Merced SPCA Statement of Reorganization

 

As most of our friends, members and volunteers know, the Merced SPCA had no choice but to close the animal shelter on Childs Ave.  Not enough funding and not enough volunteers…..very sad day for all of us.  We have rescued, nursed back to health, spay/neutered, loved, socialized and adopted out hundreds of dogs and cats.  We have cried with shattered hearts when we would lose one of them and cry with joy when they were adopted into loving homes.

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When the SPCA started in 1969, it did not have a physical Shelter.  It was in the very early part of 2000 that the SPCA, due to an endowment, was able to purchase the previous Veterinary building on Childs to operate as an animal rescue shelter.  This building was old then ….. this past 17 years, this building has disintegrated around us.  There was never enough money to repair it properly.    About two years ago things that had to do with the safety of our precious animals and us (volunteers and members) had to be repaired.  To name just a few – repair of leaking gas lines under the building!   Dig up and replace leaking leech lines from the septic tanks……it was financially devastating.  And as you all know, when it would rain, the water would roll down our slanted driveway and directly into the shelter building.    Along with this, our average PG&E bill, because of the age of the building and no insulation, was $630.00 a month!  The month of December brought us $10,611.00 from our Christmas Tour of Homes……however, that same month, we paid out $8981.69 in medical bills.  We worked with local vets for discounts, shopped sales for supplies, did as many fund raisers as we could with what volunteer base we had.  

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By about October of 2016, we knew if a miracle didn’t happen, there just was no way to continue operating the physical shelter.    And during this same time, we were devastated with a raging outbreak of ringworm and calicivirus!  Over a span of almost two years, there were six or seven articles written in the Sun Star along and the County Times bringing attention to our plight…..when these articles would come out, our donations did increase for a few weeks.  We tried, in these articles, to ask for help in the area of making us self-sufficient.   I, personally, went to four long time lucrative businesses in Merced begging for help.  Not just donations, but things like “Employee volunteer Day” or Advertisement in the local papers for a $9.99 program - get one thousand people to auto donate $9.99 a month;  no matter how you figure that, it would be $9,999.00 a month for the SPCA!!!!  I asked for a car as a raffle item, stressing it would be great advertisement; didn’t even ask for a new car, two of these businesses never responded after a letter and two follow up calls, one flat refused and wrote us a $25.00 check instead and the fourth one said they would get back to me and never did, after two follow up calls.  I explained to each of these flushing businesses how it financially behooved them to support the SPCA…I explained down to the last detail how much it costs for Animal Control to pick up animals, etc., vs. the SPCA, it was all to no avail.  

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With the closure of the shelter, the SPCA Board of Directors has made the decision to continue as the Merced SPCA (as a Society) as when it first started in 1969.  We will work in tandem with the Merced Animal Control and New Beginnings to continue saving as many animals as we can; to continue spay and neuter of as many animals as we can in an effort to decrease the horrible euthanasian rate in Merced due to abandonment, abuse and overpopulation.  Additionally we intend to do our best in aiding in medical treatment of Merced’s animals by using monies we receive from our members as donations and membership renewals or new memberships.  If we are able to rally enough volunteers to stage fundraisers, that money will also be used for medical treatment, spay and neutering of Merced’s animals.  

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As a 501(C)3, our filing status and information, can be found here: www.irs.gov. You can search for individual Form 990-series returns filed since January 2018. This includes Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF and 990-N (e-Postcard). Forms 990-T filed by 501(c)(3) organizations are also available.

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To our members, we ask, please, if you haven’t renewed your membership, please do so now.  Our mailing address remains the same   Merced SPCA P.O. Box 929, Merced, CA 95341

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If you have any questions, want to volunteer, etc., please email us at SPCAMerced@yahoo.com

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   Merced SPCA Board of Directors

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• Cynthia Kelly, President

• Frank Cienfuegos, Vice-President

• Kelly Sizemore, Treasurer

• Lyrical Adam, Secretary

• Florence Lambert, Membership