The Osawatomie Community Care Fund
Keeping families together through veterinary care.
“Even a single act of kindness can save an animal’s life.”
If we can prove it works in Osawatomie, we will not just have helped one town — we will have built a model that any small city can follow.
A Sponsorship Invitation · Presented by the Veterinary Rescue Collaboration
Community Care Starts Here
Always & Furever’s Community Care Fund helps Osawatomie families afford veterinary care for the pets they love. Each month, a portion of our care is distributed by a fair, random drawing. Complete the form to enter — or help make this care possible by sponsoring or donating to the fund.
Why the OCC Fund Matters
Hear directly from Jen about why the Osawatomie Community Care Fund is launching, how families will be selected, and how donor-funded veterinary care can help keep beloved pets with the people who love them.
A Beautiful Little City That Stepped Up
Osawatomie is a small Kansas town with a big history. Settled by abolitionists in 1854 and made famous by John Brown in the struggle to keep Kansas a free state, this is a community that has always understood one thing: you stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
Now we are giving back — by taking care of this city’s animals at the shelter & in their homes with the people who love them.
The pound no one was supposed to see
The old rural pound was not open to the public. It was a small shed — no windows, no bathroom, no social media, no promotion. The dogs and cats who landed there had almost no chance of being seen, let alone saved.
When Always & Furever stepped in, we did it the only way we know how — all in. We volunteered 100% of our time, our funds, and our staff. We vaccinated every animal. We took every single one into our care to promote for adoption and foster.
From a windowless shed to a place of dignity
In 2023, we purchased the property from the city and took it over completely. What had been a place animals were hidden away became a place where they are cared for in small, calm, tiny-home-style living spaces — room to decompress, to be seen, and to be loved while they wait for their family to find them.
It was never about taking over a building. It was about stepping up for the animals who needed help the most and now, for the people who love them and need help with veterinary care.
A City Partnership That Changes Lives
This is what it looks like when a city and a rescue decide to take care of each other.
What Always & Furever provides the City of Osawatomie
- Care for every city stray within city limits — at no charge
- Vaccination, medical care, and a safe place to land for every animal at the shelter
- Adoption and foster promotion so animals find real homes — not cages
- A genuine No Kill commitment — no animal euthanized for space
Now the model goes one step further
We have proven we can care for the animals with no home. The Osawatomie Community Care Fund extends that same care to the animals who do have homes — so families never have to surrender a beloved pet simply because they cannot afford a vet bill.
Most animals do not lose their homes because they are unloved. They lose their homes because a family faces a veterinary crisis they cannot afford. A broken leg. A pyometra. A dental abscess. Even routine vaccines. Community Care lets neighbors step in before a crisis becomes a surrender.
Why This Little City Needs All of Us
Osawatomie is a community of roughly 4,200 residents — hardworking, proud, and stretched thin. The numbers tell a story of families for whom an unexpected veterinary bill is the difference between keeping a pet and letting one go.
| Measure | Osawatomie | Kansas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,612 | $80,734 | $83,730 |
| Population | ~4,200 | — | — |
| Recent income trend | −11.2% in one year | — | — |
Osawatomie’s median household income of $55,612 sits roughly $28,000 below the U.S. median — and it fell more than 11% in a single year. In Kansas as a whole, about 1 in 9 residents lives in poverty.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau via Data USA (median household income, population, year-over-year change); U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (Kansas median income); U.S. Census Bureau / CNBC (2024 U.S. median household income); USAFacts (Kansas poverty rate).
Be Part of Something Bigger
This fund is an invitation — to be part of something bigger than yourself, and to start a ripple that does not stop with one animal or one family.
The ripple we are asking for
When a family receives a Community Care appointment, we ask them to do one thing: pay the kindness forward.
- Volunteer an hour. Walk dogs. Help a neighbor.
- Donate what they can, when they can.
- Support a local business, or simply pass the joy along.
A blueprint other cities can follow
If we can prove that veterinary care can work as community infrastructure in a town of 4,200 people, we will have built something far bigger than a single program. We will have a replicable blueprint for rural communities everywhere — and Osawatomie will be the example that started it.
