TESTIMONIALS

Speaker Testimonials

"Angela uses her experience to breakdown the roadblocks many marketers experience when it comes to content creation, making brand building and marketing approachable in every field."

Ryan Berry, East Coast Credit Union

Angela Rafuse

Angela Rafuse is the founder of My Grandfather's Cat, a nonprofit that helps seniors and terminally ill people feed and arrange homes for their pets before they move into retirement homes or pass away. It was inspired by her personal experience adopting her grandfather’s 14-year old grumpy cat, Mackenzie, when he passed away.

When she realized many seniors worry about what will happen to their animals, she decided to create MGC as the solution. She created an innovative rehoming service where the organization utilizes social media to find adopters, also known as a second forever homes, for the animals, allowing them to stay with their human up until the very last day, providing comfort and companionship.

She launched the organization on May 18, 2021, her grandfather’s birthday, through a video on TikTok. The video went viral and surpassed one million views. By sharing her journey of building MGC and her life with Mackenzie, she has gained more than 640,000 followers on TikTok.

In just three years, the organization has found more than 240 second forever homes. As the goal of the organization is to help seniors keep their pets up until the last day possible, they have since expanded to provide a pet pantry to help low-income seniors feed their pets, so they are not forced to rehome them due to the rising cost of living. They have provided food for more than 380 animals to date.

Through Angela’s embodiment of the belief that anyone can make change in the world, along with her innovative initiatives through MGC and her unique marketing strategies, MGC has gained more than 220k followers across social media, including 125k followers on Instagram, making MGC one of the highest followed charities on Instagram in Canada.

Angela’s dedication has earned her national and international recognition. Her work has been featured by People Magazine, Good News Network, and countless Canadian news outlets. She has been named one of Atlantic Canada Business Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30 Innovators, received a nomination for Forbes Top 30 Under 30, and the title of Animal Nonprofit CEO of the Year by the Canadian CEO Awards.

When she’s not saving cats, Angela is likely finding ways to sneak them into conversation or attempting to leave gatherings early to spend time with her own cat, Bo, who she adopted through MGC.

SPEAKING TOPICS

If you Build it, They will Come – MGC Story

Your audience will hear the inspiring story of how Angela took her experience adopting her grandfather's grumpy cat and turned it into a national charity, all while living in her parents basement at the age of 26. She will discuss how she embarked on building innovative programs, quitting her day job and helping more than 650 animals in less than three years.

Beyond Cute Cat Photos – Marketing and Social Media Community Building

Angela shares in-depth details how she built the MGC brand and created innovative programs to help seniors feed and rehome their beloved pets. She focuses on how their marketing is more than just cute cats, and the immense power behind building a social media community. She will discuss TikTok, engagement, fundraising through social media and more.