Animal Friends Alliance raises $2.8M for new shelter

FORT COLLINS — Animal Friends Alliance has received an $805,000 grant from an anonymous donor, enabling the organization to reach its $2.8 million goal for building a new shelter at its Taft Hill campus.

Animal Friends Alliance launched its capital campaign, Bringing Paws Together, in October 2020. The $2.8 million expansion to the campus at 2200 N. Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins will unify Animal Friends Alliance’s sheltering programs and allow the organization to serve more homeless animals and pet families across Northern Colorado, the organization said in a press statement.

The new shelter building will include 11 colony rooms for shelter cats and a new Enrichment Center for training and socialization of shelter dogs.

Additional community spaces will provide room for public education and special events. The construction project also includes additional animal-care facilities and staff workspaces.

“We are so grateful to have met our fundraising goal thanks to this incredible gift,” Sarah Swanty, executive director of Animal Friends Alliance and co-chair of the Bringing Paws Together campaign, said in a prepared statement. “Not only will this new facility allow us to be more efficient with our resources and provide even better care for the animals in our shelter, but it will further our mission to provide comprehensive companion animal resources, services, and education to the community to prevent pet homelessness and promote the human-animal bond.”

Construction on the new facility began in March 2022 and is expected to be completed in November. The organization will conduct a celebration at 4 p.m., July 28, to recognize the $805,000 gift and the midway point of the construction project.

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