Monday, July 23, 2012

I Hope You're Sitting Down!

We raised a LOT of money. I mean, squillions and squillions. We blew past our goal, and as it stands, we are at...

Wait, are you sitting down?  Because this number may just make your knees buckle beneath you.  Grab a chair, please!

Are you ready?  Here. We. GO.

IBKC_Check



That's right, $87,000. Actually, a hair over that. The official total is $87,062.25 !!!!!!


Here's the breakdown: 
Online donations (Firstgiving)  = $78,550
Online auctions = $3,123.25
Paypal donations = $139
Poster sales, crafting for kittens, offline donations, etc = $3,660 (and there are still posters left, so that number will grow).
Fundraising teammates brought in $1,590 (Sarah raised $550 and Shana raised $1,040)

Can you believe it? I've totaled these numbers a squillion times, and I still kind of can't believe it myself.

Our number of donations was up these year, as well as the donation average. We had 1069 donations total, averaging $73.47 per donation. Last year, we had 926 donations averaging $59.65.

As you know, along the way, we had several days of donations devoted to some of our favorite programs at the shelter. You all gave passionately on those days, and here's what we raised for each program.

Senior Cats $8,200
Foster Program $6650
Spay and Neuter Program $6300
Kitty Meals-on-Wheels $6600

You're probably curious to the total amount Dog-A-Thon brought in, but they're still crunching those numbers over at the Humane Society, and checks are still coming in. As soon as that figure is available, we'll share that with you.

Now here's what's really incredible. In the four years we've been raising funds do you know how much this community has raised?
Year 1 = $23,000
Year 2 = $48,000
Year 3 = $66,000
Year 4 = $87,000
For  a grand total of $224,000 for the cats and kittens at the Humane Society!

Mind blowing, isn't it?

I hope you know how amazing you are. This community is truly something special - unlike anything I've seen on this whole world wide web. You are kind, generous, compassionate, kitty-loving people, and I feel so honored to be surrounded by all of you. We worked together and brought in a staggering amount of money for our shelter. This glorious sum will help so many cats and kittens.

Thank you SO MUCH for giving SO MUCH!!!

Thank you for staying tuned through this very long 33 days. I know you must of grown tired of all the asking, and all the pleas. You all were troopers. You stuck around and helped us meet every single match before us, and helped us reach that tremendous goal (and then some).

Thanks for the encouraging words. Thanks for cheering. Thanks for the smiley-face emoticons and woot-woots.   Thanks for the happy tears. Thanks for the sweet comments and nice notes you sent.

Thank you too for spreading the word far and wide. I saw many of our tweets re-tweeted and our Facebook posts shared. Many of you wrote some very nice blog posts about our cause too. This helped bring lots of new friends to our community, and brought in many donations too.

How much you gave, and the many ways you gave,  touches me deeply. Thank you, every single one of you.

There are few folks I wanted to give a special shout-out to....

Craig - Oh, dear Craig thanks for tolerating all this madness for yet another year. Thank you for being patient, and easy, and never complaining while everything else got pushed to the back-burner.

Sarah and Shana - Thank you for working hard to bring in a nice chunk of change for our team! Thanks too for all the hours and dedication you give to the shelter each year.

Sarah, Shana, Craig, Jim, Cora, Monica, Blixa  and Ninja Bob - Thanks so much for walking the walk with us and carrying dorky signs!

Opal, Lola, Ellis, Marley - A big thanks to the wee ones with the big hearts who gave so much and inspired so many others to give!

Marguerite - Thanks for always being right there when I had questions in need of answering!

Anne Boleyn - Thank you for the fabulous tiaras. We cherish these thoughtful gifts, and cherish you, my friend.

Sonja and Craig at Proctor Frozen Yogurt - Thanks so much for hosting our Crafting for Kittens event! And thanks in advance for donating a percentage of your July sales to the shelter as part of your Local Love program!

To all our match-makers - Thanks so much for offering up all those wonderful matching donation challenges  and inspiring so many others to give!

 To all our auction winners - Thanks for all the generous winning bids!

Awesome Anonymous donor - "Awesome" is understatement. Multiply that times a squillion, and we're still not quite there. You are incredible.

Cynthia - Oh, Cynthia. What would we do without you?  You are such a valuable member of our community. Not just because of the squillions you give, but because of ALL the many ways you contribute Your comments, your fabulous poems, your humor, your inspiration - this all means so much to us. I appreciate all the encouraging texts and emails you sent me along the way and all the offers to give more if need be. We're so lucky to have you in our lives. So are the cats and kittens at the shelter. You're a special one, and you mean the world to us.

Thank you once again, everyone, for making this such an incredible year. You made my heart S0 happy, and when I think of all the homeless cats and kittens we're going to help, my heart is happier yet.

 Thank for caring so much. I hope your hearts are happy too.

 xoxoxo


41 comments:

  1. Woot-woots, yays, smiley-faces, hugs and happy tears all around!

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  2. OMG!!!! $87 squillion??? I'm totally doing the happy cry right now.

    Bless every single one of you.

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  3. Sammy Pants was happy to give. It's his first FUNdraiser. He gave in memory of Pinky Boy, who died earlier this year. Sammy is grateful for being rescued himself, and wants to help all the kitties.

    Signed,
    Sam E. Pants

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  4. So very, very happy! You and Charlene and all the sweet kittens give yourselves a little paw-pat on your backs, too. Your sweet faces and blog posts and tweets give us priceless joy all year long!
    Thank YOU!
    xxoo,

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  5. This feels soooo good! Every cent counts ~ and look what we all did! Yay!!

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  6. I never tire of your asking, and these are the most heartwarming 33 days of my year. When the news is blue, where do we go? We go to see Laurie and Charlene. A squillion thanks.

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  7. Happy tears! Can't think of a better cause. Congrats!

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  8. I am SO glad to see this!!!! I really want to thank you, Laurie, for making my days a little bit better, and to know we'll help so many kittens is just awesome!

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  9. Yes, to all of the above and to all the positive and grateful comments-to-come. YES!

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  10. I am so glad and amazed...every year my amazement grows.

    My eyes are less dry this morning because of this glorious news.

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  11. amazing!! simply amazing!!! congratulations!

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  12. Simple words from a grateful heart -- Thank you Laurie, Craig and Ms. Bean for all you have done to make this world a much better place for all creatures, great and small.

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    Replies
    1. I second this remark! Great job Laurie, Charlene, Craig and everyone else! Well done!

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  13. It's been a tense morning here on the East Coast as the refresh buttons got a work-out waiting for this wonderful news! This fan is crying happy tears of joy for you and all of yours.

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  14. Oh, my. What a story!!!! You are all incredible. I am happy to have given a little something to the great cause.

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  15. 87 squillion of pure love. Seriously, I can't think of a group of people that I love more than kitty-loving people. You make me so happy and restore my faith in humanity. And that senior day got the most total donations? That melts my heart, truly. Thank you for bringing all of us together, Laurie!

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  16. This is a stunning accomplishment! Hurray for cat lovers one and all.
    P.S. Charlene has lovely pawmanship and certainly deserves her own checking account, though I can't imagine ever having trusted my past or present cats with one.

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  17. Can't stop smiling.... :)

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  18. Thank YOU for caring so much!!!

    Patti in KY

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  19. W00t wOOt and all points inbetween!

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  20. Congrats on another great fundraising...this is fabulous for all the kitties in need....

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  21. What a wonderful result! I bet there are some very tired kitten paws after counting all those pennies!

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  22. Truly awesome news. Many thanks to all who contributed, especially you, Laurie, and all those close to you... human and furry people.

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  23. oh my gosh! i'm on the verge of tears! that is so INCREDIBLE and just thinking about how many sweet kitties will get a second (or first!) chance is amazing. yay for the kitty committee!

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  24. Oh my goodness! I nearly choked when I saw the number. Hooray!!! So happy to read this post. And, I never got tired of your asking. Love love love this blog and this cause!

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  25. Holy cats!! Way to go, Team IBKC!

    What a wonderful, wonderful thing to see on a really rotten Monday.

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  26. Holy Cats!!!!! That is so awesome, Laurie. It's amazing how much was collected this year and for all years. I was glad to contribute this time as in years past - it warms my heart to see the kitties get the support they so dearly deserve. Now it's time to support my local shelter with their fundraiser too, GO FURKIDS!!!!! Helping kitties from coast to coast...

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  27. I have to admit...in the beginning I thought the goal was set to high, and that everyone would be disappointed. I am SO glad to be wrong...this is totally amazing. Thank you, Laurie, for all you do for cats and kittens!

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  28. I think we should name a kitten after Cynthia.

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    1. Actually...there was a whole litter named after her! The Suprenant Sisters! You can find all their posts and pictures by scrolling down the page to the list of all the foster kitties, by label, in the middle column of the blog. Look under "T," for "The Suprenants." :)

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  29. That really is incredible. I wasn't able to give as much as I would have liked, as my windows said "hi, I need replacing RIGHT NOW" and that ate my summer budget, but I think it's incredible all that you do for the cats and kittens and thank you so much for all of that.

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  30. Wooo Hooo !
    It´s great that so many green papers have been collected :)

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  31. Aw-w-w, I'm all teary! Congrats and Woo Hoo too for you & your shelter. Way to go!

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  32. Lily and Siam's mommyJuly 23, 2012 at 1:32 PM

    Smiling Siamese face 🐱

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  33. You took the words right out of my mouth, Deb. It was my first FUNdraiser with IBKC, and won't be my last.

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  34. Concatulations!!!!!

    We are purring for other rescues to be able to have some of the great success you do!

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  35. Thank you, Laurie. For without you, most of these donors would not even heard about the good works done at the Tacoma and Pierce Cty Humane Society. I only wish more shelters across the US would us them as a model. Our local shelter struggles to survive and is always overwhelmed with needy animals. (I donate to them as well) When you can see tangible results of your donations, it makes people want to give more. You deserve an award for all you do.

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  36. This FUNdraiser is just so much FUN!

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  37. Yay ! ! !

    Quarter of a million, here we come ! ! !

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