$1.3M in donations left to Pima animal center

The Pima Animal Care Center has been named the beneficiary of two estates valued at more than $1.3 million.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors will vote today on whether the center can utilize the donations.

If the donations are approved, the endowment will not simply fund operations but will bolster expansion of the center’s programs and outreach, said Karen Hollish, the center’s development director.

Hollish said she expects the supervisors will accept the offers.

Hollish’s department has raised about $579,000 for the center directly and $265,000 through its nonprofit subsidiary, Friends of PACC.

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The additional financing funded vital services, and the department’s outreach placed it in the running for grants like the Community Cats Project, which involves the trapping, neutering and release of feral or stray cats.

The county received a check from the Ella Jane Burson estate for $1.3 million on Aug. 17. And, the property bestowed from the Marilynn Louise Rasmussen estate holds an assessed value of $73,780. The county is expected to sell the Rasmussen home if the donation is approved.

Family members said they decided to leave the considerable amounts because they were impressed with the organization, Hollish said.

“Both of them had good experiences with us, and they wanted to leave a gift that had a major impact,” she said.