The Pegasus Foundation

INTRODUCTION

The Pegasus Foundation improves the welfare of wild and domestic animals in the United States, the Caribbean, on Native American lands and in Kenya by reducing animal suffering and overpopulation, and by protecting wildlife habitats. The Foundation believes that all forms of life warrant compassion and respect, and that human beings must strive for a world that is humane for all living things.

In 2006, the Pegasus Foundation celebrated its tenth anniversary as a private non-profit foundation with a focus on animal and environmental protection. In addition to grantmaking, the Foundation strengthens its effectiveness through developing partnerships with other non-profit organizations, organizing training conferences, and facilitating communications through E-mail networks, conference calls, and face-to-face meetings.

PEGASUS FOUNDATION 2006 MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Some of the major accomplishments of the Pegasus Foundation in 2006 include the following:

* The Charles and Barbara Birdsey Education Center was launched at the Pegasus Foundation’s Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary in June. By the end of the year, 3,000 children and adults participated in Caring Fields education programs. The Center also generated approximately $25,000 in cash and in-kind donations.

* The Pegasus Foundation formed a new partnership in 2006 that led to the launch of the Help Us Help Them Fund in Florida. Almost $80,000 in proceeds from the April 27 Jupiter Island Golf Tournament were donated to the Help Us Help Them Fund, which then issued grants to Florida animal protection programs.

* A total of 133 people traveled from 30 islands or countries to participate in the May 2006 Caribbean Animal Welfare Conference in Antigua. Attendees represented 36 animal welfare organizations and nine island governments. The conference was organized and sponsored by the Pegasus Foundation, the Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society, World Society for the Protection of Animals, Humane Society International, and the ASPCA.

* Caribbean Animal Tourism Support, a project of the Pegasus Foundation’s Caribbean Animal Welfare Initiative, was launched in 2006 as a pilot in seven Caribbean territories.

* The Pegasus Foundation provided funding for a March event at Boston University featuring Nobel Laureate Wangari Mathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement, which drew 300 attendees. The Foundation’s support of Mathai’s appearance will help expand environmental and community development work of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and elsewhere.

YEAR IN REVIEW: CARING FIELDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY

The Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary was established as an affiliate of The Pegasus Foundation in 2004. The sanctuary, located on 23 acres in the countryside of Palm City, Florida, houses non-profit organizations that provide assistance to neglected or abused horses and cats.

Charles and Barbara Birdsey Education Center

In June 2006, the Charles and Barbara Birdsey Education Center opened at the Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary. The Education Center utilizes an existing facility on the property that was renovated and updated with various environmentally-friendly features, including sustainable bamboo flooring. A humane educator directs the Center’s programs, which reached a total of 3,000 children and adults during the last six months of 2006.

The mission of the Education Center is to educate the public to peacefully co-exist with wildlife, to reduce animal suffering and overpopulation of companion animals, and to foster compassion towards all species of animals. The Education Center hosts a variety of customized humane education programs for children and seminars for adults.

Educational programs for children are conducted at Caring Fields and at local schools and libraries. Children’s programs are aligned to the Sunshine State Standards established by the Florida Department of Education, and each presentation is customized to a group’s age, interest and needs. The interactive programs for children include: You Can Be an Animal Hero, State of the Animal Nation, Wild Neighbors, Mother Nature’s Story, Free in the Sea, and others.

Adult workshops held throughout the year at Caring Fields reached over 150 people and included Animal Emergency Services Training, HorseSense 101, Myths and Realities of Grantwriting, How to Attract Media, and Eating as if Animals and the Earth Matter.

As part of its community outreach, the Education Center received cash and in-kind donations from individuals, organizations, and businesses totaling $25,000 in 2006. All funds were used to continue and expand educational programs.

Animal Rescue, Adoption and Sanctuary

The Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary continued to house animal rescue organizations throughout 2006. It also serves as a wildlife sanctuary and a designated disaster shelter for horses.

