SPCA of Wake County celebrates historic $5 million donation

The SPCA of Wake County (SPCA Wake) has received $5 million in what's the largest single gift in the organization's history.

SPCA Wake said Susan Ward donated the once-in-a-lifetime gift. Ward is an established SPCA Wake supporter, an animal rights advocate and serves on the Board of Directors for NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

SPCA Wake will celebrate the donation and honor Ward on Tuesday afternoon at its headquarters on Petfinder Lane in Raleigh.

The gift is part of SPCA Wake's $21.5 million capital campaign to build the state's first Regional Campus for Pets & People.

"The remarkable gift from Susan Ward is a foundational investment and endorsement in how we care for companion animals and the people who love them in North Carolina," said President and CEO of SPCA Wake Kim Janzen. "The single greatest focus of this capital campaign is our unshakable commitment to positive collaboration with other organizations, a roadmap to both broaden and deepen our services and geographic scope and the resources to meet the evolving needs of pets and people in our community and across North Carolina."