Featuring: Becky Honeywell, First Executive Director (retired)
The Challenge
Friends of Indy Animals is the non-profit organization that partners with the City of Indianapolis to raise funds for Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS), the city animal shelter. The City was in critical need of a new animal shelter, and Friends launched a $6.5M capital campaign to provide additional funding needed by the City to complete the building project. Although Friends of Indy Animals had been serving the community for 20 years, it faced some serious challenges: one, there was not a paid executive director and two, a new donor database system was needed to handle campaign fundraising. Preparing to launch a capital campaign without this infrastructure made the task daunting.
Why LSA?
When City and Board leadership began exploring consulting partners, Loring, Sternberg & Associates (LSA) stood out. Their reputation for hands-on, comprehensive support and campaign expertise gave the board and newly hired executive director confidence.
The Approach
LSA supported Friends of Indy Animals through every stage of preparing and running their campaign. This included:
- Setting up donor database software (Bloomerang) and systems for long-term use.
- Working closely with the Board and new ED to develop overall campaign processes and committees, donor research and engagement, communication and solicitation strategies.
- Conducting a feasibility study.
- Creating campaign materials such as a case statement and FAQs.
- Developing job descriptions for the campaign committee and convening meetings.
- Supporting grant solicitations and proposals.
- Creating financial reporting processes.
- Developing donor recognition and naming opportunities.
A “Wow” Moment
One moment that stood out was LSA’s suggestion to hold a board training session as part of campaign preparation.
“It was one of the most productive mornings we spent as a board and staff team,” said Becky Honeywell, the organization’s first executive director. “Members left with a clear understanding that fundraising is one of their main responsibilities as board members. LSA really drove the point home.”
The Results
With LSA’s guidance, Friends of Indy Animals:
- Built the infrastructure and systems needed to sustain fundraising success.
- Equipped their board with the knowledge and confidence to fundraise effectively.
- Launched and successfully completed a $7 million comprehensive capital campaign supported by strong materials, strategy, and donor engagement.
Final Thoughts + Impact
Friends of Indy Animals moved from lacking infrastructure to successfully preparing and launching a capital campaign — with lasting systems, skills, and confidence in place.
“LSA helped us every step of the way,” said Becky. “They’re creative problem-solvers, easy to work with, and bring both knowledge and humor to the process. They involved their whole team, not just one person—so we had the full brain trust working for us.”
About the Organization
There is a large and persistent gap between the needs of our city’s homeless animals and the funding available to care for them. Friends of Indy Animals exists to close that gap.
Friends of Indy Animals provides financial support to Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS), the only animal shelter in Marion County required by law to take in all animals regardless of breed, health conditions, or circumstances. Friends of Indy Animals helps IACS promote the safety, health, and adoption of more than 16,000 homeless animals every year through high-impact fundraising, advocacy and education, animal adoption, and more. Learn more about the organization here.
