Written By: Sally Williams, Founder and President, Mission Meow
If you want to know more about Mission Meow, think about words like joy, dreams, hope, community, love and cats. Yes, there is a lot of hard work and dedication involved in launching and running a nonprofit, but when you focus on words like those the work is worth it.
Mission Meow is a dream come true for me as well as everyone who volunteers or supports us. Most importantly, it is a dream come true for the cat rescue community. After saying goodbye to my first nonprofit, The Brodie Fund, at the end of 2021, I wasn’t sure where I would go next and I definitely didn’t see anything like Mission Meow coming to life. After taking a few months off, I realized how much I missed the nonprofit sector. Helping pets fight cancer had been amazing, but eventually, it was not emotionally sustainable. It was my love of cats and being of service that got me thinking about launching a new nonprofit. But I knew it needed to be unique and have a different approach to fundraising.
The name Mission Meow came first, and I quickly knew who I wanted to serve. The amazing logo came next, allowing me to visualize the next steps. The cat rescue, shelter and TNR community have always been something I am passionate about. I have seen firsthand the challenges, triumphs and heartbreaks that come with that work. Having been the director of a nonprofit during the worst of Covid, I am all too familiar with how difficult it became to fundraise. The cat community desperately needed help as these small organizations were struggling, burnt out and even worse, closing their doors.
So, now I knew who I wanted to help and why, next was the how. Fundraising is always challenging for small organizations, so I started thinking outside the box and came up with a 3 pronged approach with the foundation of partnering with businesses to become annual donors. An approach that was going to make the biggest impact for those in need.
Armed with a plan, I started building a team and brainstorming to make sure we had a solid foundation in time to launch in October 2022. Over time, the Mission Meow Board of Directors grew into a “Dream Team” and we worked hard to grow our list of business partners, supporters and set up our Teespring merchandise shop. The 3 prongs of our foundation were set.
October came quickly and we were ready to go! Our first benefiting nonprofit, Catsbury Park, had been chosen, the list of business partners was growing and a launch event was planned. In a few short months, we made the dream of Mission Meow a reality. Now it’s November and Mission Meow can proudly say we reached our goal and gave a grant of $10,000 to Catsbury Park for their 2023 expansion. The unique fundraising approach worked and having the foundation of amazing business partners made all the difference. As I said in our most recent newsletter:
“To say we are proud is putting it lightly. To say we are grateful doesn’t seem enough.”
The sky’s the limit for Mission Meow, especially with our incredible Board Of Directors, dedicated team of volunteers, passionate donors and incredible business partners. I can no longer speak in terms of “I” as everything being achieved is “We” and teamwork is the centerpiece of Mission Meow. Everyone involved understands the importance of the words I used at the very beginning; joy, dreams, hope, community, love and cats. I’ll add two more: kindness and compassion. This amazing team embodies those words and so much more. What started out as my dream has become the dream of so many others.
Dreams can come true and Mission Meow is proof.
Mission Meow works with businesses to increase the level of charitable donations for small feline-centric nonprofits to help create meaningful change for cats in need.
