What hasn’t changed over 30 years is the most effective fundraising strategy – telling folks about the cats rescued, and where their donations have gone.  (See our 2024 year-end letter HERE.) We've tried to stay in touch, with paper newsletters like Furry Tales (back in the dark ages!) and now with this e-newsletter, and social media with Facebook and Instagram.

While the vision hasn’t changed, there have been changes in how FFGW operates over the years.  In 1995, the internet was not in everyone’s home and the idea of a website featuring adoptable cats seemed like an impossible dream.  Now, of course FFGW does have a website, and it is linked to the Petfinder national database so anyone looking for a kitty in Northern Virginia can find us.  Another change, one that has saved many lives, is the cooperation between FFGW and other rescues and municipal shelters.  In 1995, the cats that FFGW rescued were primarily strays off the street, as even though euthanasia rates were high most shelters would not work with a rescue.  There has been a huge shift in three decades, where rescues have built a foundation of trust with shelters, and the rescue community has worked in tandem with those shelters to move toward a no-kill goal.  The save rate for homeless dogs and cats in Virginia’s shelters last year was 86% – just 4% shy of the nationally-recognized no-kill benchmark of 90%, and FFGW is proud to have played a part in that number.  Many of the cats we rescue come from a small, rural shelter in downstate Virginia – a shelter that euthanizes all animals every week and would have an extremely low live release rate were it not for cooperation with Northern Virginia rescues. 

The more things change, the more they stay the same – at least, in terms of FFGW’s vision.  The vision of the FFGW founders, making decisions not on dollar amounts but to provide  high-standard care for each cat in our care, comes at the cost of rescuing fewer cats and not  being the largest rescue in the area, but it was a cost the founders were willing to pay.  Laura, who retired as President of FFGW in 2019, notes that it is remarkable that FFGW has three decades of rescue to its credit. “Very few non-profit organizations survive the first year, or 5 years, or the departure of their founders.  Thirty years for an all-volunteer non-profit is amazing.”  Laura credits that survival to the current board of directors traveling the same path as she, Denise, Judy and Lisa - coming to FFGW with considerable rescue experience and holding that same “small but mighty” vision of rescue.