpected windfalls and costs along the way.
The two major costs were the unexpected foundation prep which cost us $11,300, and the difference in the projected and actual cost of the HVAC ($13,000 actual vs $7,000 projected). So, with 20/20 hindsight, the goal total would have been up a bit.
However there were about $12,400 worth of items that were included in the original projections which we will likely not need to pay (electrical, plumbing, doors..., and the linoleum turned out to be less costly than expected). A volunteer donated $13,000 to cover the cost of the HVAC. S&J Electrical Services Ltd did a ton of work for us and we think they're still going to do some more -- outdoor lights on porches etc. So generous!
So, evening everything out, we cautiously believe we're 'there'! That being said, what if we've forgotten something? There is talk of needing to level out the area surrounding the porches... maybe lay gravel down, etc. We hope we won't have to eat our words. (Things have a way of cropping up out of the blue that have to be addressed, and we'll always have vet bills and animal care costs.)
We still have a ways to go before the shelter is complete. But we'll
get there, and we are deeply grateful to all the generous animal lovers
who have helped us with this financial hurdle.
If you can contribute, every little bit helps.
Donations can be made out to "Katie's Place" and can be mailed to our
business address:
Katie's Place
c/o 20803 Camwood Avenue,
Maple Ridge, B.C.
V2X 2N9
or we can receive donations through Paypal.
We've also been doing as many fund raisers as we can. We usually have
something in progress, and the information is on our Events
and Fund Raisers page.
Thanks to the wonderful people and organizations listed below, we have material that will help us build an outstanding shelter:
