Volume 2 Issue 7: Tails of Help June, 2017 Newsletter Tails of Help Pet Charity Faces Funding Crisis Announces 2017 Another charitable organization in Alberta is Since 2013, Tails of Help has secured increasing Program Funding feeling the pinch of a tight economy. Tails of Help support from individual donors, veterinary Changes is a charity that helps low income Albertans get clinics, corporate sponsors, and grants, with essential veterinary care when their pet is sick or contributions growing every year up until 2017. inside: Page 3 injured. This year, Tails of Help has seen its contributions falter, and actually decline from last year, with Since 2013, the demand for the program has so many corporations and individuals tighten- INSIDE THIS ISSUE: increased every year. Tails of Help has helped over ing their budgets to cope with current econom- 375 Albertans pay for the treatment of their pets. Alberta Challenge! ic conditions in Alberta. Coming Nov-Dec 2 Now, Tails of Help has run out of money. 250 Tails of Help is working hard to keep more 2017 Program ϮϱϬ ϮϮϬ220 2017 Funding Changes 3 PetsWĞƚƐ^ĂǀĞĚϮϬϭϱ Saved 2015 Ͳ-ϮϬϭϳ2017 Year-end Alberta pets healthy and with their loving fam- 200ϮϬϬ Projection ϮϬϭϳ ilies. The need for this program has exceeded zĞĂƌͲĞŶĚ VCA Canada Renews WƌŽũĞĐƚŝŽŶ 150 141 ϭϱϬ ϭϰϭ First the charity’s current capacity to fund it. Today, Sponsorship 3 5 months&ŝƌƐƚ ϱŵŽŶƚŚƐ only ve months into 2017, Tails of Help has 100 of 2017:ŽĨϮϬϭϳ͗ ϵϮ92 ϭϬϬ 78 Annual Fundraising ϳϴ allocated all of their available program budget Campaign 2017 4 50 ϱϬ for the entire year. Eective immediately, Tails of “Howloween” 0Ϭ Help is pausing the acceptance of applications 2015ϮϬϭϱ 2016ϮϬϭϲ 2017ϮϬϭϳ Dog Walk 6 DramaticOs conse growth eaquae. in theUt occus, numbers odi ofdolorestrum pets and families ni to help pet owners in need. voluptatesthat Tails of nos Help prae has pe aided voluptasped during 2015, molupta 2016, (‘Funding Crisis’ story cont’d pg 5) and the first 5 months of 2017. Tails of Help Alberta Challenge Prizes Awarded By Nicole Unrau In March our Tails of Help Executive Director, Andrew Ewan, visited the top performing teams in the rst Alberta Challenge campaign, held throughout Alberta in October and November 2016. Andrew presented the prizes and the trophy Winning team in the Alberta Challenge: Town Centre Veterinary Hospital in Edmonton. The trophy was presented by Ruthie Siddoway to the top fundraising teams. Winning team(far right) in the from Alberta our Challenge: generous 2016 Town Premier Centre Sponsor Veterinary - Hospital in Edmonton. TheVCA trophy Canada.Sponsor was presented - VCAby Ruthie Canada. Siddoway (far right) October 2016 marked the rst ever Tails of Help representing our generous 2016 Premier Sponsor, VCA Canada. Month, the biggest and most successful fund- raising event that Tails of Help has held since its inary clinics, animal enthusiasts, and businesses inception in 2013. Tails of Help Month is our annual from all over the province to provide aid for pets public fundraising campaign where members of in need. During the whole month of October the pet loving community join together with veter- 2016, small fundraising events on behalf of (‘Prizes Awarded’ story cont’d pg 5) Page 2 Tails of Help Newsletter, June 2017 *The Tails of Help Alberta Challenge! Coming Nov-Dec 2017! What is the “Tails of Help Alberta Challenge”? A fundraising campaign to support Tails of Help Generously supported by our Premier Sponsor VCA Canada Running from November 1 – December 20, 2017 Veterinary clinics, pet lovers, businesses all over Alberta Join together to provide aid for animals in need Tails of Help is a CRA registered charitable organization and donations will fund essential veterinary care for ill or injured pets of Alberta owners in financial need. What will be happening? Small fundraising events on behalf of Tails of Help A great way to raise awareness and funds Prizes for groups that raise the most money to support Tails of Help Who will win the trophy this year – last year the winning team was: dŽǁŶĞŶƚƌĞsĞƚĞƌŝŶĂƌLJ,ŽƐƉŝƚĂů͕ĨƌŽŵƚŚĞEŽƌƚŚĞƌŶZĞŐŝŽŶ Support us to help keep four-legged members of low income Alberta families happy and healthy for years to come! Thank you to our How to find out more? generous sponsors! Want more info? Don’t know where to start? Need help with your campaign? Visit our web page or register NOW at Premier Sponsor 2017: www.tailsofhelp.ca/alberta-challenge Or email [email protected] for more info and to get your FREE Tails of Help Alberta Challenge Fundraising Kit! Order your FREE kit early as supplies are limited *Tails of Help is seeking to raise commitments of $330,000 through its fundraising campaigns during the year 2017. We estimate that it will cost our organization $120,000 to raise this amount. We anticipate that these organizational costs will be entirely covered by corporate sponsorships and grants. This means that 100% of all additional donations will go toward our charitable activity of