SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The NWT SPCA is $300,000 closer to building a shelter for homeless and abused pets.

The call from the Aviva Community Fund came in Monday to NWT SPCA president Nicole Spencer and shelter committee co-organizer Wade Friesen - they'd been picked as one of the 10 recipients of money distributed from a $1 million fund.

NWT SPCA president Nicole Spencer and shelter committee co-organizer Wade Friesen celebrate and mingle with supporters at Javaroma on Tuesday morning after it was announced the NWT SPCA had won $300,000 to build an animal shelter from the Aviva Community Fund. Spencer said they held the celebration at the coffee shop because the major vote drive started with an event there on Dec. 2. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

Friesen said they were "sworn to secrecy" until 3 a.m. yesterday when the announcement was made on Canada A.M., a national morning television show on CTV. As soon as that time came, he was texting friends and updating Facebook as fast as he could to get the good news out.

The NWT SPCA crafted an entry asking for funding to build an animal shelter and posted it on Oct. 1 to the Aviva Community Fund website. The contest awards funding to project ideas promoting a positive change in their communities. Finalists were chosen by voters and a panel of judges picked which ideas would receive a portion of the $1 million. The SPCA idea held second place out of all the entries from across the country, with 43,021 votes.

Coinciding with the drive for votes, an outpouring of donations came in from the community - through personal and business donations, which include a $25,000 cheque from BHP Billiton and $11,000 from the Elk's Club.

"We went from $25,000 in our bank account to $390,000 in two months," said Friesen.

Spencer also credited the community support with influencing the judges' decision.

"That played a big part in our winning, that community spirit," she said.

Community spirit aside, Spencer said the work has just begun to reach the goal - building and operating the animal shelter.

Before the facility can be designed, the SPCA needs to find an affordable chunk of land it hopes to lease. An application has been submitted to the city for a corner lot on Coronation Drive, but Spencer said she spoke with city administration yesterday and the application was still being looked at.

In addition, more money will still be needed to get this off the ground. Friesen said he did not know what the final cost would be as plenty of in-kind support has been promised, such as tool rentals and fencing, as well as labour costs for rock-blasting. In December, Spencer estimated the project might cost $500,000.

Glenn Cooper, the media relations manager for Aviva, said the company would like to see the funds in action by the end of the year, and there will be someone from Aviva working with the SPCA to get everything rolling.

He called the NWT SPCA a great organization and recognized the need for a shelter in the community. He said the judges made their choice on a wide variety of criteria, including likelihood of success and longevity, adding the huge amount of support from such a small community made the project stand out.

"It's not that the judges picked this to make a point, but it was certainly impressive that an organization and an idea from a less densely populated area would garner such support in the votes," said Cooper.

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