Building
A capital campaign for St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines
WE'VE OUTGROWN OUR HOME
When St. Sophiaʼs purchased our Wheaton shelter in 2019, it represented an enormous milestone: a permanent home of our own. For the first time, we could invest in a space designed around our work and create greater stability for the cats and people who depended on us.
BUT ST. SOPHIA'S DIDN'T STOP GROWING
Today, our shelter operates from approximately 1,700 square feet of main-floor space—space that must accommodate cats arriving from animal control, medical care and recovery, isolation, adoption, supplies, volunteers, administrative work, and the day-to-day needs of a rescue caring for hundreds of cats each year.
We’ve adapted every corner we can. We’ve made spaces serve double and sometimes triple duty. And we’ve reached the point where there simply isn’t another corner to adapt.
OUR MISSION HAS GROWN, TOO
Over the past several years, St. Sophia’s has expanded beyond traditional rescue to address the reasons cats enter shelters in the first place. Programs like HopeRX, Finder-to-Foster, Crisis Boarding, and the Southern Purr Project allow us to support pet owners, community members, animal controls, and other organizations throughout Illinois.
Our current building wasn’t designed for that work.
A new home gives us the opportunity to create dedicated spaces for intake, medical care, isolation, behavioral support and adoption—while also creating room to grow community programs and introduce services such as low-cost vaccine clinics and a pet food pantry.
LIMITED SPACE MEANS
Our facilities have never defined our mission. They’ve given us the room to pursue it.
More than additional square footage – a facility designed around how we care for cats today and want to serve our community tomorrow.
The new facility gives St. Sophia’s something we have never had before: the opportunity to create dedicated spaces around the different needs of the cats in our care. Instead of asking one room to serve several purposes, the new facility will allow intake, medical care, isolation, recovery, behavioral support and adoption to each have a place designed for that work.
The goal isn’t simply to do more,
IT’S TO DO BETTER
BUILT FOR THE CATS
BUILT FOR THE COMMUNITY
A dedicated landing place for newly arrived cats to be evaluated before moving into the shelter population.
MEDICAL SUITEPurpose-built space for exams, treatments, medication and ongoing medical care.
ISOLATIONDedicated space to safely care for cats with contagious or potentially contagious illnesses.
QUIET ROOMA lower-stimulation environment for cats who need peace, recovery time, or a gentler transition.
BEHAVIORAL & LONG-TERM STAY SUITESEnriched spaces that give cats who need more time the room and environment to succeed.
ADOPTION-READY ROOMA welcoming environment where cats ready for their next chapter can meet potential familie
More capacity for HopeRX, Finder-to-Foster, Crisis Boarding and other programs designed to keep cats and families together.
COMMUNITY VACCINE CLINICSSpace to provide accessible, preventative care that keeps pets healthy and families together.
PET FOOD PANTRYA dedicated resource helping families facing temporary financial hardship keep food in their cats bowls.
EDUCATION & VOLUNTEER TRAININGRoom to equip fosters, volunteers and community caregi
Two Organizations One Location
Through our partnership with The Cat House Lounge, our new home will bring rescue, adoption, events, education and community engagement together under one roof – creating a central destination for cats and the people who love them.
TODAY
OUR NEXT CHAPTER
6 HOURS
of public access each week
6 DAYS
of community access each week
ST. SOPHIA’S FORGOTTEN FELINES
RESCUE • REHAB • SUPPORT
Lifesaving care, adoption services, and programs supporting cats and families
A COMMUNITY
HUB
ADOPTION • EVENTS • VOLUNTEERISM • EDUCATION • RESOURCES • OUTREACH
THE CAT HOUSE LOUNGE
CONNECT • GATHER • ENGAGE
An independently operated cat lounge creating opportunities to meet adoptable cats and gather witth community
ADOPTIONS
MORE
EVENTS
MORE
OUTREACH
MORE
COONNECTION
More opportunities
for people to meet St. Sophia’s cats.
Activities, fundraisers, and experiences that bring people together.
More opportunities to introduce our mission and resources to the community.
A place for adopters, volunteers, fosters and cat lovers to belong.
We’ve built the vision. Now we’re inviting our community to help bring it to life.
CREATE THE SPACE:
WALLS & INFRASTRUCTURE
EQUIP THE MISSION:
WHAT GOES INSIDE
MAKE THE MOVE:
GETTING THERE
Your support builds the foundation.
Renovations and build-outs create dedicated medical, intake, isolation, behavioral, adoption, and community spaces.
Your support turns rooms into lifesaving spaces.
From medical equipment to cat housing, enrichment, storage, technology, and furnishings.
Your support helps us move forward
Transition costs, moving expenses, setup, and the details that get us from here to our next home.
BUILD FOR THE FUTURE: WHAT BECOMES PAWSIBLE
Your support builds tomorrow.
Investing in infrastructure to grow programs, increase community access and respond to needs ahead.
EVERY GIFT BECOMES PART OF THE BUILDING.
You don’t have to name a room to help build our next chapter. Whether you help purchase a piece of equipment, furnish a cat space, support the transition, sponsor a room, or make a major campaign investment, there is a place for you in building our next chapter.
Your investment in Building the Next Chapter fuels every aspect of our new home – from build-out and equipment to furnishings, moving expenses and the infrastructure needed to care for more cats and serve our community for years to come.
VISIONARY
CORNERSTONE
$50,000+
$25,000+
♥ Premier permanent campaign recongition
♥ Highest-level recognition on campaign materials
♥ Prominent recognition at grand opening
♥ Website and digital recognition
♥ Choice of an available naming opportunity
♥ Permanent leadership recognition
♥ Campaign and digital recognition
♥ Grand opening recognition
♥ May include an available naming opportunity
BUILDER
COMMUNITY CHAMPION
MISSION PARTNER
FRIEND OF THE FUTURE
$10,000+
$5,000+
$2,500+
$1,000+
Permanent campaign recognition
Campaign and digital recognition.
Permanent campaign recognition
Digital recognition
Campaign and digital recognition
Campaign recognition
$25,000+
WELCOME CENTER
$15,000+
INTAKE CENTER
$15,000+
MEDICAL SUITE
$15,000+
ISOLATION ROOM
$10,000
QUIET TRANSITION ROOM
$10,000
BEHAVIORAL & LONG-STAY SUITE
$15,000
ADOPTION-READY ROOM
$5,000
FULL CAGE BANK
$1,000
INDIVIDUAL CAT SUITE
Your gift to Building the Next Chapter will help turn our property into a home built for better care, greater connection, and the future of our mission.
MAKE A GIFT
MAKE A PLEDGE
NAME A SPACE
BECOME A PARTNER
Support the $100,000 capital campaign at any level
Commit to a larger campaign gift over time.
Create a permanent legacy within our new home.
Corporate, foundation, and community partners are invited to help build what comes next.
THIS ISN'T JUST OUR NEXT HOME.
It's our home for our next 15 years.