The Hobe Sound Animal Protection League (HSAPL) operates both indoor and outdoor catteries at Caring Fields, where rescued, homeless and feral cats are re-socialized and given the care they need before being re-homed. All animals that come to Caring Fields that cannot be adopted for medical or other reasons are nurtured at the sanctuary for the rest of their lives. The Hobe Sound Animal Protection League provided sanctuary for an average of 85 cats at any given time throughout the year. HSAPL also rescued and found homes for more than 100 cats in 2006.

The Equine Rescue and Adoption Foundation (ERAF) utilizes the sanctuary’s barn and 15 acres of fields for rehabilitating abused and neglected horses so they can be placed in foster care and eventually adopted to permanent homes. In 2006, a total of 12 horses were rescued, and nine horses were placed in new homes through ERAF’s efforts. Since the Equine Rescue and Adoption Foundation began in 2000, it has found homes for almost 70 horses.

In cooperation with local agencies, Caring Fields has been designated a shelter site for horses in times of disaster. During such emergencies, horses taken in by Caring Fields will be accommodated and given the care they need until they can be returned to their homes safely.

Throughout the year, Caring Fields continued to make improvements to the sanctuary to attract wildlife as part of an ongoing partnership with the Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust. The Caring Fields property was designated as a wildlife sanctuary by the Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust in February 2007. Efforts are ongoing to restore the site’s pond and other habitats for indigenous wildlife.

NEW INITIATIVES

Help Us Help Them Fund - Florida

The Pegasus Foundation formed a new partnership with the organizers of the Jupiter Island Golf Tournament in 2006 that led to the launch of the Help Us Help Them Fund in Florida. Almost $80,000 in proceeds from the April 27 golf tournament were donated to the Help Us Help Them Fund. The Fund then issued grants to Florida animal protection programs, including a mobile spay/neuter clinic operated by the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast, a new animal hospital at the Palm Beach Zoo, and expansion of the outdoor cattery at the Hobe Sound Animal Protection League.

Wildlife Protection and Education - Kenya

As a result of Pegasus Foundation trips to Kenya in 2005 and 2006, the Foundation has expanded its work in this eastern African country in 2006. Projects included the following:

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy of Kenya was awarded a Pegasus Foundation grant to enhance wildlife security through armed security teams and to support training for the Maasai Integral Resource Program. Since the Pegasus-funded team began wildlife patrols in April, none of Lewa’s rhino population has been poached. At the end of 2006, Lewa had a total of 52 black rhino, representing 10 percent of the entire black rhino population of Kenya.

The Pegasus Foundation provided funding for a March event at Boston University featuring Nobel Laureate Wangari Mathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement, which drew 300 attendees. The Foundation’s support of Mathai’s appearance will help expand environmental and community development work of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and elsewhere.

The Pegasus Foundation also provided grants to two other Kenya programs:

YEAR IN REVIEW: CARIBBEAN ANIMAL WELFARE

Caribbean Animal Welfare Conference

A total of 133 people traveled from 30 islands or countries to Antigua to participate in the May 2006 Caribbean Animal Welfare Conference, hosted by the Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society. Attendees represented 36 animal welfare organizations and nine island governments.

The conference was organized and sponsored by the Pegasus Foundation, the Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society, World Society for the Protection of Animals, Humane Society International, and the ASPCA. Workshops focused on disaster planning and response, animal cruelty investigations, marine mammal protection, humane education, and responsible animal welfare. Featured presentations included the impact of stray dogs and cats on the community, public health and animal diseases, and tips on how animal groups can gain credibility and work more effectively with local governments and other organizations.

Caribbean Animal Tourism Support

Caribbean Animal Tourism Support, a project of the Pegasus Foundation’s Caribbean Animal Welfare Initiative, was created in 2006 to leverage support from the Caribbean tourism industry for animal welfare organizations. The large majority of Caribbean tourists have pets at home, and tourism generates more than US$5 billion annually from the region. By helping to improve animal welfare in the Caribbean, the tourism industry can improve its image and potentially attract even more animal-loving tourists through well-publicized partnerships with Caribbean animal groups.

