As of today, April 22, After the Races has exactly 32 days to match up to $60,000 in funds, courtesy of a creative grant from The ASPCA! This grant and all donations toward matching it will go directly toward our capital campaign, making ATR's dream of a permanent home a reality. Did you forget we were doing a capital campaign? We purposefully have been letting everyone catch their breath before making another big push toward our goal. With your help, if this grant is matched, ATR will be very close to having $500,000 to put toward a permanent new home. This is a serious amount of buying power that will allow us to move quickly when the right farm comes to fruition. ATR already has three banks willing to work with us so it's just a matter of having an amazing down payment.
We are seeking like-minded individuals that share our dream that one day every racehorse will have a safe place to transition after racing.
Is this the first you heard about our need, or do you need a recap on what is going on at After the Races? Read on!
WHAT HAPPENED?
On New Years Eve, our landlord called to tell us he was selling the farm. The farm that ATR has called home for 7 years. The farm that he built for ATR.
ATR made three offers on the farm, but ultimately lost to a higher bidder.
Honestly, as much as we love it, it's not worth as much as it's going for, and for our mental health and for the preservation of our mission, we have to move on.
So the wider search began!
WHAT'S THE STATUS?
The ATR family RALLIED is what happened!
Y'all raised more than $300,000 in FIVE WEEKS!
People came out of the woodwork to make sure that ATR's mission continues.
New connections have been made, amazing events are in the works, and we are confident that the upcoming move will be the one that sees ATR finally able to GROW and really expand our mission, expand our rehabilitation facilities, create an educational program, and so much more!
While nothing is certain at this exact moment, we are actively looking at other properties and have a couple at the top of our list.
When the right property is ready, ATR needs to be ready! So the capital campaign continues!
HOW CAN I HELP?
Donate! This probably goes without saying, but seriously, donate! Whether you can do $5 or $50,000, it does ALL. ADD. UP.
After donating: share. BUT!
Posts that are shared without ANY comments are ignored. Period.
Share the post, but write a personal appeal to your audience when you do.
Tell people why this matters to you. Tell people why ATR's continued existence is critical for the racehorses in our region and beyond.
Tell people that without ATR, over a hundred racehorses a year will be left without a place to retire safely.
Okay, so I'm in. How do I donate?
Directly on the website (supports credit, debit, PayPal, and Venmo!)
Mail checks to After the Races, 3168 Telegraph Rd, Elkton, MD 21921.
If you are mailing a check, let us know it's coming.
Include a note or write on the memo that it's for the capital campaign.
Donate stocks or securities! ATR is now set up to receive these donations!
Avoid paying capital gains AND get a tax write-off!
Work for a big company? See if they have a matching program for donations!
Own racehorses? Donate a percentage of winnings! This can be for a specific period of time, indefinitely, for a specific level of racing, you make the rules!
Own a store or restaurant? Donate a percentage of sales for a day - we'll even advertise for you and send people your way!
Donate property. Not super liquid right now, but have a car, trailer, etc you could part with? As long as it has a clean title we can accept those too!
We will sell the donated property and the money will go toward the capital campaign.
Be creative! If we haven't listed a way to donate that you come up with - just email us!
Feeling excited? So are we! ATR firmly believes that while the current location has become impermanent, the next farm, the permanent home? Oh, it's going to be awesome.
With a move to a new property:
ATR will be able to expand, increasing our daily capacity from 20 up to 45.*
ATR's yearly capacity could grow from roughly 100 horses a year to as many as 150.*
ATR will create a larger, separate rehabilitation space where horses can recover from injuries in a quiet environment with more amenities.
An indoor riding area will be built so horses can be trained year-round, regardless of weather, to prepare them for a more successful adoption. Without an indoor, ATR loses approximately 3.5 months a year to weather!
ATR will finally be able to launch an internship program where students from all over the country can have a place to learn, get experience, and build their resumes.
A dream goal for ATR founder Bonnie McRae is to start a trauma recovery program where retiring racehorses play a crucial role in the teaching and healing process for veterans, first responders, as well as civilians with PTSD.
*Capacity is estimated. Current facility has 20 stalls. We hope to grow to as many as 45 (with 5 being for quarantine). Doubling our day to day capacity will not double our annual capacity exactly as we will be able to take on more rehabilitation cases, and those horses need more time than the average horse.
How do we know ATR will be successful with a larger facility?
ATR has a unique and effective business model that has served us well since 2011. Our budget is designed to run on a cost-per-horse basis. The budget remains relatively consistent whether we have 10 stalls or 50. We have seen this budget work as we've moved, expanding our capacity as we grew, from one larger rental to another.
The cost-per-horse budget accounts for the obvious costs (feed, bedding, hay), as well as the overhead or hidden costs (rent or mortgage, staffing, insurance, utilities, etc.).
This means that as soon as we're ready to build or fill more stalls, we will have the funding to hire any additional staff needed to step in to care for them. AND if we own our facility, our cost-per-stall (mortgage vs rent) should be much less than what we're paying as renters! Our plan is also to repay the mortgage early (we have a bank that offers no penalties for repaying the loan early!), which will lower our day to day costs even further. To fund our program, After the Races combines donations from our track partners or the race connections of our incoming racehorses, with adoption fees, grant writing, and fundraising events. In addition, this September ATR will be hosting it's first ever gala. With the help of an experienced fundraiser, this is expected to be the biggest equine charity event on the East Coast in 2024! It is expected to bring in a net revenue of six figures. If the event is even half as successful as expected, it will be come an annual event and add another great line to our annual operating revenue.
Do you have more questions? Are you interested in going beyond this match and becoming a true Angel to ATR? Do you have the means of a major gift or want to become an ongoing sponsor of the program?
All you have to do is reach out. The direct line to our founder and director is her email: info@aftertheraces.org. Voicemails related to the capital campaign may also be left at the following number: ‪(717) 546-4637‬. Those voicemails will be seen immediately during business hours and returned and quickly as possible.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Thank you for your trust. Thank you for the faith in our mission. And, of course, thank you for your support.
