Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Prairie Paws on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 265
We share how Prairie Paws turned Manhattan’s shelter into a welcoming, high-performing no-kill operation, growing regional coverage while managing capacity with care. Contracts, smarter intakes, and targeted upgrades help us save more animals without sacrificing standards.
• nonprofit management replacing city operation
• 95–96% live release with complex intakes
• true capacity as staffing and time, not cages
• managed intakes and prevention support
• expanded contracts across Riley and Pottawatomie
• kennel upgrades boosting annual dog saves
• donations funding medical cases beyond contracts
• holiday adoption guidance and readiness checks
• hours, website, and spring gala details
We have a fundraising gala coming up in April at Colbert Hills—tickets and sponsorships available at prairiepaws.org
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode, we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on News Radio KMAN. And we're back with the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN. Brandon Sokel is uh joining us here for the program. He is the animal shelter director. Prairie Pause is the organization that's now running it. Is that an accurate statement?
SPEAKER_00:I think you nailed it.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Yeah. All right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I um, you know, there's there's been a lot of transition here with the animal shelter over the last three, four years. Prairie Paws has been around for a number of years. It's a nonprofit organization. But can you give us some perspective of what this transition has, how it's developed, what it means to the animal shelter and and the animals, as well as staffing. I mean, just give us an overreaching perspective on what you're doing there.
SPEAKER_00:Prairie Paws as an animal welfare organization manages uh three animal shelters in Kansas right now. So there's the Emporia one, there's the Ottawa one, which is the main campus, and then Manhattan. So Manhattan was the second animal shelter that Prairie Paws kind of acquired to manage. And we're contracted by the City of Manhattan to operate the T. Russell Wrights Animal Shelter on Levy Drive. You know, so it's been there since 1988 and has just, you know, had a lot of add-ons and a lot of changes. And so the city managing that, uh, the county also part managing that, um, you know, putting a lot of money into that facility and operating it, um, being able to contract it out with an animal welfare organization. We are well, you know, well prepared to, I think, do, you know, offer more programs and uh, you know, offer that service to the community. Um, and it's also a little bit more budget friendly for the city than to go ahead and source out.
SPEAKER_01:How has it become but more budget friendly? Is that because of volunteer aspects?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So there's a little like um, you know, kind of like liability or red tape that is removed from that, um, not being underneath the government. Um, so then we are able to do more volunteering. We're able to structure things a little different, we're able to make changes quicker if we need to. We have a board of directors that helps us with changes. And so, you know, the wheels of government can move kind of slow. So when you're trying to implement new programs or get things approved and change, that that can be quite a holdup for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Yeah. So what's it look like there?
SPEAKER_00:Uh, I like to think that, you know, the animal shelter is as welcome, welcoming and inviting as it's ever been. I mean, we put a lot of infasis into try and make that place, you know, somewhere people want to be. When I was a kid, you know, I never wanted to go to the animal shelter. I just thought it was gonna be depressing. You know, it's like it's not a place you visited for fun for sure. Um, and it's like I really was I didn't want to be an animal control officer because like no one likes a dog catcher, you know. But then uh our industry has evolved a lot over the past 20 years, even 10 years. And so now it's to a point where it's it's not like a pound, a sad place. It's an animal shelter where people do actually come spend some time. Um, I mean, we have people that volunteer there because they enjoy hanging out there. We have, you know, we see kids going on dates and visiting cats at the animal shelter. I mean, it it's a place you can walk in and and have a good experience differences here.
SPEAKER_01:This is now, and and correct me if I'm wrong, this is now a no-kill shelter.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. And you know, the animal shelter, even before the transition, was meeting a no-kill status, which means that we're having um live outcomes or positive outcomes with at least 90% of the animals that we receive. And so we're you know shooting for 100%, though with our model, as you know, we're taking in sick and injured animals, the abandoned, neglected, aggressive. Um, so we we're never really going to hit, I think, 100% with what we do, um, but we get really close. I mean, for uh 2024, we ended at over 96% live release. And right now we're year to day at 95% live live release rate. And the better we get at uh our job and the more animals we see, ultimately the more animals that we're gonna get that maybe aren't going to qualify for a positive outcome. Um, but I think as long as we're you know getting that percentage right, you know, that high percent of live release, we're gonna be doing, I mean, we're doing a really good job.
SPEAKER_01:Is capacity a concern?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I mean, one of our biggest, you know, resources is space um and also time. So we have you know, physical capacity, which we can load that building up with animals. I mean, we could just, you know, we could put 300 animals in there if we really had to. Uh, our team can only really keep up with 60 of them. So, you know, really when we're talking about capacity, it's kind of like your physical capacity. More important is your um management? Management capacity. Yeah, absolutely. And so we we try and stay around 50 to 60 animals. Once we get over 60, we kind of start to feel that pressure. Um, in the summer, we were always there. I mean, it seems like the in the spring and summer, certainly the fall, um, just the weather's better. There's animals moving around, they're reproducing. We tend to have, you know, just a heavier intake rates at that point.
