City of San Bernardino generates donation fund for new animal shelter, earns no-kill status

On November 4, San Bernardino City Council voted to approve the establishment of a special fund to benefit the San Bernardino Municipal Animal Shelter.

These donations will provide the shelter the ability to offer relief to low income residents’ pets, off-set medical costs, provide care and treatment of animals at the shelter to increase adoption probability and revitalize the dated building.

“We have a lot of community interest in providing additional funding resources to the new animal shelter. There are some potential donors out there. We have a donation fund for animal services…people are able to donate their time, treasure or talent to the city, it is a tax deductible donation,” said City Manager Rod Field. “It’s the fastest mechanism we can create to receive funds from constituents who are interested in donating to our animal services department.”

On average, the city’s animal shelter costs an estimated $2.6 million to upkeep per year, leaving them with zero funds to repair the facility.

“Thank you to our Animal Services Director Kris Watson and her staff, they do a lot with a facility that is in pretty tough shape. As we move forward we will look into how we can make a few changes there. Just last month our animal shelter achieved a no-kill status for both dogs and cats,” continued Field.

More recently, the city council considered transferring the shelter to a 501(c)(3) status, but ultimately chose to forgo the idea.

“City staff considered the establishment of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit as an alternative. However, City staff ultimately determined that the establishment of a special restricted fund was the better option because it involved reduced costs, meaning more resources could be dedicated to the animals rather than to the administration of a nonprofit, and identical tax benefits for donors as donations are similarly tax deductible under Internal Revenue Code section,” said Animal Services Director Kris Watson.

According to Field, there is already a moderate interest from individual donors; corporate donations will also be accepted.

For more information, visit SB Animal Shelter Services.