How Community Care Works
Your gift moves quickly and transparently from a sponsorship into real care for a real family.
Identify families and animals in crisis
Local pet owners and tiny rescues apply for help when a veterinary bill stands between them and keeping their animal.
Match sponsors to care
Sponsors fund single visits, procedures, or whole “Community Care Day” blocks — in any fixed amount toward the fund.
Deliver care through the VRC
Care is provided through the Veterinary Rescue Collaboration, so every dollar buys care at rescue rates, not retail prices.
Share the impact
Sponsors receive impact stories — privacy respected — so they see exactly how their gift kept a family together.
— the gift that keeps one family together.
What Your Sponsorship Buys
Community Care is powered by the Veterinary Rescue Collaboration (VRC), which measures veterinary capacity in Allocation Units (AU).
What is an Allocation Unit?
An Allocation Unit is one standardized unit of sponsored veterinary capacity — think of it as one funded appointment or procedure slot. It represents access to care, not unlimited services: the veterinarian decides what care is medically appropriate within that unit.
| Your sponsorship | Roughly funds | In real terms |
|---|---|---|
| $250 | 1 Allocation Unit | One visit — exam, vaccines, and basic care for one family’s pet |
| $2,500 | ~10 Allocation Units | A Community Care block — ten families helped |
| $5,000 | ~20 Allocation Units | Half a month of care for the whole community |
| $10,000 | ~40 Allocation Units | A full month of Community Care for Osawatomie |
Sponsorship Tiers
Our goal is $10,000 a month for 10 months — $100,000 — enough to fund roughly 400 Community Care appointments. You can give monthly, annually, or in any fixed amount toward the fund. Every tier is named for the role you play in keeping this community whole.
Strategic Partner
- Single-handedly funds an entire month of Community Care for Osawatomie.
- Premier recognition across all materials, the Community Care web page, and events.
- Dedicated impact reporting and a featured story in fund updates.
Core Partner
- Funds about 20 appointments every month — half the community’s monthly need.
- Prominent logo placement and recognition in fund communications.
- Quarterly impact updates with stories.
Limited Partner
- Sponsors a steady block of ten appointments every month.
- Business name recognition in materials and periodic impact updates.
Every Gift Has a Place
Not every hero gives ten thousand a month. Some of the most important gifts are the smallest — and they add up to a community.
Care Partner
A business or family sponsors ten visits at once, with recognition and impact updates.
Neighbor (Tiny Tier)
Sponsors a single visit — the gift that keeps one family whole. Listed among our community of supporters.
Any Amount
Give any fixed amount, monthly or annually — $25, $100, $1,000. It all goes toward the Osawatomie Community Care Fund.
Ways to give
- Sponsor a visit — underwrite an exam, vaccines, and basic care.
- Sponsor a procedure — cover all or part of a spay/neuter, dental, or surgery.
- Sponsor a Community Care Day — fund a block of VRC medical time for a wave of local families.
- Sponsor a rescue partner — help a tiny rescue onto the VRC ladder by offsetting their first tier.
What Success Looks Like
At six months, we report on the metrics that matter — and those metrics become the fundraising engine for everything that comes next.
| We will track | Because it proves |
|---|---|
| Appointments delivered | Care reached real families |
| Households served | Neighbors kept whole |
| Pets kept out of shelters | Surrenders prevented |
| Spays / neuters performed | Fewer animals in crisis tomorrow |
| Businesses sponsoring care | A community that owns this together |
| Stories collected | The proof that brings the next sponsor |
Stories that stay with you
“The dog who got to stay with his elderly owner after surgery, instead of being surrendered because she could not afford the bill.”
— A Community Care surgery sponsorship“The cat who avoided surrender thanks to sponsored vaccines and testing — a family kept whole for the cost of one routine visit.”
— A Community Care wellness sponsorshipHow We Honor Our Sponsors
We recognize our partners with visibility that reflects their commitment — and their role in keeping this community whole.
- Strategic & Core Partners: premier logo placement on the Community Care web page and printed materials, named recognition at events, and dedicated impact reporting.
- Limited & Care Partners: prominent recognition in fund communications and regular impact updates with stories.
- Neighbors: listed among our community of supporters and included in thank-you communications.
