What is your Mission?
The mission of The Foundation for Animal Care and Education (FACE) is to enhance and preserve the quality of life of animals by providing access to necessary medical care and education.
What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?
FACE has recently joined North County Philanthropy Council and we are so excited to be here. We hope to learn from fellow fundraisers and to gain additional insight, skills and networking opportunities. We are also looking forward to strengthening and growing our corporate and community partnerships.
What do you offer to the community?
Established in 2006 by a group of veterinarians and concerned community members, FACE is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial grants for animal owners who are unable to afford the cost of their pet’s emergency or critical care. The goal of FACE is to end economic euthanasia, which happens when a beloved pet is euthanized simply due to the cost of medical care. What started out as a beautiful vision to stop the surrender and euthanasia of beloved family pets has become a supportive center where families in crisis can get a helping hand to save their pets’ lives. FACE grantees are typically low-income families, senior citizens, veterans, military families, students, disabled individuals or hard-working families and individuals who struggle to survive paycheck to paycheck. FACE proudly works with 176 veterinary hospitals throughout San Diego County that generously discount their services for qualified FACE patients by at least 25% and help to fund raise whenever possible. With a tagline of “Saving Pets and Helping Families,” the work at FACE is just as important for the animals we save as it is for the families who are spared the heartbreak of losing their best friend.
Along with providing financial assistance for veterinary care, FACE also has a Community Outreach Program that focuses on connecting under-served pet owners with resources to veterinary care and pet supplies. Since 2016, FACE has partnered with 11 different organizations to serve over 600 pet owners in San Diego County, many of which are experiencing homelessness. We have a commitment to educating our community about animals through our Humane Education Program. We offer a variety of fun and interesting education programs that emphasize the human-animal bond and STEAM topics through hands-on humane education curriculum. Due to the pandemic, we are reaching many more people through online platforms across San Diego County and beyond with our education program. Every month a different topic is discussed about pet care. We listen to feedback and topics are chosen based on what people are asking to learn about such as pet dermatology and dog body language.
What was your organization/company’s biggest accomplishment in the past six months/one year?
In the past six months, keeping up with the changes for our team (events, for example) while maintaining our strong programs that support our community was a big accomplishment for FACE. It is great to know that because we have been able to remain steady, we can still be here as a resource to pet owners who have struggled due to the health crisis. A huge thanks to our supporters for enabling our program’s success.
What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?
Our 9th Invitational Dog-Friendly Golf Tournament is November 16 at the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. This tournament allows players to enjoy a day of golf with their furry friends followed by dinner, drinks and prizes – all to support FACE’s lifesaving programs. For more information please visit www.face4pets.org.
What changes have occurred due to COVID-19?
During this past year, as our community continues to adapt to the changes in our daily lives due to COVID-19, FACE has also seen our constituency of grantees change. FACE has seen an increase in applications due to job loss and business closures. Prior to California’s Stay at Home order, 10% of our grantees reported being unemployed in 2020. Now this has increased to an average of over 50% for the past six months.
Have you made a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization/company and if so, how are you demonstrating it?
FACE helps families of all backgrounds, and now more than ever we are committed to supporting communities that face disproportional financial barriers, which can limit their access to resources to care for their pets. In our work to help families and save pets, we serve and stand alongside those who have been marginalized. We continue to support humane, fair and compassionate treatment of our fellow humans just as we advocate for the animals.
We seek to listen to, learn from and amplify the voices of those who have not had a seat at the table to improve our organization and our sector. In doing so, we are committed to sharing our processes and encouraging participation along the way from others.