This is a great question! So very important, because about 80% of the 500+ rescues in the Valley of the Sun, are run by people who wanted to save animals, but because the IRS makes it so easy to become a non-profit. They do not understand the skills in managing/working with Volunteers, they don’t know the work of the administration of the business of non-profits, they don’t THINK of expenses like insurance, and medical bills, petfood, and cleaning poop, and city/county/state laws.
I have one friend who lost everything (including her daughter) because she tried to run her kennels/non-profit out of her home (wrong zoning) and the neighborhood went to war on her. There is another situation we are dealing with, here in the Valley of the Sun, of a non-profit single person rescuer who died and took some animals with her, because they starved to death when no one else checked on them. Of the number of people who get into hoarding situations because they took in animals that had problems, and them could not find anyone else to take them off their hands. (Did you know there is an endorphin rush, “ohhhhhhh, I SAVED a LIFE!”, that people get addicted to?)
I was 40 years doing safety health and disaster before the first of four strokes took me down. I was a federal OSHA trainer, working at universities/colleges, for businesses, government, churches, and on-profts. I was both volunteer and paid staff for non-profts including one of the best in the US – the Red Cross, especially in the heyday before Hurricane Katrina.
I got into working with Animals because I watched dogs scrounge for food on the growing trash piles at San Juan, Puetro Rico after Hurricane Hugo for Red Cross Disaster Service. After caring for first my Mom, then Dad who died from Cancer, I agreed to help found a pet food pantry with three other women who had $40 and 4 bags of pet food. They did not understand how to run a non-profit and quit because it was too hard. 6 months after forming our non-profit. I had the first of four strokes.
As the last founder standing, I had the choice of closing or going on as a senior with a broken body. I changed the business model we were using, set professional/best practice standards, a a few years later, became a guidstar.org platinum member, a Greater Non-profit best of Agency, was invited to join the Leadership Council of the Alliance of Arizona Non-profits, and joined the (now) Governor Ducey’s Arizona State Citizen Corp Council, In our last IRS long 990, we gave $766,000 of donated pet food/items to 11 counties in Arizona,~ on $19.500 donated cash.
Another factor is that npw I am modeling what one can do is spite of handicaps. (I can hardly walk, have other challenges from the strokes and old age. I am in the process of becoming a host for a radio program on “Finding Passions” (featuring pets ,disasters and more). Did you know that according to the APPA pet owner statistics, 68% of US Households have at least one pet? I have found that peoplewll do things for their pets that the would not do for them selves like disaster, health and safety!
I was just also selected to be a national mentor of Medical Reserve Corps for FEMA/Homeland Security.
www.emptybowlpetfoodpantry.org
#PeopleManagement