The Foundation hired a Caribbean-based consultant to help launch the Caribbean Animal Tourism Support project. Project activities in 2006 included the following:
--An analysis of the Caribbean tourism industry was used to select islands for the pilot phase: The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and St. Maarten/St. Martin.
--A survey was conducted of Caribbean tourists to gauge attitudes about animals.
--A strategy for approaching the tourism industry was developed with the pilot islands. Pegasus Foundation representatives attended two major Caribbean tourism conferences to introduce the project to tourism representatives.
--Publicity materials were developed and distributed, including an initial Web site, a brochure, magnets, and an advertisement that ran in two key tourism publications in 2006.

It is anticipated that the Caribbean Animal Tourism Support project will develop partnerships with tourism companies on individual islands and region-wide in 2007.

2006 PEGASUS FOUNDATION GRANTS

In addition to operating the Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary, the Caring Fields Education Center, the Caribbean Animal Welfare Initiative, the Caribbean Animal Tourism Support project, and providing outreach and consultation to many other organizations, the Pegasus Foundation provided grants in three primary program areas: wildlife and habitat protection, companion animal welfare, and education and outreach. Additionally, the Help Us Help Them Fund was established to specifically benefit Florida animal protection organizations.

Wildlife and Habitat Protection: The Pegasus Foundation continued to center its wildlife funding on protection of species significant to a region's ecosystem, specifically bison in Montana and sea turtles in the Caribbean. Additional funds supported wildlife and habitat protection programs in Kenya, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Companion Animal Welfare: The Pegasus Foundation focused its support of companion animal programs on spay-neuter services and humane education in several regions, including Florida, Native American lands and the Caribbean.

Education and Outreach: The Pegasus Foundation funded several special initiatives to educate the general public and decision makers about animal and environmental protection issues.

Help Us Help Them Fund: A new fund established with the Pegasus Foundation in 2006, the Help Us Help Them Fund raised donations through the Jupiter Island Golf Tournament that were then disseminated to various Florida animal protection groups.

Wildlife and Habitat Protection: $93,890

Yellowstone bison protection - Montana
Buffalo Field Campaign - $5,000
Greater Yellowstone Coalition - $10,000

Cape Cod marine mammal protection - Massachusetts
Cape Cod Stranding Network - $5,500
Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies - $20,000

Africa wildlife protection - Kenya
Anne Kent Taylor Fund - $2,500
International Fund for Animal Welfare - $2,500
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy - $19,390

Wildlife habitat protection - New Hampshire
Green Mountain Conservation Group - $1,500

Sea turtle protection - Caribbean
The Nature Conservancy - $12,500

Wild horse protection - Wyoming
Wildlife Land Trust - $15,000

Companion Animal Welfare: $88,445

Animal welfare - Caribbean
U.S. Territories of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands:
Puerto Rico Animal Welfare Society - $3,000
St. Croix Animal Welfare Center, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands - $2,500
St. John Animal Care Center, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands - $3,500
Save a Sato Foundation, Puerto Rico - $2,000
Saving Animals Across Borders (Neutersol workshops in Puerto Rico) - $1,000

Bahamas and Western Caribbean:
Animal Balance (Dominican Republic spay/neuter) - $6,000
Belize Humane Society - $5,000
Cayman Islands Humane Society - $5,000
Humane Society International (Bahamas humane education) - $2,000
Kohn Foundation/Humane Society of Grand Bahama - $5,000
Massachusetts SPCA (Jamaica animal welfare) - $1,500
Noah’s Ark Spay and Neuter Group, Jamaica - $2,500
Turks and Caicos SPCA - $5,000

