Meet Jessica Kole of W.O.L.F. Sanctuary in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Kole.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was eleven years old, my parents found me cutting articles out of the newspaper on the topic of wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone and hanging the clippings on our refrigerator. When they asked why I did it, my response was, “I want to help them do that some day.” I had no prior exposure to wildlife growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but I always shared an innate passion for wolves. Years later, I followed a traditional career path studying English Education with a goal to be a teacher. With little job opportunity within my hometown area, I began to expand my skill set and eventually transitioned into marketing supporting international organizations and business development. I moved overseas to Hong Kong and Singapore in finance, then back to the USA within commercial real estate.

Back in the US, I wanted to spend more time on things I loved as a child, and immediately wolves came to my mind. I started to research wolf sanctuaries across the states and visited as many as I could to learn more about them. Eventually, I came across W.O.L.F. Sanctuary, where I fell in love with their Mission of Rescue, Sanctuary and Education, the wolves and wolf dogs, and their stance on wolves should be in the wild, not raised as domestic pets. After volunteering and spending time with W.O.L.F.’s Executive Director, Dr. Shelley Coldiron, I was offered an opportunity to assist with the organization’s campaign management which leads to my current role of Director of Development and Fundraising. I’ve been with the organization for two years and love every single aspect of my job supporting W.O.L.F.

Has it been a smooth road?
The nonprofit world is not a smooth transition. You work harder than corporate (I kid you not), and you certainly are not within the industry for the pay. It’s not an 8-5 PM job. You’re on call often, as much as the wolves and wolf dogs need you. With 30 animals at the Sanctuary, you can imagine there is very little downtime. The staff works hard because they love the animals more than anything and want to provide them with the best future possible. Most of our rescues have come from challenging situations such as fur farms or unethical tourist attractions. Others come from domestic breeders and individuals who think a wolf dog will make the perfect domestic companion, which is rarely the case.

Within my role, I am always seeking opportunities for funding as W.O.L.F. relies solely on donations from the public. We are eligible for very little in the world of grants as we cannot release our animals back into the wild (they would never be able to fend for themselves) and we do not adopt our animals out. We don’t receive government funding either. So we rely very heavily on our annual gala fundraiser and Colorado Gives Day to drive in funding for the animals annually. And, we are in the process of building our new sanctuary at Red Feather Lakes, which takes a lot of capital and manpower. It will be a better location for the wolves and staff ultimately, and safer too. It just takes a lot of money to get there.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I specialize in fundraising and development work. This entails building relationships with donors, sourcing sponsorships for our events, driving quarterly fundraisers through our social media channels, implementing marketing strategies, event planning, and more.

I am the most proud of our team at the Sanctuary. They are resilient and so dedicated. This isn’t just about what I do—it takes a village. Under the leadership of our inspirational leader Dr. Coldiron, our team is what keeps the organization going! We are a small group, and their roles are so integral in keeping the animals healthy, happy, and the property in good condition. From grant support to property construction, food preparation, volunteer assistance and more, each person is so critical to W.O.L.F.’s Mission.

I am also incredibly proud of the end result of our work. Once we take in a wolf dog, they are with us for the remainder of their lives. It is incredible to see how they flourish after coming from neglectful situations. When we see that they are happy, we are happy!

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We are located just outside of Fort Collins in Rist Canyon. Fort Collins and Denver are incredible cities with wonderful people who share a passion for animal rights and the environment. Our supporter base is astounding, and it continues to grow. We love welcoming new volunteers to help us with our Mission and bring our animals to community events where we can educate the public on the plight of wolves in the wild, as well as advocating against the exotic pet trade industry.

If we could source more organizations interested in supporting us across the Denver metro region, that would be incredible. The more we are connected, the more wonderful things we can accomplish as a society!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wolfsanctuary.net
• Email: jkole@wolfsanctuary.net
• Instagram: @wolfsanctuaryco
• Facebook: @wolfsanctuaryco
• Twitter: @wolfsanctuaryco
• Other: YouTube @wolfsanctuaryco

Image Credit:
W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

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