NBC AND TELEMUNDO OWNED STATIONS TEAM UP WITH THE MICHELSON FOUND ANIMALS FOUNDATION TO PRESENT THE FUND THE SHELTERS CHALLENGE ONLINE COMPETITION
As NBC and Telemundo stations prepare to present their fifth annual "Clear the Shelters" pet adoption campaign on August 17, the challenge will allow shelters/rescues to raise funds to support their ongoing efforts to help pets find loving homes
Registration for the "Fund the Shelters Challenge" opens today
Animal shelters and rescue groups in the U.S. and Puerto Rico can win weekly and grand cash prizes
NEW YORK – (February 21, 2019) – NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations (NBC and Telemundo stations), a division of NBCUniversal, and Michelson Found Animals Foundation, a non-profit committed to saving pets and enriching lives, today announced they are teaming up to host their first-ever Fund the Shelters Challenge. As NBC and Telemundo stations prepare to bring back their popular Clear the Shelters nationwide pet adoption campaign on Saturday, August 17, the Fund the Shelters Challenge will offer shelters and rescues an opportunity to raise funds and win cash prizes to support their life saving programs for pets in their communities, and offset reduced or waived adoption fees during Clear the Shelters Day 2019. Since 2015, more than 250,000 pets of all types have been adopted through NBC and Telemundo stations' Clear the Shelters nationwide pet adoption campaign.
The Fund the Shelters Challenge kicks off on April 9 and runs through May 9. The program is hosted on the Crowdrise by GoFundMe platform. Michelson Found Animals will award a total of $200,000 in prize money to organizations that participate in the challenge. There are two ways for groups to win: grand prizes totaling $135,000 will be presented to groups that raise the most money, and weekly bonus challenges, totaling $65,000, will be presented to groups throughout the month-long challenge to encourage their participation and to give all organizations a chance to win money.
The challenge is open to shelters and rescue groups participating in Clear the Shelters and to animal welfare organizations all across the country. Organizations must have a minimum annual operating budget of $25,000 and a maximum annual operating budget of $200,000 to participate in the challenge. Interested groups can visit crowdrise.com/fundtheshelters to register for the Fund the Shelters Challenge and to read additional program rules and eligibility information.
The NBC and Telemundo stations and Michelson Found Animals Foundation will announce the grand prize winners in May 2019.
Fund the Shelters Challenge borrows the successful model of the Michelson Found Animals Saving Pets Challenge, which it replaces for 2019. Since 2014, this pioneering fundraising effort has generated a cumulative program impact of over $7.2 million across over 600 participating organizations. For more information about the Fund the Shelters Challenge visit crowdrise.com/fundtheshelters. To learn more about Michelson Found Animals, visit foundanimals.org.
Groups interested in participating in Clear the Shelters 2019 can visit cleartheshelters.com or contact their local NBC and Telemundo stations directly, to sign up. To access information about Clear the Shelters in Spanish, please visit DesocuparLosAlbergues.com.
About NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations
NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations is the division of NBCUniversal that includes 40 NBC and Telemundo local television stations serving 28 markets, a regional news network and their associated websites and digital platforms, as well as a group of out-of-home properties, a production company, an in-house marketing and promotions company and two national multicast networks, COZI TV and TeleXitos. The local stations, which can be viewed in 37 percent of U.S. homes and in Puerto Rico, produce and deliver their local communities compelling and unique local news, real-time weather forecasts, consumer and investigative reports and entertainment programming across all platforms to help keep their English and Spanish-speaking audiences informed anytime and anywhere.
About the Michelson Found Animals Foundation
Michelson Found Animals Foundation is a leading animal welfare non-profit organization committed to keeping pets safe at home with the pet parents who love them. With a mission of Saving Pets, Enriching Lives, Found Animals is advancing the health and safety of pets through the first free, national microchip registry, solutions-based programs addressing pet adoption, microchipping, low-cost spay neuter services and grants for research into non-surgical spay and neuter methods. The foundation provides educational resources for pet parents and support for a variety of animal welfare organizations and is also supporting start up innovation in the pet care industry with the Leap Venture Studio. Generously funded by Dr. Gary Michelson and Alya Michelson, Found Animals has helped more than 1.5 million pets since it was founded in 2005. Follow our progress online at foundanimals.org.
About CrowdRise by GoFundMe
CrowdRise by GoFundMe is the world's largest social fundraising platform dedicated exclusively to fundraising for charities. Trusted by some of the biggest names in charitable fundraising, CrowdRise by GoFundMe empowers nonprofits and individuals to raise funds for the causes they care about. For more information visit www.CrowdRise.com.
NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations
Melissa Castro
melissa.castro@nbcuni.com
Michelson Found Animals
Jessica Vitale
jessica@craftedcom.com