How Pause 4 Paws Came To Be
Welcome to our first-ever blog post, we’re thrilled to have you! Launching a blog has been an idea in the works for a while at Pause 4 Paws. We have been asking fellow board members, family, and friends for their best tips and tricks for animal lovers & owners everywhere!! We’ve learned so much along the way and some of this stuff is seriously life-changing... so obviously we have to share. And of course we will keep you up-to-date about all the work we’re doing for animals along the way. But first, we thought we’d do a little introduction about who we are and how Pause 4 Paws came to be!
Without further ado, here are a few words from our founder, Jill Goldstein:
The beginning of Pause 4 Paws is a bit embarrassing. I say that because it seemed to fall into my lap, it was never my plan to start a non-profit. I have always been a huge advocate for and lover of animals my whole life and spent a lot of time volunteering for various animal rescues. Growing up, my parents also spent a great deal of time volunteering and fundraising for different organizations. They were always very passionate about it and there’s no doubt they inspired me along the way. I joke that I knew how to handle a seating chart for 400 people before I could even walk.
In the winter of 2011, I was at a fundraiser Tim Mahoney was performing at. One of the silent auction items was for Tim to go to a home and play a private concert. My friend, knowing how much I loved his music, was kind enough to purchase that auction item for me as a gift.
Being the charitably minded person I am, I instantly started thinking about how I could turn this personal concert into a larger, more impactful event. Instead of having Tim Mahoney come to my home, I decided to turn the concert into a fundraiser. Half the money would go to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue (RLRR) where my dog Oliver and cat Gizmo were adopted from in 2010. The other half would go to a charity that we hadn’t yet chosen.
My Dad heard about an event that was hosting many rescues in the area and I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to find the other half we were looking for. I went with some business cards, told them my fundraising idea, and heard back from 30+ rescues! The integrity and values of rescues are very important to me and I wanted to make sure I was choosing the right ones. So, I called up a few friends for help and together we created a questionnaire of things we felt were important. We had each rescue fill it out, reviewed them all, and interviewed the best candidates.
After talking with all of the groups we weren’t surprised to hear the biggest need across the board was money. Rescuing dogs and cats is not cheap and they all needed more money to continue doing just that. At this point, it was obvious that the local rescues needed help and not simply just by doing more rescuing. There was a huge demand for our little fundraiser we were putting together and we knew we could do so much more good if we turned it into a business, so we decided to start a fundraising organization and we chose 13 groups to be our beneficiaries.
A friend of mine heard about what we were working on and suggested we turn it into a non-profit. He assisted me with a business plan and filling out the paperwork to gain our 501 c3 status. I have been told this process usually takes 6+ months, but we received our states in only 34 days. The day that letter came in the mail, I realized what we were creating was bigger than I ever anticipated.
Pause 4 Paws’ first-ever event was held at the Medina Entertainment Center. We were told by our auctioneer, Glen Fladeboe, if we had 100 people, that is a success. We had 300 and the rest is history! We have been growing ever since and we are SO excited to be where we are today.
Since 2011, Pause 4 Paws has led the effect to provide emergency funds that improve the lives of cats and dogs in need throughout Minnesota. Through 2019, Pause 4 Paws directly supported numerous animal rescues and sanctuaries in Minnesota. Most animal rescues are small, volunteer-based community organizations that do not have staff available to spend time fundraising. Pause 4 Paws worked on behalf of these organizations and has distributed over $500,000 to these beneficiaries since our inception. In doing so, the rescues we supported have saved over 46,000 dogs and cats and spayed or neutered nearly 31,500 animals since 2011.
At the start of 2020, Pause 4 Paws reflected on previous years and created intentions to do more, help more, and recognize where we can be most effective. While we may continue to support our partners in the rescue community in some capacity, Pause 4 Paws will be focusing our fundraising efforts and directing funds to where they are needed most. Whether that be funding a spay/neuter clinic or covering necessary vet costs, the options are endless if we stay true to that mission.