SPEAKER_01:Is the scope of the Purple Ponds animal shelter primarily just the city of Manhattan? Or, I mean, do you reach him because part of Manhattan in theory has is in Blue Township. Yeah. You've got Riley County. Yeah. I know that there's been Riley County interest um with the animal shelter in the past and some some financial assistance.
SPEAKER_00:An interesting point. There's a lot of nuance of that. Um, you know, and and I think with prairie pause, this animal shelter is serving more people than it ever has and a larger reach in the community. So, you know, the city of Manhattan owns that facility, we rent it from them. That's that's our priority, you know, and then our law enforcement uh partners like the animal control officers, Riley County PD, Pottawatomi County Sheriff, that's a big priority for us to make sure we can accommodate the animals that they end up encountering or needing to find uh shelter for. Um and so our contracts extend um all through Riley County now and all the little uh towns and cities. Um when we're we're almost at to 100% on Pottawatomi County. So there are still some gaps in there, um, but you know, we're looking at getting the contracts amended so that in 2026 we we cover all of Pottawatomie County. So right now, as it stands, you know, I I can't say that we do 100% of it, but we do anticipate very shortly doing 100% of Riley County and Manhattan or and Pottawatomi County and all the townships.
SPEAKER_01:So if there is do you get money from Pottawatomie County and Riley County?
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So those are all individual contracts. And those contracts, you know, that's a that's a main source of funding, especially when we're talking about like our staff funding, because those are guaranteed checks. You know, we can't really use donated funds to pay for staff because you don't really know. You know, that so uh, you know, when we're making those contracts, um, that's helping us, you know, expand our team uh to where we can serve more animals.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Yeah. How many animals do you typically have?
SPEAKER_00:We try and stay around 60 animals in our care at any time. You know, if we're under 40, we're kind of not necessarily serving our purpose, it kind of feels like. So, you know, we're we're constantly taking phone calls and emails from people that need to surrender their animals and scheduling those. Um, a real important aspect, I think, of what we do now compared to 10 years ago is that we do do some managed intakes. So we're full of admissions for our law enforcement partners, but for our surrenders and other intakes, we have to manage those. Because 10 years ago, like with the drop boxes and you know, with the FOIA admissions, you just showed up with an animal, especially with a drop box, kind of anywhere at any time and just left it there. And every morning you'd start the day with three new animals. That kind of meant out of space, out of time for three other animals and kind of the same pattern throughout the day because you couldn't keep up with them even with adoptions and transfers, things like that. So now we manage intakes by scheduling them. So, you know, people uh that maybe are going to need some animal sheltering to surrender an animal, whatever, um, reaching out to us as soon as they kind of feel that maybe is on the horizon, the better we can kind of help them. There are other resources that we can help provide, certainly a dog training scholarship, access to funds for veterinary services, if that would help keep an animal in the home. I mean, we really want to help do that. Um, but then, you know, we can also start working at that surrender to where we know that animal's coming, we can start accounting for it and making space so that when that date comes, we have that kennel available and it doesn't mean the end of the road for another animal.
SPEAKER_01:Any changes in the physical aspect of the shelter over the last couple of years since you took over?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, we're we're constantly working at improving that facility. Um, we're in the works of uh upgrading our dog kennels, renovating them. It's gonna add some more space. Um, right now we're averaging length of stay on dogs at 12 days. So if we can add 10 more kennels, that's essentially 200 more dogs per year that we're going to be able to save through that facility. And so that project's gonna happen. But, you know, effort we're gonna add space, we also need to make it more efficient. So it's gonna, you know, be easier to clean. Now we're not gonna have to add a lot more staff to take care of 200 more dogs. It's also um gonna be safer because we're upgrading from original hardware from 1988, 1990, stuff that's really out of production anymore. So that's all gonna be uh up to industry standard. We're also gonna be uh creating some more exercise space that has better drainage, sanitation, protection from the elements. So it's a huge project. It's really exciting.
SPEAKER_01:Um is that funded by the city then?
SPEAKER_00:So the city is a great partner and they are going to help match donations that we have uh gained over the last year. And so we've got you know an awesome donation um through that that was made possible through the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, um, as well as just grassroots donations. Um so we, you know, that's just the dog side of things. We we want to redo the dog or the cat cat kennels and cat building at some point as well. Because again, it's just you know, 2012, 2013 is when that stuff went in. It's just starting to fall behind what the industry is doing now.
