Dear RMAD Members, Supporters, and Friends,

The RMAD Board of Directors is working to reformulate our organization. Over the years, RMAD has helped animals directly and indirectly through education and awareness. It has helped its members by providing a forum for discussion, a social outlet, and the knowledge that we are not alone in our "vegan-ness". Indeed, the last 15 years have been wonderful, as RMAD has become the "go-to" organization for anyone with a question on animal rights in this area. For this, we thank the leadership of our former Executive Directors: Dave Crawford, Lynne Sprague, and Mike Stabler.

The economic times have made it difficult on all of us, but it has been especially hard on RMAD. The Board of Directors feels that RMAD needs to have a more refined mission in order to regain the confidence of the donors. We are considering many ideas and will be contacting our donors and activists for advisement.

The good news is that RMAD's future is bright! The bad news is that RMAD is out of money and we can no longer support an executive director. The economic times have made it difficult on all of us and RMAD is no exception.

For many years, we were the only animal rights group in the area, but that has changed with the advent of animal sanctuaries like Peaceful Prairie, cat/dog rescues like Divine Feline, vegan outreach like Non-Violence United, and specific rescue groups like the Prairie Dog Coalition. As such, we must transition so that we may find a niche that provides enough donations to support our mission.

In the meantime, RMAD will go into "safe-mode" and operate without any debt. As such, our phone and mail will be discontinued and we request that any animal emergencies be handled by other organizations. We also request that you either forward your monthly RMAD donation to those animal organizations that remain solvent or that you hold them until RMAD emerges from its cocoon.

The website and the listserves WILL remain active for now. If you wish to get in touch with the Board of Directors with requests with ideas, please send an e-mail to board@rmad.org.

Best regards from The RMAD Board of Directors: