2021 Annual Report
Vision
Lil BUB’s Big Fund exists to advocate for special needs companion animals and build a community that celebrates and fosters the human animal bond. Through our work, we share BUB’s message of overcoming adversity and the knowledge that the things that make us different are worthy of being seen and appreciated.
Focus
Director's Update
Lil BUB’s Big FUND began in 2014 and it quickly became Lil BUB’s BIG FUND for the ASPCA. From 2014 to 2020, Lil BUB’s Big FUND for the ASPCA awarded 254 grants to 212 organizations totaling over $427,000.
Once BUB completed her years on earth, we knew it was time to bring her FUND home and our small family took the reins
and continued to advocate for special needs companion animals and build a community that celebrates and fosters the human animal bond. With a focus on animals who are the most difficult to adopt, the most expensive to care for, and who are at a high risk of euthanasia, Lil Bub’s Big Fund provides grants to shelters nationwide and partners with shelters to create special needs foster program initiatives.
We visit schools to promote kindness and inclusion. Through our work, we share BUB’s message of overcoming adversity and the knowledge that the things that make us different are worthy of being seen and appreciated. 2021 marked our first full year of service and I am happy to share that is was a resounding success despite the difficulties faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
We know BUB lives on in the hearts of those animals who continue to benefit from this lifesaving work.
Thank you for supporting this important work,
Stacy Bridavsky & the Lil BUB Family
Our Impact
In our first full year of grant-making, we administered $100,000 in grants to animal welfare agencies nationwide. Our grant-making initiatives aim to strengthen the human-animal bond and empower animal welfare agencies and animal care-takers to care for special needs pets.
LIL BUB'S LIL FRIENDS
special needs pets were served
special needs pets served through nonprofit veterinary clinics
grants administered nationwide
grants administered for emergency care of special needs pets through Lil BUB's Emergency Pet Fund on Waggle
special needs cats were able to stay with their owners instead of being relinquished due to costs associated with ongoing care
Milo's Sanctuary
Milo’s Sanctuary, Inc. is so grateful to the Lil’ Bub family and all the wonderful donors who participated. The funds raised will go directly to the medical care of the Lifetime Care Cats medical needs. Many of our older residents need dentals, blood work and check-ups. These funds will also allow us to help rescue two special needs cats. One is a little blind kitten, Delilah, found on the streets of Los Angeles and a sweet adult who found herself in the shelter without the ability to stand or walk more than a few steps without falling over. We also promise them the best life for as long as they live and these much needed funds will help us to fulfill this promise. Thank you again from all the cats and humans at Milo’s Sanctuary, Inc.
Michele Hoffman
Orphan Kitten Club
Baby Boo came to the Orphan Kitten Club as a tiny, frail orphan at the who was significantly smaller than her brothers and sister. At less than one pound, she was suffering from a gastrointestinal ileus, which required emergency hospitalization. We worked with our board veterinarian and an incredible local hospital to develop a treatment protocol that would save her life even with her small size.Weeks later, she was a healthy young cat who finally started to catch up with the others… and she was adopted with her sister! Lil BUB’s Big Fund helped cover the cost of Baby’s hospitalization and extensive medical care. We are grateful for this funding that allowed us to exhaust any avenue of diagnostics including having a necropsy performed on her brother who sadly passed away. This information in combination with top-notch medical care allowed us to have a better understanding of what care would be needed for this tiny kitten!
Jackson Galaxy
I am so grateful for this generous donation from Lil BUB’s big FUND because it will help to launch Operation Catification, a brand new initiative of The Jackson Galaxy Project that will improve outcomes for thousands of cats nationwide by creating safe and comfortable ‘catified’ spaces in shelters, decreasing stress and disease while improving adoption outcomes. We hope that wherever BUB is she is happy to see that her Big 10th Birthday is helping so many homeless cats
in need. Light, Love, and Mojo to you BUB!
Diabetic Cats in Need's Compassionate Assistance Program
The Lil BUB Fund’s Grant to Diabetic Cats in Need‘s Compassionate Assistance Program (CAP) kept 30 diabetic cats in their loving homes.
This program is at the heart of DCIN’s mission: keeping diabetic cats in their original, loving homes, regardless of the income level of their caregivers. Supporting this program provided theFUND with the opportunity to change the lives of many diabetic cats and their caregivers across theUnited States by ensuring that the cats are able to have continued access to necessary diabetic testing and treatment supplies.
GRANT GUIDELINES
Lil BUB’s Big Fund advocates for animals in need by building a community that promotes compassion and by strengthening opportunities for animals to live happy and healthy lives.
To help accomplish this, in 2022, Lil BUB’s BigFund will primarily focus on providing humane education programming, as well as making grants for foster programs, adoption programs, and medical assistance for special-needs companion animals who are more difficult to adopt or at higher risk of being relinquished to shelters.
What do we mean by special needs?
- Pets that need special care or extra help getting adopted due to conditions such as: physical deformity, birth defects, developmental disability, mobility impairment, blindness, deafness, wounds suffered from a disaster, accident, or abuse, any permanent diseases or chronic illnesses and old age.
- “Special needs” refers to an animal’s condition that hinders the average ability for an individual or family to care for the animal
- “Special needs” also refers to an animal’s condition that hinders the average ability for a shelter/rescue to care for the animal
- Special needs, specifically, includes:
Age, such as elderly animals or prenatal kittens who require more care; - Congenital/birth defects;
- Mobility issues;
- Physical conditions or behavioral issues resulting from abuse or neglect;
- Any medical conditions or chronic health issues that require ongoing care but have good prognosis, e.g. FIV, diabetes, kidney disease, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, or other conditions that require long-term or lifelong prescription food
Who We Typically Fund:
- Animal Shelters and Rescues with preference will be shown to shelters that are 501(c)(3) nonprofit or governmental, which may include municipal and county shelters and rescues that are public charities
- Shelters and Rescues must participate in Shelter Animals Count data program
- Veterinary Clinics
- Preference will be shown to nonprofit veterinary clinics.If a veterinary clinic, animal hospital, or veterinarian is private or for-profit, it must demonstrate that it has arrangements with a local shelter and/or that funds would be used for charitable purpose, such as to subsidize lower-cost procedures or treatments.
We Also Consider Funding For:
- Human service shelters that accommodate houseless people with companion animals or survivors of domestic violence with companion animals
- Organizations that professionally and humanely train service animals to help people with disabilities.
- Food banks and pantries that include pet food and supplies
Additional Considerations:
Regardless of entity, the organization should have a good standing in their community, including a track record of collaborating and working well with other animal welfare organizations in their area and prioritizing the animals and families within their communities. References will be checked.
The organization must treat all volunteers and anyone who comes to the shelter, rescue, or veterinary clinic with respect and dignity. Lil BUB’s Big Fund does not tolerate organizations, people, or policies that promote prejudice, bigotry, racism, classicism, sexism, or anti-immigrant or anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination.
Preference will be shown to organizations whose staff and boards reflect the communities in which they work and whose policies actively address and mitigate implicit and explicit bias.
Preference will be shown to organizations with good data practices. Funded organizations may be asked to participate in surveys, research studies, or data sharing projects (that will be compliant with privacy practices).
Who/What Would We Typically Not Fund?
- Individual pet owners and families. (We support individual pet owners through Lil BUB’s EmergencyPet FUND on Waggle. Please visit Waggle.org for information on how individuals can raise funds for pet care and reach out with any questions.)
- Individual community cat caretakers.
- Individual TNR trappers.
- Routine wellness (vaccinations, deworming, health checks, spay/neuter)
- Elective medical procedures and dental cleanings.
- We absolutely do not support cruel procedures, such as declawing or debarking, even if it could potentially help keep an animal in a home.
- We do not support behavioral training that does not follow humane best practices, such as electric shock, invisible fence/collars, or anything else that causes harm.
- Emergency housing/sheltering/boarding for individuals, unless at a human service shelter as noted above.
- Facility improvements, vehicles, building/infrastructure rental/purchase, or capital equipment.
- Support for wild/exotic animals kept as pets.
Lil BUB’s Big Fund wishes it could help all animals, but due to limited resources, the Fund typically would not focus on:
- Emergency situations that require immediate medical attention, such as broken bones, injuries, or other life-threatening conditions, except where a grant is for a veterinary or shelter fund to help animals in crisis as situations arise in the future. (Lil BUB’s Big Fund isn’t set up for rapid response support, and would not want any animal suffering in pain while waiting for a response.);
- Cancer treatments;
- Support to address conditions or health issues that have a poor prognosis in terms of survivability or that would keep an animal in pain, suffering, severe discomfort or distress.
board members
Mike Bridavsky
Rachel Gonzales
Adam Liebling
Claire Sterling
Jim Suttner
Jim graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He holds the professional certification of Certified Public Accountant.
Jim’s clients include organizations in various industries, including manufacturing, construction, real estate, dental, physician practices, and nonprofits.
Dr. Art Woodruff
Art Woodruff grew up in southern Indiana and began assisting in his dad’s veterinary practice at age 11. He attended Auburn University (where he was born) for pre-vet, and then Purdue University for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. He married his high school sweetheart, Debbie, just before attending veterinary school, and they graduated Purdue the same year. After a two year stint in an Equine practice near Indianapolis, the family moved to Bloomington Indiana and Art joined a small animal practice with some horse farm calls as well. In 1997, with the desire to own his own business that focused on a very personal house call approach, Art founded Pet Housecalls. Also at that time, he began a once weekly visit to the Bloomington Animal Care and Control shelter that lasted more than 15 years and culminated in the annual Be More Award for Be More Sustainable, resulting in a grant for the shelter. He was honored to be Lil Bub’s Lil Vet, and awestruck by her grace.
Art and Debbie have one daughter and two sons, and currently share their home with two cats, Pippi and Billy Bob, both rescues. Son, David Woodruff, was involved in artwork for Bub gear and was a pet parent of Smoosh, Lil Bub’s guy pal. In their time off, Art and Debbie both enjoy gardening and spending time outdoors.
donate
Would you like to donate to Lil BUB’s Big FUND and help animals with special needs? That’s great! We accept various forms of payment through PayPal and you can choose to make a one-time donation or monthly gift. Thank you!
contact
We’re growing! Stay tuned for more information on how you can get involved and help us with community outreach.
If you’d like to contact us, please email stacy@goodjobbub.org and we will be in touch.