About
Fabulous McGrady and Friends Foundation (FMFF) was formed in June 2011 to assist rural animal shelters in need in North & South Carolina. FMFF’s mission is to provide things to these shelters that directly and positively affect the well-being and comfort of the animals within the shelter. We do this in a number of ways:
1. RECYCLING of gently used pet-related goods for reuse at shelters that cannot afford them. Such items include metal food bowls, metal water pails, plastic insulated dog houses, collars, leashes, clean towels, blankets.
2. FOOD/SUPPLY DRIVES as many rural shelters are seeing huge upticks in the number of owners surrendered by animals due to job loss. Shelters set their yearly food budgets about 6 months in advantage and budget for “x” amount of animals for “y” amount of days. Providing extra food allows the shelters to give shelter residents more time to find forever homes or rescue. Providing insulated dog houses, blankets and other goods directly increases the comfort of the shelter residents. We tailor our supply drives to meet each shelter’s individual needs.
3. FUNDRAISING for specific projects. In the past this has included raising funds towards the purchase of gated dividers such that each large dog had their own kennel run (the prior arrangement had been multiple dogs in a very large fenced area) at Ashe County Animal Control (NC).
4. EDUCATION of animal owners to help with owner retention of their animals so that they do not end up in the shelter. This includes education about the importance of vaccinations, Spay/Neuter, proper containment of animals, etc.
5. PROMOTION of shelter pet adoption through use of Social Media
6. SUPPORTING DEEPLY DISCOUNTED SPAY/NEUTER efforts in rural Carolinas counties to help decrease intake of unwanted animals into rural shelters. This is the KEY to decreasing euthanasia rates. In Fall 2013, Friends of Ashe County Animals (a division of FMFF) partnered with Ashe Humane Society to fund “The $5 Fix” to decrease the costs of Spay/Neuter $5.00 for those who absolutely could not afford such services. This doubled AHS’s usual S/N voucher purchase rate.
While our organization is a small one, we hope that that also translates into a certain amount of flexibility and the ability to respond quickly to rural animal shelters’ needs here in the Carolinas. We like to visit each of the shelters that we help and meet the staff/volunteers who do the hard work of helping the animals from day-to-day. This gives us an even better insight into the communities needs. We also hope to shine a light on great ideas that have worked in one community and share those with other communities in the hopes that they can use them to their benefit as well.
As of June 2014, FMFF is a registered non-profit in the State of North Carolina AND an IRS-recognized 501c3 (tax exempt) organization!
For more information about our inspiration and “reason for being”, please see the “Meet McGrady” section of this website. If you’d like to donate, please contact us at fabulousmcg@gmail.com