BROOKINGS – The folks at the Brookings Regional Humane Society have a message for Brookings area residents: thank you.

In November 2017, the leaders of the local Humane Society shelter were facing a financial crisis, with only enough money for that month and a long stretch of time until their main fundraising event, Paws for Wine, in February.

“We were hopeful with holiday donations and things like that that we would make it through the end of the year, but how would we make January happen and get us to Paws for Wine?” asked BRHS Executive Director Maia Moore.

The answer was the community. After the community learned of their plight, things began to change. Donations went up, and people and groups organized fundraisers of their own. About $40,000 was collected.

“Now when I tear up, it’s because of this, because of all the outpouring,” BRHS Vice President Beth Reams said.

“Everybody can make a difference. That’s been the part that’s been most exciting for me,” seeing groups like Advance and children fundraise, Moore said.

Thanks to the generosity of others, they’ve met their goal of obtaining the funds to stay in business until at least their Paws for Wine event. With their short-term needs taken care of, they want to put in the work to make the nonprofit sustainable in the long-term.

To that end, they went before the Brookings City Council, which agreed to set up a task force with that very goal in mind.

One avenue they know will make planning and budgeting easier is monthly donations rather than big one-time donations. 

Expenses are always an unknown, completely dependent upon the number of animals at the shelter and their health. The number of cats at the shelter are lower than it was before – down to about 50 now – but the number of dogs there has risen.

Officials figured after they count revenue from adoption fees, they need to raise another $18,000 a month to break even. That goes toward buying medical supplies and paying crucial staff members, utilities and rent.

“It’s been nice to have conversations with people, people questioning why our adoption fees are what they are on cats when they can get a free cat. We explain that when you get the free cat, if you actually do the vet care, it’s higher than our adoption fee,” Moore said. “People have been open to conversation about the medical work we do and the care that goes into the animals and we do our best.”

Fundraisers are still going to be a key part of bringing in dollars and spreading word about BRHS’s mission. One that’s coming up quickly is Paws for Wine, at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Swiftel Center. Their biggest event of the year, this year’s is all the more special because it partly celebrates the 20th year of BRHS in Brookings.

There will be a variety of silent auctions happening. Any items anyone would like to place up for silent auction must be brought in by Jan. 25. The winning bids at these silent auctions will be matched by the donor, too.

They’ll run a slideshow during the event, too, featuring adopted animals and BRHS statistics and other fun things. The event also features wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres and desserts, and live music by Plum Crazy.

Tickets are $35, and the price will be $40 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at Cinema 8, Brookings Radio and BRHS.

“We have a local donor who is going to match all of the money we take in for Paws for Wine except for the ticket sales,” Reams said.

“It’s really nice when we can say, ‘Your $250 is going to be $500 to us.’ Or, if they gave $100 last year, we say, ‘If you’re able to, this is the year to step up because we’ve got a matching donor.’ Then people realize their money’s going twice as far now.”

Volunteers are always welcome, too, and fundraisers are one way to pitch in. That’s a particularly useful setting for those with pet allergies but who still want to help.

Other jobs for would-be volunteers include what Moore calls “the dirty work”: laundry, dishes, etc. These kinds of chores can be done later in the day, after someone’s workday at 5 p.m.

“If people have a particular skill, if they approach us and tell us what that skill is, I would love to find a way to put them to work,” Moore said.

For all the worry that came in 2017, they’re hopeful for 2018.

“We now have hearts full of hope. We feel very good. We feel confident that … we’re going to be able to sail through 2018,” Reams said. “We’re going to keep doing what we do, we’re going to keep doing the fundraisers we always do. The stress is off a little bit, not that we ever rest easy.”

Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.