Fayetteville Animal Protection Society’s board of directors recently announced and celebrated two generous gifts from the estate of a longtime businessman.
David Carroll Bryan, a supporter of the society with a big heart for the community and partner in Bryan Honda, passed away in 2020 after battling COVID-19 for a month. In his will, he made two generous donations to FAPS.

The organization, which is home to a no-kill shelter, has wanted to expand to save more animals; Bryan donated the money needed to purchase the adjacent land.

As of May 1, 2022, the FAPS property was .64 acres of land. Bryan’s financial gift allocated toward the land purchase has allowed FAPS to purchase an additional 2.23 acres of land.
“Every time I called David to tell him we needed something he said without hesitation, ‘yes’ and that I should never apologize when asking for the animals. This man truly is a gem,” said Beejie Caviness, member of the advisory board. “This land gift changes everything for FAPS. David’s gift recognizes the important place animals hold in our lives and our community — and the critical role FAPS plays in supporting animals and the people who love them.”
“This gift from Mr. Bryan cements his legacy as a selfless and generous animal loving philanthropist and ensures second chances to thousands of animals for years to come. 2022 is a special year as we celebrate 40 years of saving lives of homeless cats and dogs in our community,” explained Jackie Peery, executive director of FAPS since 2016. “These past four decades, FAPS has grown from a small, humble operation to the area’s premier no-kill shelter. However, we were landlocked before now and with no room to expand we were at a standstill as we had reached our capacity for care. It was only out of the generosity of Jay Wyatt (of Valley Auto) that we have had a place to park and walk our dogs for all these years.”
For the past three years, Peery said FAPS has been able to adopt out
700 animals yearly. “In the animal welfare field, we have what’s called ‘a capacity for care,’” she said. The footprint that they had could provide for about 700 cats and dogs, but when they go beyond that, their standards
go down. “We have hit our limit, our capacity for care,” she said.
“That is until now,” she continued, “as this gift allows the opportunity
to expand through a future capital campaign, care for more cats and dogs, grow outreach programs, and ultimately, save more lives.” 

“It’s because of David Bryan and his legacy that FAPS is able to plan
for not just the next 40 years, but really, forever,” Peery said.

As FAPS continues to grow, Bryan planned to help the organization in its success by providing a $1,000,000 endowment gift for the organization through Cumberland Community Foundation.

Autumn Blake, FAPS board president, said, “Endowments help us sustain our mission with support in perpetuity. Like this gift, the selfless reputation of David Bryan will live on forever. This is by far the largest gift FAPS has received and we were stunned when we heard the news.”
“Mr. Bryan has certainly set an example for all animal lovers. You can ensure your own legacy like I did through the Cumberland Community Foundation. You may be surprised to learn how attainable creating your legacy is, as a gift of $10,000 or more within 5 years is what’s required to start your own endowment fund at CCF.”

“My brother was very good at a lot of things,” Norwood Bryan, brother of David Bryan, began. 

“He had a love of living things. I know that a time or two, we saw a cricket somehow got in his office, and so he’d slide a piece of paper underneath it and walk and take it outside and put it in the brush where it belongs, rather than stomping on it,” Bryan said. “That was David. ... He had a three-legged bobtail cat named Mr. Bailey. They found him in a curb drain where some animal had taken him apart almost, and they nursed him back to health and he lived for a long, long time. It was pretty amazing for a three-legged bobtail cat.”

“He thought a lot about how to put his money at the right place at the right time, and he did that. And it was a game-changer for FAPS, so I’m so glad that he did it.
Bryan’s love of Fayetteville ran deep, which was evident through his quiet support of a number of important organizations, to include medical programs at Duke, UNC’s sports programs, scholarship funds, and
cultural entities in Fayetteville, focusing on science, animals, music and art. He was a big proponent of the arts locally, as well. He played a major role in helping rebuild the local Fayetteville Symphony, contributed to the development of Fayetteville Little Theater, supported the arts and science programs at Methodist, and contributed to the creation of the Fayetteville Area Protection Society. He also contributed to the N.C. Civil War and Reconstruction History Center which is still in progress.

Beejie Caviness, a longtime supporter of FAPS, reminisced on the origins of the organization and the 22 years of hard work that it took to make it what it is today. She expressed her gratitude toward the donors whose support has trans- formed FAPS. “The main thing is, it’s because of you out there,” she said to the event attendees. “All of you have continued to give, and give, and give. ... We wouldn’t have made it 22 years without you.
“The only regret I have is that I can’t wrap my arms around David Bryan right now and say, ‘Thank you.’”