A winemaker has introduced a new way to help animals.
Tim Petersen of Rock Canyon Vineyards recently announced the inception of the Rock Canyon Animal Rescue Foundation, a nonprofit established to help fund local animal rescue foundations with quarterly grants.
According to Petersen the foundation is structured so that it gathers financial contributions from private donors, and organizing fundraisers year-round with the intention of granting $1,000 to one local rescue group on a quarterly basis.
“Friends, acquaintances, animal lovers make up the bulk of our donors. There’s a trust issue when you donate that I completely understand— I don’t like people calling me up and asking for money— so we invite people to come up and check us out. This really is about giving back to local groups that are helping animals. I have had people contact me from way up north about getting a grant and I’ve let them know that we’re trying to keep everything local,” Petersen said. The first grant will be awarded Oct.1. “We get applications for the grants and then our board does a site visit to personally check out the places. We encourage local rescue groups to apply; we’re just getting up and running but we plan to keep all the applications so that even if we don’t choose a particular group for one quarter, we can keep them in mind for the future,” Petersen said. Petersen describes himself as semi-retired, heavily-involved with the Sons Of the American Legion post in Alpine and someone who has always loved animals. But he never imagined himself running a foundation if you had asked him 10 years ago. “We’re figuring it out as we go but it seems to be working. Getting through the 501(c)(3) process was tedious but everyone has been really helpful in getting things going. I’m at the point where I’m starting to pull together the different pieces so it all comes together. For example, I know that I can hold a fundraiser at the Sons (of the American Legion) with the winery involved and it could benefit both the foundation and the Sons,” Petersen said.
