Nonprofit Spotlight – The Kern Project

The Kern Project is a volunteer-based animal rescue that focuses on rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of homeless cats and dogs in Kern County, CA. Stray and unwanted pets have been a problem for many years in Kern County. Backyard breeders and puppy mills are unregulated, access to free or low-cost spay-neuter services are inadequate, and many people who can’t afford their animals dump them in an orchard or a park instead of surrendering them to a shelter.

How Was The Kern Project Started?

Kern Project was started by two dog groomers in 2008. On a spontaneous road trip to a Bakersfield animal shelter, they were surprised to find so many purebred and fluffy dogs on the euthanasia list. These were the same dogs that their customers were buying! They knew they needed to do something for these gorgeous animals and began pulling dogs from the shelter and transporting them to the San Francisco Bay area where they were checked by a vet, groomed, and adopted out.

The Pandemic’s Effect on Kern

COVID has been hard on animals in Kern County. With shelter operations severely limited, strays were not picked up in many areas, shelter intakes were limited, and adoptions were restricted. As such, many dogs were dumped and abandoned, adding to the already significant unwanted and stray pet population in Kern County. 

Currently, requests for rescue assistance are at an all-time high, with pregnant dogs and puppies everywhere. The shelters are overloaded and again limiting intakes. The problem has grown exponentially in the last 2 years to a level they may never recover from without radical intervention. One shelter recently reported having 90 young puppies in their care!

The Kern Project to The Rescue

Every two weeks, The Kern Project is transporting dogs and cats to the San Francisco Bay area from Kern County. After the hold period passes, they arrange for spay/neuter, vaccinations, and any other necessary medical procedures. After medical treatment and a day at the groomer, the majority of the animals are then transferred to our partner rescues for fostering and adoption. While The Kern Project does have a small team of trusted fosters, the main focus is on the logistics of rescuing, transporting, and medical treatments. Every dollar donated goes towards the transportation and medical care of the poor animals.

The Kern Project + UncommonGood

Since the rescue is a small group of volunteers, the majority of their time is spent on bringing their mission to life and doing the actual work of the rescue. And rightfully so! But this left their online presence and donation methods on the backburner causing issues with donor trust and security concerns since their methods were very primitive.

By using UncommonGood’s donation widgets and fundraising tools, The Kern Project was able to have a professional look, sophisticated payment platform, and generate fundraising opportunities without having to learn to code a website or hire outside help. Since starting with UncommonGood, they have already received 2 of their biggest donations ever! With the help of the UncommonGood platform they were able to quickly polish their image and raise money so they can do what they do best, save dogs and cats!

If you live in the San Fran area and are looking to adopt an animal, check out The Kern Project, or if you are an animal lover like us, consider donating to The Kern Project’s latest fundraiser. 

 


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By UncommonGood

November 30, 2023

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