FRIENDS FOR FELINES INC

Our goals are as follows:
-No cat or kitten shall be abused, abandoned or left behind and we will respond accordingly when called upon to accept homeless rescues from our local shelters
-All cats and kittens in our care shall find their forever homes
-All cats and kittens in our care shall receive necessary medical and emotional care so they are healthy and ready for adoption
-Tabby Town shall continue to support a 100% spay/neuter policy for all our animals
-Tabby Town shall be a source of education and support for our community
-Tabby Town shall work collaboratively with our animal shelter partners toward a "No Kill' goal-
-Tabby Town shall support, value and respect our team of dedicated volunteers at all times, and shall encourage their participation and feedback as we continue our journey and our work. Our team of volunteers will be appropriately appreciated and recognized at Tabby Town through our Volunteer Recognition Program, which is ongoing and growing.
-Tabby Town shall provide at our adoption location a safe, clean, uplifting environment and experience for all our visitors as well as our cats, kittens and volunteers.

Tabby Town has partnered with highly regarded organizations including Best Friends Animal Society, ASPCA, Humane Society of the US, as well as all our local shelters (including the Erie County SPCA) with whom we work tirelessly to assure that every cat gets an opportunity for a forever home. Our mission states that Tabby Town will fill the heart of every rescued cat and kitten who is in need of good food, good health and a good home. Friends for Felines was formed as a 501 (c) (3) to increase cat adoptions in our community. We do this by bringing homeless cats and kittens closer to the public through the creation of Tabby Town, a rescued cat's home between homes. This is our most significant strategy and all our activities are centered around achievement of adoptions to forever homes. All our work, our programs, our outreach, our daily care and team dedication is centered around adoption through the arrangement of cozy kitty condos for our cats and kittens at our location; this is how we bring our felines closer to the public in order to achieve our primary goal. We also work closely with our veterinary partners to achieve another very important goal of making sure each of our residents is healthy and ready for adoption. Important to achievement of this goal is the hard work of our dedicated team of volunteers, who lovingly care for and administer medicines as necessary to all our cats and kittens.

In preparation for this work, President/Executive Director Cheryl Ludwig and her team and Board of Directors visited and studied the prototype in Utah at Best Friends Animal Society, called "Furburbia". Ms. Ludwig is also a founding member of Animal Alliance of Western New York, which was formed as a partnership for our local animal welfare organizations to work collaboratively toward the common goals of increasing successful adoptions and decreasing euthanasia in our area. All our volunteers regularly attend educational seminars and webinars; many have previously been employed at other shelters and vetarinary clinics, and have brought their experience and expertise to Tabby Town. We are capable of administering proper medical care and follow-up, emotional healing and all basic needs such as proper diet, grooming and other requirements for all our cats and kittens. Our location also provides the right surroundings and environment to facilitate happy animals while they await their forever homes. We have developed successful relationships with many corporate and community entities in order to keep us fiscally viable. Our marketing capabilities are comprehensive; several key volunteers and staff have an extensive background and knowledge of various areas of sponsorship, event planning, advertising opportunities, social media and grant writing. Our organization has also created a "catique", which is a retail store within our adoption center; this directly supports the needs of our customers when they adopt, as well as drawing visitors and other shoppers to our unique mall space.

Our progress shall be measured by our overall number of successful adoptions and as well our intake/adoption ratio. Our progress shall also be measured by the positive feedback we receive from our visitors, our volunteers and our adoptive families. We have adopted over 3,800 cats and kittens to new forever homes over the last four years.
Although we have been able to remain viable for over four years with the current challenges facing those entities residing in Buffalo,New York, a financially struggling area, Tabby Town will steadfastly continue to increase our successful number of adoptions while working to become as fiscally solid as possible. We are also launching a community campaign to raise awareness about our mission and our adoption program. Our progress is also illustrated through the implemention of the following other programs:
-Donor outreach campaign via mail and web
-Aggressive Facebook campaign and activity
-Enhanced follow-up to donors including individual thank yous and recognition
-Various special adoption events both on and off-site
-Several fundraising activities and special events both on and off-site
-Aggressive outreach to local and regional foundations including grant requests and in-kind requests, resulting in receipt of two national grants over the last two years, as well as several in-kind donations
-Increased collaboration with our local shelter partners
-Increased national participation in various animal welfare programs including Best Friends Animal Society, The National Humane Society, ASPCA, Pet Rescue Rx, Doris Day Animal Foundation and many others
-Participation in corporate match programs with several local employers
-Alliance with Operation Pets, a local low cost spay/neuter clinic
-Successful relationship and negotiation with local McKinley Mall management, resulting in discounted rent (over a four year period) for Tabby Town as a unique tenant at the mall. This creates significant walk-in traffic and exposure for our cats as a highly unusual setting for a rescue and adoption center, enhancing our ability to reach the public.