Baby Steps

Some things seem to take so long.  We filed our initial articles of incorporation last week.  That mean's we are an Inc.  Or we will be once approved by the state.  This is the first of several steps that are all paperwork to file.  Next we will be applying for our educational permit.

That permit will give us the permission to take our animals around to schools, libraries, etc to talk to people about them.  It will also exempt us from the exotic pet ban that Gov. Strickland signed into law in Dec.  As private citizens we would not be allowed to buy or otherwise acquire wild animals.  The education permit allows us to purchase healthy animals that can be on display or taken to presentations.

We are also applying for a rehabilitation permit that will allow us to take in orphaned animals and nurture them to health and release them.

Finally we are applying for 501(c)3 status.  Or tax exempt status.  This is the big one.  Once we receive this we can start to apply for grants, and seek out major donors.  In the meantime, any donations would not be tax deductible.

We are trying to get all this paperwork completed and approved so that we can seek donations and grants to help us get the land we need to expand.  We have a few more animals coming this spring, and we have room for those.  But we can't get any bigger until we can build bigger spaces for groups of animals, and of course more species.  We have goals of getting bobcats, mountain lions, bison, wolves, coyotes.

And we need help on the website.  I am doing it myself and don't know how to do what I want to do.  I want a very impressive site and am afraid that I'm not going to do it justice.  The website is still under construction, although we have a landing page, www.noahsarcsanctuary.org.  Let us know what you think so far and keep checking back to see how it grows.

But all these dreams seem so distant sometimes.  And each application can take forever to be approved.  And the whole time I am holding my breath to make sure it isn't declined.  I want it all to happen now, and am grateful that it is happening.  I'm just not feeling very patient today.