2014 Giving Guide: The Killuminati Foundation

Board of Directors:
Jeff Bennett, Associate Auditor – BKD, LLP
Jeanna Callahan, Realtor – Century 21 Integrity Group
Britni Fear, Circle of Life Estate Sales
Michele Mougey, Six Sigma Project Manager – Uniprise United Health Care
Kathleen Kimball, Accredited Pet Training Instructor & Support Manager – PetSmart

Project Puppy 2013

Platinum Sponsors: 
Happy Tails Doggie Daycare & Boarding, KOZL, Midwest Family Marketing, Springfield Veterinary Center, TAME Pet Magazine, Uturn Studios.

Project Puppy 2013

Gold Sponsors: 
BJ’s Trophy Shop, Body Kneads Massage Therapy, Dillon’s Floral, Hits n Grins, Puppy Love Dog Walking and Pet Sitting, University Plaza, UPS Store at Battlefield Towers, Wrap-Aholic, and Jeanna Callahan with Century 21 Integrity Group.

Project Puppy 2013
Silver Sponsors many of which are new Project Puppy sponsors: 

AAF Creative, A-Pro Home Inspection, Circle of Life Estate Sales, EntreMANURE K9 and Feline Waste Removal, Great American Title, Petsway, Terri Snow with Flat Branch Home Loans, and Vogue Dry Cleaners.

Mission Statement:

The Killuminati Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that offers financial vet assistance for non-routine vet care. (including but not limited to – heartworm treatment, parvo treatment, knee surgery, amputations, cancer treatments, various surgeries, etc)  Individuals, families, and rescue groups in Missouri can apply for aid, and if approved, the Killuminati Foundation will grant no more than half of the costs incurred based on need & funding availability. We also partner with local rescue groups to help promote adoption. Please ADOPT! Don’t shop! Our third and final focus of Killuminati is education. We have worked with various groups on education such as the Boys & Girls Club, Girl Scouts of America, classroom programs, etc - importance of spay/neuter, proper pet care, animal welfare, how to approach a dog, what to do when you find a lost pet, etc. 

Service Area:

State of Missouri with a focus on the Springfield and surrounding areas

Funding:

We are funded solely on the generosity of the community through donations and our fundraising events. We are involved with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks which donors can set up a monthly contribution or a one time donation.

12-month Goals: 

Our main goal is to increase funding so that we are able to expand and open up our funding guidelines to include cats. At this time we are limited on funding availability, but our next goal as soon as we have the funds to do it, will be to allow vet help for our feline friends. We are also working hard to increase awareness and brand recognition. While we serve a unique niche of offering vet help, many people still aren’t aware of the resource or the Killuminati Foundation as a donation option. 

Annual Events:

Join us for our biggest event of the year – our PROJECT PUPPY GALA!! Project Puppy (named for our own spin off Project Runway) is a dinner, dance, auction, awards ceremony, and doggie fashion show. We recognize people in the community for their work with animals, rescue, etc. All of those recognized are nominated and voted on by the community. And what has quickly become a favorite of our KF family – the doggie fashion show!! Missouri State fashion students do custom outfits for dogs – yes complete with final fitting etc. All the dogs in the fashion show are local rescues available for adoption. Project Puppy is the first Saturday in November. 

Other distinctive/fun events we do are – Martinis for Mutts, Drafts for Dogs in the Spring – Wags to Riches Casino Night in the summer – PacMan for Pups at 1984 Arcade in August – and others throughout the year. We try to do a variety of events with fun twists that make coming to a Killuminati event as unique as our name. 

How People & Businesses Can Help:

There are many ways people can get involved – volunteering, donating, coming to our fundraising events, etc. Another great way to help is by joining our BARC! program. BARC! which stands for Business And Rescue Coalition – is a FREE program which businesses, churches, girl/boy scout groups, classrooms, organizations, etc can join to help local rescued dogs find homes quicker. It’s all about networking and spreading the word. We send our BARC! partners a flyer each month highlighting rescue dogs available for adoption, and all we ask our BARC! partners to do is to help spread the word. It’s all about the ripple affect!! We’ve seen great success in helping wonderful dogs unite with amazing families through BARC!

Volunteer Opportunities:

We are looking for volunteers to help with various areas….We accept applications for our Board of Directors in November for the following year. (Killuminati’s Board of Directors and volunteers are all unpaid and done out of passion for the cause. ) We also need people to help with our fundraisers – planning, executing, getting sponsors/donations, helping at the actual events, marketing for events, etc. We are also working on growing our educational programs, so we’d love additional involvement to grow that division of KF. 

Testimonials:

“I am on a fixed income and was unable to pay for surgery for Tigger Two and would be forced to put him down. My first dog, Moses, died in 2004 at 13 years old – I went into a deep depression. I couldn’t face losing Tigger. He is the reason I get up when my pain wants me to give up. My family was wanting him to be put down because of the cost for his surgery, but the surgery has given him a long normal life. My family also didn’t know at the time, but I would not get my own necessary surgery until I knew Tigger had his. As an owner, I didn’t want my surgeries to take place until I knew he was ok. Killuminati saved my best friend’s life.”  

–Vicki Broshears & Tigger Two