SPEAKER_01:Does Purple Paws have a fundraising effort other than what you do on Grow Green Match Day?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and hey, real fast, I mean, we're Purple Paws is an organization in our community and we're Prairie Paws. They're so good. So I'm sorry, Prairie Paws. I just want to make sure it's so no one's confused. Um, but yeah, Purple Paws, a great community uh uh uh rescue in our in our area. They don't have a physical building, but Prairie Paws is at Levy Drive. And um, yeah, we're we're constantly um raising funds and holding events to you know make sure that we can help animals throughout the year. Um obviously we got our facility improvements um and other you know needs there, but then we experience a lot of animals that do come to us that need work. Um so sometimes, you know, we have an animal that comes in, we find out it's got a heart murmur. That harm heart murmur turns into a you know$5,000 surgery if we want to save, save this little dog or something like that. And we've had great stories like that. And with donations, we're able to actually save those animals. That's kind of an extreme,$5,000, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Well, let's talk about some of these things because you get animals, you know, you had made mention that are abandoned and maybe malnourished or or sick. You get animals that have been hit by a car, maybe mauled by a coyote or something like that. Yeah. How do you handle improving those dogs' lives?
SPEAKER_00:Well, and you it we talk a lot about, you know, what is manageable, you know, certainly if it's something, you know, and manageable means something different to uh each organization. You know, if it's something that, you know, costs a thousand dollars a fix, if we don't have that thousand dollars and medically it's not manageable. Um also like you know, just with the care, you know, does it require round o'clock care? Again, if you did that at VHC, K-State, that's is is that cost manageable compared to can we do that at the shelter? Can our team manage that? Do we have the supplies to do that and the training to do that? And so, you know, there's a lot of nuance to that. Um, funding is a big part of that, you know, especially if it is an animal that comes to us, you know, that is pretty broken up or damaged, um, and it has to receive veterinary care, you know, on site uh or like at a clinic or a VHC. I mean, to to manage that, we need to have the funding. And so donations are a big part of that.
SPEAKER_01:The holidays coming. Christmas is Thursday. Animals sometimes make great, sometimes don't make great pets. Right. Have any advice for holiday gift giving of a pet or or not?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you know, I think if you're gonna give a pet as a gift, that's one that you kind of want to make sure you're sliding some conversation in there to make sure someone's ready for that, prepare for that. Um, even like a fish, you know, it's like you give a beta fish as a gift and it's like, oh great, here's a chore every week. So I you kind of I would definitely try and uh, you know, fill that one out a little bit, uh, make sure they're prepared. You know, a cat's a 20-year commitment, a dog, maybe the same. Um, and and a lot of work. Um, I my sister called me the other day. She was wanting to buy a lizard for my niece, and she's like trying to get a discount. And I'm like, you know, if you're trying to save$5 on this lizard now, like that's probably like a$50,$60 a month expense. Like, do you really like how about we get something different? You know, so I mean, even something as simple as that uh is just a huge time commitment. Um, you know, it takes resources, and yeah, so something to consider.
SPEAKER_01:You have a holiday wish, you have a holiday wish for prairie pause.
SPEAKER_00:Oh man, if we could get more cats and dogs adopted out before the holiday, that would be great. I know our team would appreciate that. Those animals would, you know, do great. We're, you know, kind of at a slower season. Um, so we do have some space. So if anybody is in you know need of help with surrenders, you know, certainly reach out to us as soon as you can so we can get that accounted for and underway. Uh times are just tough right now, I think, for for a lot of people. So, you know, we understand we we are in that position to help people and we want to make sure that you know people feel that they can come to us, um, certainly asking questions and we want to offer, you know, all the resources we can to help keep animals in homes.
SPEAKER_01:What are your hours the next couple of weeks?
SPEAKER_00:So we are closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We're also closed on New Year's Eve Day, or excuse me, New Year's Day. Um, we're open uh through the week. Other than that, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Um Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday uh from one to five.
SPEAKER_01:And the website is prairiepaws.org.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you got it. Prairiepaws.org. You can see our adoptable animals, you can see events we have. We have a fundraising uh gala coming up in uh April. That's a lot of fun. It's at Colbert Hills, so we have tickets for that on there. We're also looking for sponsorships. Um there it's a really fun event. You know, there's a there's a live and silent auction. Um, we got drink vouchers, uh, have dinner. I really enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01:Brandon Sokel is his name. He's the animal shelter director for Prairie Paws. Thanks for bringing us up to date. There's a lot of good information we're able to use. And uh, when we get this over to a podcast, you can share it with all your all your friends and family and people of interest.
SPEAKER_00:Anytime, I appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Coming up next, Angela Stoutenberg will be here on behalf of Center of Hope Ministry, the work that they are doing here during the uh colder temperatures, at least, you know, the ones that aren't happening today. It's the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMA and back with Angela in a moment.