ARL launches $6M capital campaign to expand rescue operations

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The Animal Rescue League of Iowa announced Monday a new $6 million capital campaign to advance its animal welfare and rescue operations.

The “Transforming the Future of Animal Rescue” campaign will relocate and renovate the ARL’s rescue facilities in order to meet demand for rescue services and provide care for rescued animals.

The first phase of the project is to relocate and expand the ARL’s Kruidenier Second Chance Ranch program to a newly acquired 21-acre ranch, just over a mile from the ARL’s main campus. The new ranch will provide pasture space for rescued horses and barn animals to graze, which the current facility doesn’t offer, a news release said. The property also includes indoor and outdoor arenas, dedicated spaces for different species of barn animals, and hay storage that will allow the ARL to accept large donations of round and square hay bales.

Phase two of the campaign will see the current barn and arena at ARL Main will be renovated into a rescue intake and rehabilitation center designed to accommodate animals from large-scale rescues. The ARL assisted with almost 800 cruelty and neglect investigations last year, bringing hundreds of animals into the shelter, the release said. The new facility will increase the ARL’s capacity to handle emergency and ongoing animal welfare situations.

“The growing number of animals needing rescue — especially from large-scale operations — makes this campaign more critical than ever,” Tom Colvin, CEO of the ARL, said in a prepared statement.

According to the release, all contributions up to $250,000 will be matched for a limited time.