More than 68,000 Animals Saved During 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that 68,805 dogs and cats were adopted during the three-month 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, an increase of 16,789 over the same period last year. Over the five years of the $100K Challenge – held annually since 2010 – contestants saved a total of 282,679 lives.

"When we mapped out the design of this contest six years ago, we were aiming to inspire new innovations and dramatic increases in lives saved," says Bert Troughton, vice president of strategic initiatives at the ASPCA. "The rest was up to the more than 200 shelters who’ve competed over the last five years, and they knocked it out of the park.  Not only did they increase lives saved by nearly 60,000, but they’ve redefined what’s possible and given shelters everywhere both hope and new, successful strategies for saving more lives.”

The ASPCA and Rachael Ray today awarded this year’s $100,000 grand prize to Central California SPCA in Fresno, Calif. and a $25,000 Community Engagement Award to Kansas City Pet Project in Kansas City, Mo.  In total, $550,000 in grant funding was awarded today to help competing shelters continue to save even more lives, and more than $2 million has been awarded to shelters in 38 states during the five years of the contest.

All her life, Rachael Ray has been an advocate for animals and a supporter of animal welfare groups. Her love for animals and for her pit bull, Isaboo, inspired her to create a pet food called Nutrish® to raise money for animals in need.  Ray donates her proceeds from the sale of Nutrish® to organizations like the ASPCA so they can implement programs like the $100K Challenge and support shelters and animal organizations around the country.

The ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge is a groundbreaking contest that challenges animal shelters across the country to come up with innovative ways to engage their communities and get more homeless cats and dogs into loving homes. For information about the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, please visit www.aspca.org/100K.