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2024 News Releases
OFF, INC. RECEIVES $22,500 GRANT!
EVANS, W.Va. (MARCH 2024) — Operation Fancy Free, Inc. (OFF, Inc.) has been awarded a 2024 TNVR grant for $22,500, from the West Virginia Spay and Neuter Program (WVSNP) administered through the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. This is the seventh annual grant through WVSNP.
“We are so appreciative of these funds,” Kathy Stone, founder of OFF, Inc., said. “Veterinary costs have increased but cats needing our help have also increased. The worry of being able to fund expenses is always a deep concern.” We expect this grant to be exhausted by June. There is an option for an additional award amount at that time based on our needs.
OFF, Inc. has received a WVSNP award for the past six years, beginning in 2018. According to the website for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, its WVSNP grants are funded by registration fees paid by pet food manufacturers which sell their products in West Virginia, and noted these grants are not funded by taxes. In 2023, due to an influx of funding from MUG-Z-MOO, the WNSNP increased the size of the grant awards. That continues into 2024.
Stone explained OFF has a required matching portion to the grant of $15,000. This will be met with a mixture of mileage reimbursement which is donated, community donations, fundraisers, funds from the Kroger Community Rewards Program, and partial payments made by OFF, Inc. on each cat vetted. All these factors make Stone, “confident we will be able to secure our portion” of the grant's match.
Stone also stressed this grant can only fund spay and neuter surgery, rabies vaccine, and cryptorchid neuter. Incidentals found at time of surgery such as hernia, wounds requiring antibiotics or sutures, or amputations cannot be charged to this grant. Those must be absorbed entirely by OFF Inc. But it is the one chance to provide relief to the feline. Stone explained OFF, Inc. pays for vetting services as they go and never puts services on credit. The group is later reimbursed based on the submitted paperwork, including invoices, and a timetable.
Stone wishes to thank and give credit to the Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia (FOHO) for their work advocating for resources and legislation to address animal welfare issues, which benefit organizations like OFF, Inc as well as the Mug-Z-Moo Foundation.
OFF, Inc. primarily covers Jackson County, W.Va., but these TNVR funds can also be expended to assist in nearby Mason and Roane counties as needed and when available. Trapping services are not offered in Mason and Roane counties, though Stone said she would love to find volunteers in these areas to learn this skill.
For information on volunteering, donating or utilizing services, connect with OFF, Inc. via email at [email protected]; or, its official website at https://operationfancyfree.weebly.com; or its' Facebook page; or, by phone at 304-531-8710.
This news release was provided by Operation Fancy Free, Inc. A registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
©2024 Operation Fancy Free, Inc., all rights reserved.
“We are so appreciative of these funds,” Kathy Stone, founder of OFF, Inc., said. “Veterinary costs have increased but cats needing our help have also increased. The worry of being able to fund expenses is always a deep concern.” We expect this grant to be exhausted by June. There is an option for an additional award amount at that time based on our needs.
OFF, Inc. has received a WVSNP award for the past six years, beginning in 2018. According to the website for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, its WVSNP grants are funded by registration fees paid by pet food manufacturers which sell their products in West Virginia, and noted these grants are not funded by taxes. In 2023, due to an influx of funding from MUG-Z-MOO, the WNSNP increased the size of the grant awards. That continues into 2024.
Stone explained OFF has a required matching portion to the grant of $15,000. This will be met with a mixture of mileage reimbursement which is donated, community donations, fundraisers, funds from the Kroger Community Rewards Program, and partial payments made by OFF, Inc. on each cat vetted. All these factors make Stone, “confident we will be able to secure our portion” of the grant's match.
Stone also stressed this grant can only fund spay and neuter surgery, rabies vaccine, and cryptorchid neuter. Incidentals found at time of surgery such as hernia, wounds requiring antibiotics or sutures, or amputations cannot be charged to this grant. Those must be absorbed entirely by OFF Inc. But it is the one chance to provide relief to the feline. Stone explained OFF, Inc. pays for vetting services as they go and never puts services on credit. The group is later reimbursed based on the submitted paperwork, including invoices, and a timetable.
Stone wishes to thank and give credit to the Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia (FOHO) for their work advocating for resources and legislation to address animal welfare issues, which benefit organizations like OFF, Inc as well as the Mug-Z-Moo Foundation.
