A $1 million procurement from an anonymous donor brought the capital campaign of the Middleburg Humane Foundation and six years of hard work to a successful finish. The completion of the $4M campaign allows the Middleburg Humane Foundation (MHF) to proceed with construction of its new 8,000-square-foot facility located on 23 acres on the west side of Marshall donated in 2012 by dedicated supporters of the organization.

For six years the nine members that serve as the MHF Board of Directors, along with MHF founder, Hilleary Bogley, have dedicated their time to securing pledges and donations to build a new facility for the organization's growing services.

"The campaign goal was just over $4 million and until several weeks ago we still had $1 million to go," says Josh Muss, Board Chairman. "An anonymous donation closed the gap on what the foundation needed to complete the campaign," he continued.

Muss and, fellow board member, Candy Fazakerley, recently signed construction paperwork to move forward with the facility construction. "We will have construction movement within the next two weeks. This will include excavation for roads, the drain field, storm and sanitary sewer," says Fazakerley. "We are ready to move." The organization anticipates that the project will be complete by early next year. In the meantime, they will be packing their belongings from the present facility and moving into the stable and large equipment shed as temporary offices as early as fall. Two apartments on the second floor of the barn are complete for intern housing. "We moved forward prudently with our donated funds and were able to complete the first phase of the facility which included stables and a large shed."

"We are limited with space at the present facility," says Muss. "On average we care for 18-20 horses, but only have room for 6, which makes us reliant on our foster families. It put us in an operationally challenging position. The new facility will have 15-acres of pasture for livestock, including horses, to help us better care for all the animals that we shelter."

A large component of the Foundation's new facility will be the spay and neuter clinic. "We work very hard to educate the community about the need to spay and neuter to help prevent overpopulation of animals, primarily feral and community cats," says Muss. A Community Education Office is in the design plans to help serve this purpose, as well as other community outreach opportunities. Other amenities will include indoor and outdoor runs for dogs and a large area dedicated to cats.

"We are very excited about the new facility as it will streamline all of our processes and make everything run more efficiently which, in turn, will allow our volunteers to focus more on our programs and animals than the trivial day-to-day duties that take an inordinate amount of time in the current facility," says Muss.

As Board chairman, Muss would like to give his appreciation and thanks to his fellow board members and Bogley, who have worked tirelessly over the last six years to help move the foundation forward. He is excited for the organization's continued growth to become a regional facility for abused and neglected animals.

Founded in 1987, the Middleburg Humane Foundation has operated out of a re-purposed farmhouse in Marshall located next to Northern Fauquier Park since 1994. The organization, run with over 300 volunteers and 15 paid staff, has made the most of their space to execute their broad portfolio of services. The Middleburg Humane Foundation specializes in the rescue and rehabilitation of animals that come from a variety of abusive situations. After medical attention and care, animals are made available for adoption.

The Middleburg Humane Foundation believes that all animals, both large and small, have the right to safe and sanitary living conditions, protection from abuse and neglect, and to live their lives in an environment free from pain and fear.