helping pets and families. Please note that this is the first full year that we will have a paid staff member (part-time) working for the charity. We plan to use the money to fund essential veterinary care for ill or injured pets of Alberta owners who are experiencing financial hardship. Our goal is to keep pets healthy and with their loving families. For further information, please visit our website www.tailsofhelp.ca , or phone Andrew Ewan, our Executive Director at 587-575-8415 or email to: [email protected] . Our mailing address is 1260 – 5328 Calgary Trail NW, Edmonton, T6H 4J8. Tails of Help is incorporated under the Companies Act (Alberta) and is a registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada). tailsofhelp.ca Keeping pets and families together. Tails of Help Newsletter, June 2017 Page 3 Tails of Help Announces 2017 Program Funding Changes Tails of Help is pleased to announce that the charity is making some Assured Income for Severely Handicapped (AISH) and Guaranteed changes to the funding limits and application process in 2017, with Income Supplement (GIS) recipients. the goal of making the aid program even easier for clinics to use, and accessible for even more Alberta pet owners Other categories for nancial qualication now include Alberta Works in their times of nancial hardship. recipients, Resettlement Assistance Program (Refugees), Domestic Violence Shelters referrals, Registered Social Worker referrals, and Low Clinics participating in the Tails of Help program have reported that Income Cut-O (LICO) criteria. The goal of this change is to make the they found the existing process to be easy and fast, with clear infor- program accessible for more Alberta pet owners in nancial hardship, mation available through the Tails of Help website, an application while still keeping the process simple with clear qualication criteria form that is quick to ll out, and prompt responses when completed that make it easy for clinics to make their decision about submitting applications are submitted. an application for their client. (‘Program Funding Changes’ story cont’d pg 7) Tails of Help has made the application process even easier for clinics, by changing the annual funding limit from the current $1000 per clinic, to instead become $1000 per veterinarian. For clinics with more “Tails of Help has made the than one doctor, this will make it easier for each doctor to know if they application process even easier have used their annual funding allocation or still have aid funding available. It will also solve the question of which doctor would be able for clinics...(and) also added more to use a clinic’s available funding. categories for quick and simple Tails of Help has also added more categories for quick and simple nancial needs qualication, in addition to the current categories of nancial needs qualication...” VCA Canada Renews Sponsorship at Premier Level Tails of Help is very proud to announce that supportingagencies and agencies their clients, and ourtheir vendor clients, partners our unconditionalas well as social love and and emotional aection support. as well No as VCA Canada has increased their sponsorship vendor– in caring partners for life’s in greatest caring for companions. life’s greatest Tails socialmatter and your emotional circumstances, support. pets No can matter provide your commitment for 2017 as a Premier Sponsor. companions.of Help is a vital Tails partner of Help in making is a vital that partner happen in circumstances,a deep sense of comfort.pets can For provide families a deep that aresense The company was a founding sponsor offor makingin Alberta.” that happen in Alberta.” ofdealing comfort. with For hardship families or thatjust gettingare dealing by, the with Tails of Help and their continuous support hardshipimportance or ofjust this getting bond canby, thebe even importance more “We “We understandunderstand thethe impact impact caring caring for for pets pets has included the 2015 golf tournament and ofcritical this bondto their can overall be even well-being. more critical Pets are to their has on pet parents. parents. The The human-animal human-animal bond as lead sponsor for the inaugural Tails of Help overalla cherished well- member of many families, and bondcreates creates a unique a unique relationship relationship that is everlasting that is Month held this past October. We appreciate being.can potentially Pets are bea cherished one’s only memberfamily. We of work many everlastingand unlike any and other. unlike Caring any other. for pets Caring can ease for VCA Canada’s support in continuing to make families,passionately and everycan potentially day to keep be these one’s families only petsloneliness, can ease reduce loneliness, stress and reduce anxiety, stress promote and a dierencedifference for for the the lives lives of of Alberta Alberta families families family.together We and work healthy.” passionately every day to anxiety,social interaction, promote andsocial encourage interaction, exercise.