OFF, Inc. primarily covers Jackson County, W.Va., but these TNVR funds can also be expended to assist in nearby Mason and Roane counties as needed and when available. Trapping services are not offered in Mason and Roane counties, though Stone said she would love to find volunteers in these areas to learn this skill.
For information on volunteering, donating or utilizing services, connect with OFF, Inc. via email at [email protected]; or, its official website at https://operationfancyfree.weebly.com; or its' Facebook page; or, by phone at 304-531-8710.
This news release was provided by Operation Fancy Free, Inc. A registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
©2024 Operation Fancy Free, Inc., all rights reserved.
Grant from Walmart funds new traps!
Pictured at right are traps, Walmart employees and Bryan, a representative from OFF, Inc. (Photo by OFF, Inc.)
RIPLEY, W.Va. (March 2024) — Operation Fancy Free, Inc., (OFF, Inc.) has partnered with Walmart to fund some much needed, new equipment.
The $1,100 grant from Walmart, enabled OFF, Inc. to purchase nine live traps, a special round live trap and additional drop trap. All of these traps are humane and in no way harm the cats trapped for their spay and neuter, as well as rabies vaccination. Having a variety of traps allows the volunteer group to humanely trap given a variety of scenarios.
The grant application, which was through the corporate office, was reviewed and awarded by the local Ripley, W.Va. Walmart.
Though OFF, Inc. focuses their efforts mainly in Jackson County, W.Va., it has been branching out to assist those in need in both Mason and Roane counties.
OFF, Inc. expressed its appreciation of the grant which will enable its mission of Trap, Neuter/Spay, Vaccination and Return.
Check out local coverage of this grant, and what OFF, Inc. hopes to accomplish with it, via a piece from WV News and our local newspaper, the Jackson Star & Herald.
© 2024 Operation Fancy Free, Inc. All rights reserved. Operation Fancy Free, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 organization.
RIPLEY, W.Va. (March 2024) — Operation Fancy Free, Inc., (OFF, Inc.) has partnered with Walmart to fund some much needed, new equipment.
The $1,100 grant from Walmart, enabled OFF, Inc. to purchase nine live traps, a special round live trap and additional drop trap. All of these traps are humane and in no way harm the cats trapped for their spay and neuter, as well as rabies vaccination. Having a variety of traps allows the volunteer group to humanely trap given a variety of scenarios.
The grant application, which was through the corporate office, was reviewed and awarded by the local Ripley, W.Va. Walmart.
Though OFF, Inc. focuses their efforts mainly in Jackson County, W.Va., it has been branching out to assist those in need in both Mason and Roane counties.
OFF, Inc. expressed its appreciation of the grant which will enable its mission of Trap, Neuter/Spay, Vaccination and Return.
Check out local coverage of this grant, and what OFF, Inc. hopes to accomplish with it, via a piece from WV News and our local newspaper, the Jackson Star & Herald.
© 2024 Operation Fancy Free, Inc. All rights reserved. Operation Fancy Free, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 organization.
News archives from 2023
OFF, Inc. receives largest grant to date
EVANS, W.Va. (March 2023) — Operation Fancy Free, Inc. has been awarded its largest grant to date, which will help finance the sterilization of 650 cats within the counties the organization serves.
A West Virginia Spay and Neuter (WVSNP) grant in the amount of $25,000, has been awarded through the West Virginia Department of Agriculture to OFF, Inc. and it arrived just in time.
“We are so appreciative of these funds,” Kathy Stone, founder of OFF, Inc., said. “Things were getting pretty tight, and the worry of funding was a deep concern.”
OFF, Inc. has received a WVSNP award for the past five years, beginning in 2018, though none this large. According to the website for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, its WVSNP grants are funded by registration fees paid by pet food manufacturers which sell their products in West Virginia and noted these grants are not funded by taxes. OFF, Inc. is also providing $11,000 in matching funds, making the estimated cost of this ambitious project $36,000.
Stone explained the matching portion of the grant will be met with a mixture of mileage reimbursement which is donated, community donations, fundraisers, funds from the Kroger Community Rewards Program, and partial payments made by OFF, Inc. on each cat vetted. All of these factors make Stone, “confident we will be able to secure our portion” of the grant's match.
Stone also stressed this grant can only fund spay and neuter services, as well as the rabies vaccine.
“Services incidental to sterilization surgery, such as a cryptorchid neuter can be charged towards the grant but it’s very limited,” she said.
