SACRAMENTO, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- High costs and big spending left two Sacramento, Calif., charities with less than $17,000 even though they raised nearly half a million in an auction.
The Sacramento Zoo and the Developmental Disabilities Service Organization's "Lions on Safari" project auctioned 60 lion sculptures painted by local artists in hopes of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Sacramento Bee reported Thursday.
Similar fundraisers around the country met with success -- Chicago raised $3 million with its cows, Lexington pulled in $700,000 with horses and 150 Cincinnati non-profits raised $1 million with their pigs.
In Sacramento, however, administrative costs for the Oct. 2 auction ate almost 97 percent of the revenues, leaving the zoo and service organization with about $5,000 each, with a similar amount for an artists' fund.
Despite the disappointing results, Zoo Director Mary Healy said the project generated a buzz that made it "well worth doing."
"If you want to take a chance, sometimes you get the big payback and sometimes you don't, but you won't get it if you don't try," she said.
