Edmonson County Paws, a group working to raise money to build a nonprofit animal shelter after the county’s previous animal shelter was shut down, has achieved a 501©(3) status, which is expected to be immensely helpful for its fundraising efforts.

Kitty Houchin, Paws’ director, said the group is looking to raise $200,000 so it can build a shelter on land the Edmonson County Fiscal Court is expected to provide.

“What this allows us to do is start vigorously fundraising,” she said.

Because donations made to a 501©(3) organization can be written off on a tax return, Paws’ newfound 501©(3) status makes large donations to the group more enticing, Houchin said.

“You can’t get any large donations because people are looking for those tax writeoffs,” she said.

William Asbell, an Atlanta attorney who’s been working with Paws pro bono to get the certification, said groups lacking 501©(3) status can still hold fundraising events, but the amount of larger donations would likely be low because they couldn’t be written off.

“You just attract more bang for your buck if you’re a 501©(3),” he said.

The 501©(3) certification also enables foundations and public charities to donate to Paws, which would not have been legal before the certification, Asbell said.

Paws’ application for 501©(3) status was filed in October, he said. Applying for a 501©(3) certification is a lengthy process that generally takes about 10 to 14 months, he said.

In June 2016, 47 dogs and 17 cats, several of which were dealing with starvation, disease and crowded living spaces, were removed from the now-defunct Edmonson County Animal Shelter.

Kim Carroll, who owned the for-profit shelter, was cited on a charge of animal cruelty.

A Daily News investigative team had visited the shelter several times in 2015, finding substandard conditions each time, noting animals that were underweight, living in cages that were too small or were without water. At the time, Carroll said the conditions were temporary, though they hadn’t changed by the time animals were removed from the shelter in June 2016.

Since then, Edmonson County Paws and the unrelated Humane Society of Edmonson County have both been working toward raising the money needed for a new shelter.

The two groups are not working together, according to Katie Smith, chair of HSEC’s board of directors.

“We have offered to partner with them and so far we have not really had a response,” she said.

Edmonson County Judge-Executive Will Cannon said he’s excited for Paws, adding that he expects the group’s 501©(3) status to mean an increase in donors and more fundraising efforts.

Shortly after the animal shelter’s closing, the Edmonson County Fiscal Court struck a five-year agreement with the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society that requires the Bowling Green shelter to take all the dogs the Edmonson County animal control officers bring in.

Cannon said he wants to have a shelter ready by the time the agreement expires.

“Bowling Green and Warren County are not going to carry us forever,” he said.

Cannon is hoping that, within the next four years, Fiscal Court will be able to provide land for either Paws or HSEC to build a shelter on, he said.