Though $25,000 is a significant amount, so is the need. For example, the grant allowed OFF, Inc. to retroactively submit vetting expenses dating back to Jan. 1, 2023, and it has been a busy year.
“Our first submission is ready to go for $8,600,” Stone said in April 2023. “So, a big portion is already spent. Regardless, we are going to use every dollar wisely and help the most cats and communities that we possibly can.”
Stone explained OFF, Inc. pays for vetting services as they go and never puts services on credit. The group is later reimbursed based on the submitted paperwork, including invoices, and a timetable.
The group had already canceled two vetting days prior to hearing the news it would receive this desperately needed, and fully funded, grant. Needless to say, the mission of trapping, neutering and spaying, vaccinating, and returning, is back in full swing.
According to Stone, the $25,000 grant was the maximum award an organization could receive. She credits the Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia (FOHO) for their work advocating for resources and legislation to address animal welfare issues, which benefit organizations like OFF, Inc.
OFF, Inc. primarily covers Jackson County, West Virginia, while these funds will also be expended to assist in nearby Mason and Roane counties as needed and when available.
©2023 Operation Fancy Free, Inc., all rights reserved.
May milestones for OFF, Inc.
Celebrating PACF grant and 7,000th vetted cat
RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. (May 2023) — For the second, consecutive year, Operation Fancy Free, Inc. (OFF, Inc.) has been approved for a grant from the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) to continue its mission of improving the lives of community cats through the process of trap, neuter or spay, vaccinate and return (TNVR). The award was presented during a week where OFF, Inc. also vetted its 7,000th feline.
The $2,000 grant, awarded through PACF’s spring grant program, was presented to OFF, Inc. at the May 16 meeting of Ravenswood City Council. This money is specifically from PACF’s Ravenswood Fund, which is a special fund within the Foundation, stated OFF, Inc. Founder Kathy Stone. That 7,000th cat, Gypsie, who fell out of a car motor and was later adopted by her rescuer, was also a Ravenswood area feline.
“These funds are designated with preference for Ravenswood cats,” Stone said. “We are proud of the work we do in Ravenswood. Keep those community cat leads coming!”
According to PACF’s website, the organization is “a single 501(c)(3) public charity that manages nearly 500 charitable funds started by people just like you. The PACF works in partnership with its local affiliates to provide leadership and develop philanthropic resources to meet the needs of an 11-county service area. Since 1963, PACF has helped local citizens support charitable needs and touch every aspect of life in the community in a variety of lasting ways.” Find out more information on PACF by clicking here https://pacfwv.com/about.
Stone said her grant proposal was titled, “Keep Our Felines Alive!” The proposal included a plan to fund neuter or spay sterilizations, and rabies vaccine, for local cats.
Stone said OFF, Inc. will have a year to spend the funds but due to the demand, she estimated the grant could be spent in less than two weeks, once the money is released.
OFF, Inc. received a “surprise” grant in the amount of $1,500 from PACF in November 2022, Stone explained. Also from the Ravenswood Fund, last year’s grant was used to process/sterilize Ravenswood cats only. From this funding, 35 cats, including 13 spays and 22 neuters, were completed from Nov. 23, 2022 to Jan. 26, 2023.
Stone said last year’s “surprise” grant from PACF, which she described as a “we caught you doing good works” award, was a “real honor,” especially since OFF, Inc. had not applied for funding from the foundation at that time.
When last year’s grant funding was announced, OFF, Inc., along with Alley Cat Allies (a cat advocacy group known around the globe), were working together on a TNVR program in Ravenswood, following a proposed “Amended Ordinance Regarding Animals in the City” as it related to cats. Read the Alley Cat Allies article, from September 2022, on the group’s website here. https://www.alleycat.org/another-win-for-cats-in-west-virginia/.
So far in 2023, OFF, Inc. has been announced as a grant recipient for not only PACF, but has been awarded its largest grant to date, which will help finance the sterilization of 650 cats within the counties the organization serves (primarily Jackson with funding in neighboring Mason and Roane counties, when available).
As previously reported, OFF, Inc. was named a recipient of a West Virginia Spay and Neuter (WVSNP) grant in the amount of $25,000, which is awarded through the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
The WVSNP grant allowed OFF, Inc. to retroactively submit vetting expenses dating back to Jan. 1, 2023, and it has been a busy year.
