With the holiday season just around the corner, the spirit of giving is about to take center stage. On the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday encourages people worldwide to come together in the name of generosity, supporting causes that matter most to them.
This year, Noozhawk invites you to get involved and give back locally. Our Giving Guide makes it easy to discover local organizations that could use your support, helping you make a lasting impact as 2024 comes to a close.
Visit our Good for Santa Barbara Nonprofit Section to find opportunities to donate and spread kindness throughout the community this holiday season!
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Tanner Tait, Marketing & Development Coordinator at ASAP Cats to learn more about how the nonprofit saves the lives of cats in Santa Barbara County.
ASAP Cats
Question: What is the name of your nonprofit, and what is its mission?
Answer: The mission of Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP Cats) is to save the lives of cats in Santa Barbara County by providing shelter, veterinary care, behavioral support, adoption and foster services, education and community outreach.
Q: How long has your organization been serving the community, and who founded it?
A: In October of 1989, over 35 years ago, a group of animal lovers attended a County Board of Supervisors meeting to protest the planned closure of the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter on Saturdays.
Since the shelter was already closed on Sundays, the group felt strongly that Monday through Friday access to the shelter to redeem and adopt animals was not sufficient. The Supervisors agreed, on the condition that those in protest would assist the shelter staff in keeping it open on Saturdays; and from that mandate, the Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP) was born.
Q: What motivated the creation of your nonprofit?
A: ASAP began with a central goal of attempting to eliminate the killing of adoptable cats, something that had never been done by a municipal shelter. Everyone involved agreed that the goal was noble, but could it be achieved in a humane and responsible way?
In reality, ASAP should never have survived—if you consider the number of cats that were impounded, the extreme shortage of space, money and volunteer time, and opposition from several fronts.
Looking back now at all that ASAP has accomplished over the past 35 years, not only has that goal been achieved, but the standard by which ASAP holds itself accountable keeps getting higher—and the dedicated volunteers continue to rise to meet the challenges with hard work, enthusiasm, and the knowledge that tens of thousands of cats have been saved through their efforts.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded, and what are its biggest needs right now?
A: Primarily funded by donations from fellow cat lovers, ASAP relies heavily on the compassion and trust of its amazing community to continue performing lifesaving work.
Other than raising funds for cats in need or new medical equipment, ASAP is looking to repair and refurbish its new Spay/Neuter Mobile Unit, graciously donated by our amazing partners from C.A.R.E.4Paws.
Taking spay/neuter and low-cost vaccination services to the road, this mobile unit will increases ASAP’s reach and allow us to save lives on the go!
Q: What types of events or programs do you run to engage your community and raise funds?
A: Every month, ASAP offers a joint adoption event/yard sale at the shelter, encouraging members of the community to get together, make some cat connections, and even peruse some unique treasures and trinkets.
All yard sale proceeds go directly to supporting ASAP, and oftentimes these adoption events offer “cat specials” permitting visitors to adopt at lower costs. Our goal is always finding safe and happy homes for our cats, so these monthly adoption events seek to increase our visibility and chances to interact with our awesome community.
Occasionally these events also offer free microchipping clinics, giving pet families an extra safety net in case they get separated from their cat!
Q: How is your team structured? Have there been any major changes in your operations since you started?
A: ASAP Cats has always been powered by a team of incredible volunteers, relying on the good will and dedication of members of our community from all walks of life. We welcome cat lovers of all kinds to join us!
In addition to a large volunteer base, ASAP has a full staff in the shelter and an offsite office, managing everything from development, marketing, wellness, operations, and beyond.
While the shelter is our main hub, we have ASAP Cats staff and volunteers all over! We’ve had many new faces join ASAP over the years, and plenty of our members have worn multiple hats, as our community is so vast that we have experts in a variety of fields on our team.
Our Board, staff, and volunteers have evolved over the years, but everyone on our team is united by one simple philosophy: love cats.
Q: How can people get involved with your nonprofit or volunteer?
A: ASAP is always looking for new volunteers to add to the team, whether that’s typical shelter shifts involving cleaning cages and feeding our cats and kittens, fostering felines from a warm home, or even assisting with our social media team, gathering cute photos to post!
To apply to become an ASAP volunteer, visit our website here or pop into the shelter Monday-Thursday 1-4pm or Saturday 11am-3pm.
Q: What sets your nonprofit apart from similar organizations?
A: ASAP is proud to be the first high-save municipal shelter in the U.S., dedicated to stop the euthanizing of adoptable cats for the sole purpose of population control.
Our founders saw a chance to reshape the Santa Barbara Animal Shelter of the 90s into a forward-thinking organization, and we haven’t given up this mission since.
While we are proud to be part of a community of animal welfare organizations whose goal is always animal-focused, taking the extra step to protect our neediest cats and do whatever we can to help them sets us apart.
We will do everything we can to help every cat we meet, and to provide a refuge for the cats in need who we haven’t met yet.
Q: How do you share your nonprofit’s impact and updates with the public?
A: In addition to regular email blasts and our social media pages (search @ASAPCats on Facebook and Instagram!), ASAP releases a free newsletter three times a year to all of our friends and supporters, covering everything from adoption success stories, to behind the scenes and upcoming ASAP news, to letters and tales from our volunteers and fosters.
Known as CatNips, this newsletter gives the public a chance to see the heart of ASAP, with a variety of voices joining together, united by a mutual love for cats. It symbolizes what ASAP Cats is: a haven for feline-lovers dedicated to helping.
Join our mailing list by clicking the button at the bottom of our website.
Q: What makes your organization trustworthy for donors, and are there other ways people can support your cause beyond donations?
A: The beautiful thing about ASAP Cats is its philosophy: to save the lives of cats in Santa Barbara County by providing shelter, veterinary care, behavioral support, adoption and foster services, education and community outreach.
Because this has been the same creed we’ve followed for 30 years, ASAP has proven that we will continue to be here supporting and saving cats for generations to come. Faces change, as seasoned volunteers retire and new staff are hired, but the core concept behind ASAP is unwavering, and that’s always been all about cats.
We’re unveiling a legacy program for donors who wish to include us in their bequests, and we already have supporters who trust ASAP to continue its lifesaving work long after they’re gone, and we’re proud of the necessary funds we are able to raise to support the neediest cats in our care — but other than financial contributions, the best way people can support our cause is by spreading the word of what we do.
While our focus has been primarily on Santa Barbara County, we’re researching ways to expand our reach to other local counties, and the best way for pet families in need to access our care is to first know we exist!
Come visit our shelter. Come cuddle a kitten. Adopt one, foster one, or even just take a selfie with one and send to a friend who loves cats.
Our mission will always be focused on finding these cats homes, and with the overpopulation of cats in Santa Barbara County, there will always be a cat in need of rescuing — and that’s why we’ve existed for so long, and that’s why we will continue to for generations to come.
The best way to ensure we’re never forgotten is to spread the word: ASAP Cats is here, and we’re dedicated to saving lives!
Click here to support ASAP Cats mission to support cats and cat families, as well as to reduce the overpopulation of stray, unsocial, and unhoused cats through providing shelter, veterinary care, behavioral support, adopter and foster services, feline education, and community outreach.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
If you would like to include your nonprofit in our Good for Santa Barbara section and Giving Guide click HERE.