Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi Everyone,

We are looking into charging our fosters a nominal fee to cover the costs of sending them home with a "starter kit" (food, dishes, leash, litter, toys, treats, etc.).  Does any one else do this or how do you cover the cost of your foster program?  Donations are a great start but don't always cover us during the summer peak.

Thanks,

Emily 

We fundraise to cover expenses related to our foster program: grants, a supply drive at the beginning of kitten season, an online wishlist, etc. I'd be concerned that requiring fosters to pay a fee could discourage people from participating. However, it's pretty common to ask fosters to provide basic supplies themselves, like food and litter. Asking them to provide basic supplies doesn't seem to be a big deterrent. We provide a fully stocked kitten "baby bag", and that's something we fundraise for since we want to make sure everyone has all the same supplies and it's not stuff that's as easy for everyone to put together as food and litter. 

I would be hesitant to ask for a fee from a foster or volunteer. I think it is reasonable to ask for basic supplies to be provided by the foster home, but then you would need to be ok with what was provided (i.e. any brand of food or any kind of treat).  You might be able to ask for a suggested donation to cover supplies sent into the home. Another thing to think about is creating a "registry" at a local pet supply store or amazon wish list for each foster, or for your organization as a whole, and caregivers can purchase things from that list....if they want.

We ask for a $40 fee. If people cannot Foster because of the fee, we waive it. But this rarely happens.

We don' do that too our fosters. We have been lucky enough to get lots of donations. However, some fosters wa t to get them their own toys and stuff , which we are okay with

We do not charge fosters to participate and I would be hesitant to do so because it might be keep people from volunteering to foster. As other's said having a wishlist at various vendors, asking fosters to provide some materials (which is especially easy if they are already pet owners) or having specific fundraising events for foster supplies have been helpful ways we have covered supplies in the past. We have hosted specific fun events at the shelter to gather supplies such as a "kitten shower" day where people can bring a kitten shower present, come play common baby shower games but with cat themes, and play with kittens. These events are also a fun way to recruit new foster parents. 

If you have a secure communication channel such as a Facebook or other chat group for your fosters you can try putting a call out a few times a year for specific donations for the program. Our fosters have always been very willing to provide donations if we ask. 

We never charged fosters to participate. I found it difficult enough to retain fosters. What we did, however, is regularly remind fosters that any funds they spend on foster care could be tax deductible. We always provided a starter kit if the foster needed it. We always told our foster parents that we can and will provide supplies if they need it. Some took us up on that which was ok because I was willing to trade supplies for their time, space and love. But, I also found that many fosters were ok providing their own supplies. At the end of the year, we tried to make it as easy as possible for them to deduct on their taxes by providing a form letter that allowed them to indicate how much they spent on supplies for the year.