“Our first submission is ready to go for $8,600,” Stone said in April. “So, a big portion is already spent. Regardless, we are going to use every dollar wisely and help the most cats and communities that we possibly can.”
As for the recent announcement of the PACF grant, Stone said, “Operation Fancy Free, Inc., is honored to receive these funds to help us continue our mission to keep cats alive in our county. We are humbled by the knowledge that foundations both large and small believe in our program, and also understand the dedication involved to keep the cat populations under control.”
For information on volunteering, donating or utilizing services, connect with OFF, Inc. via email at [email protected]; or, its official website at https://operationfancyfree.weebly.com; or, its Facebook page; or, by phone at 304-531-8710.
This news release was provided by Operation Fancy Free, Inc. A registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
© 2023 Operation Fancy Free, Inc., all rights reserved.
The $2,000 grant, awarded through PACF’s spring grant program, was presented to OFF, Inc. at the May 16 meeting of Ravenswood City Council. This money is specifically from PACF’s Ravenswood Fund, which is a special fund within the Foundation, stated OFF, Inc. Founder Kathy Stone. That 7,000th cat, Gypsie, who fell out of a car motor and was later adopted by her rescuer, was also a Ravenswood area feline.
“These funds are designated with preference for Ravenswood cats,” Stone said. “We are proud of the work we do in Ravenswood. Keep those community cat leads coming!”
According to PACF’s website, the organization is “a single 501(c)(3) public charity that manages nearly 500 charitable funds started by people just like you. The PACF works in partnership with its local affiliates to provide leadership and develop philanthropic resources to meet the needs of an 11-county service area. Since 1963, PACF has helped local citizens support charitable needs and touch every aspect of life in the community in a variety of lasting ways.” Find out more information on PACF by clicking here https://pacfwv.com/about.
Stone said her grant proposal was titled, “Keep Our Felines Alive!” The proposal included a plan to fund neuter or spay sterilizations, and rabies vaccine, for local cats.
Stone said OFF, Inc. will have a year to spend the funds but due to the demand, she estimated the grant could be spent in less than two weeks, once the money is released.
OFF, Inc. received a “surprise” grant in the amount of $1,500 from PACF in November 2022, Stone explained. Also from the Ravenswood Fund, last year’s grant was used to process/sterilize Ravenswood cats only. From this funding, 35 cats, including 13 spays and 22 neuters, were completed from Nov. 23, 2022 to Jan. 26, 2023.
Stone said last year’s “surprise” grant from PACF, which she described as a “we caught you doing good works” award, was a “real honor,” especially since OFF, Inc. had not applied for funding from the foundation at that time.
When last year’s grant funding was announced, OFF, Inc., along with Alley Cat Allies (a cat advocacy group known around the globe), were working together on a TNVR program in Ravenswood, following a proposed “Amended Ordinance Regarding Animals in the City” as it related to cats. Read the Alley Cat Allies article, from September 2022, on the group’s website here. https://www.alleycat.org/another-win-for-cats-in-west-virginia/.
So far in 2023, OFF, Inc. has been announced as a grant recipient for not only PACF, but has been awarded its largest grant to date, which will help finance the sterilization of 650 cats within the counties the organization serves (primarily Jackson with funding in neighboring Mason and Roane counties, when available).
As previously reported, OFF, Inc. was named a recipient of a West Virginia Spay and Neuter (WVSNP) grant in the amount of $25,000, which is awarded through the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
The WVSNP grant allowed OFF, Inc. to retroactively submit vetting expenses dating back to Jan. 1, 2023, and it has been a busy year.
“Our first submission is ready to go for $8,600,” Stone said in April. “So, a big portion is already spent. Regardless, we are going to use every dollar wisely and help the most cats and communities that we possibly can.”
As for the recent announcement of the PACF grant, Stone said, “Operation Fancy Free, Inc., is honored to receive these funds to help us continue our mission to keep cats alive in our county. We are humbled by the knowledge that foundations both large and small believe in our program, and also understand the dedication involved to keep the cat populations under control.”
For information on volunteering, donating or utilizing services, connect with OFF, Inc. via email at [email protected]; or, its official website at https://operationfancyfree.weebly.com; or, its Facebook page; or, by phone at 304-531-8710.
This news release was provided by Operation Fancy Free, Inc. A registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
© 2023 Operation Fancy Free, Inc., all rights reserved.