Comedy to the Rescue is a stand-up comedy benefit for homeless pets headlined by nationally-touring comedian Clay Foley.

The show is Friday, Feb. 23 at Rides Banquet Center, 725 S. 31st St. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the opening act taking the stage at 6:30 p.m., followed by Foley. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at almosthomeiowa.org or in person at Almost Home, 725 S. 32nd St., or at Rides Bar and Grill, 723 S. 31st St.

Almost Home Executive Director Paul Shane said the venue holds about 250 and he hopes to fill every seat.

He said he is looking forward to the show.

“[Foley] is a very clean comedian,” he said. “Like, you never know what you’re going to get with a comedian, but he’s pretty clean and family-oriented.”

Comedy to the Rescue is a “passion project” of Foley’s, Shane said. Foley is an animal rescuer and transporter and a former animal cruelty investigator. He doesn’t charge for his performances for the Comedy to the Rescue benefits.

With Rides donating the venue space and board members covering the comedian’s travel expenses, every single dollar will profit the animal shelter, Shane said.

Fundraising is paramount to the success of a non-profit animal shelter. Shane said the shelter doesn’t really have much money in the bank and has just enough money to get by.

“There’s so many things that are breaking in the shelter that there’s no money to fix or replace,” he said. “Just the day to day operational, like feeding and caring for the animals, there’s only a certain amount of money left to do that.”

Shane said the board that oversees the shelter is adding new members and focusing on public relations and resource development to bring in new funding to sustain the shelter.

“We’re bringing in other for-profit entities into what we do so we don’t have to beg people for money every day, but we have sustainable funding,” he added.

Because of funding difficulties, for years the shelter has had to put off important maintenance and repairs, Shane said. For example, in the 12 years since the current shelter building was built, the boiler hasn’t been maintained properly.

By nature, funding non-profits can be challenging, but overcoming that challenge is crucial.

“Fundraising in 2024 for Almost Home is essential to its survival,” Shane said. “Every dollar that we bring in is essential in keeping the lights on.”