Eastern Caribbean:
International Veterinary Assistance (spay/neuter program in St. Eustatius, St. Lucia) - $5,000
Michigan Humane Society (Montserrat spay/neuter) - $3,800
Puppy Angels (Grenada spay/neuter) - $2,500
World Animal Net/Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society - $5,000
Supplies for Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad (traps, dog collars, etc.) - $2,815
Resource materials for grantees - $420

Native American animal welfare - Arizona
Second Chance Center for Animals - $14,910

Cat rescue - Florida
Hobe Sound Animal Protection League - $2,500

Horse rescue - Florida
Equine Rescue and Adoption Foundation - $5,000

Dog/cat contraception symposium - International
Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs - $2,500

Education and Outreach: $25,000

Compassionate Traveler – International
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - $5,000

Oceans Public Trust Initiative - Massachusetts
Earth Islands Institute - $10,000

Nantucket Soundkeeper Project – Massachusetts
Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound - $10,000

Help Us Help Them Fund – Florida: $62,450

Equine Rescue & Adoption Foundation - $18,000
Palm Beach Zoo - $15,000
Humane Society of the Treasure Coast - $9,540
Hobe Sound Animal Protection League - $3,000
Caring Fields Education Center - $2,000
Animal Birth Control - $15,000

MEMBERSHIPS

The Pegasus Foundation is a member of the following organizations:
Animal Grantmakers
CGBD Marine Funders Working Group
Endangered Species Coalition
Environmental Grantmakers Association
Everglades Coalition
Florida Environmental Funders
Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Manatee Coalition
Marine Mammal Funders
Martin County Conservation Alliance
World Society for the Protection of Animals

PEGASUS FOUNDATION GOALS FOR 2007

* Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary: Designation of Caring Fields as a Wildlife Land Trust property, continued greening of the property.

* Humane education: Expansion of programs at Caring Fields and in the Caribbean.

* Yellowstone National Park bison protection: Continued development of innovative solutions to protect the Yellowstone bison through public-private partnerships.

* Habitat protection: Expansion of efforts to protect unique parcels of land on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and in Martin County, Florida.

* Florida animal welfare: Enhanced collaboration among the humane societies of Florida’s Treasure Coast (Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties) to expand spay/neuter programs.

* Caribbean Animal Welfare: Planning for program, sponsorship and location of 2008 Caribbean Animal Welfare Conference; continued development and expansion of the Caribbean Animal Tourism Support project.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Pegasus Foundation Staff:

Peter A. Bender, Executive Director
The Pegasus Foundation
27 Merrimack Street
Concord, New Hampshire 03301 USA
Phone: 603.225.3918
Fax: 603.225.4624
pbender@pegasusfoundation.org

J. Kevin Hertell, Florida Representative and Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary Manager
The Pegasus Foundation
P.O. Box 3093
West Palm Beach, Florida 33402 USA
Phone: 561.310.5779
jkhertell@pegasusfoundation.org

Anne Ostberg, Senior Program Officer
The Pegasus Foundation
27 Merrimack Street
Concord, New Hampshire 03301 USA
Phone: 603.225.3918
Fax: 603.225.4624
aostberg@pegasusfoundation.org

The Pegasus Foundation – Cape Cod Office
P.O. Box 79
West Barnstable, Massachusetts 02668 USA

Pegasus Foundation Trustees:

Peter A. Bender, The Pegasus Foundation, Concord, New Hampshire
David Fitts, Esq., Day Pitney, LLP, Boston, Massachusetts
George Malloy, C.P.A., P.C., Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Steve Ziobrowski, Esq., Day Pitney, LLP, Boston, Massachusetts

The Pegasus Foundation
c/o Day Pitney LLP
One International Place
Boston, Massachusetts 02110 USA

www.PegasusFoundation.org
ww.CaringFields.org
www.CaribbeanAnimalWelfare.org

Pegasus Foundation 2006 Annual Report