Thank you to the 198+ people and pets who joined us on today's Community Conversations call! Special thank you to our guest speaker @Michelle Muri for reminding us of the importance of focusing on COMMUNITY in all of our programs. The recording is now available to watch on-demand. Below you'll find a recap of the call including the December grant winners, a highlights from the chat and I've also attached a copy of Michelle's presentation slides.
Weekly Community Conversations Call 1/22/24 Recap:
- Welcome from Hosts
- December 2023 Grant Winners
- Weekly Community Conversations Grants - 2 Winners of $2,500!
- Julie Jacobsen of Snake River Animal Shelter in Willard, Utah
- Sandi Mercado of Citizens for Animal Protection in Houston, Texas
- Maddie's Pet Forum - 1 Winner of $3,000!
- @Stacie Voss of Farmington Regional Animal Shelter in Farmington, New Mexico
- Question of the day: One or two words that describe your community?
- "grit" - Jose Ocano
- "Passion" - Ashley Vargas
- "Motivated" - Stephen Knight - Dogs Matter - Dallas
- "resilient" - Michelle Pease Kalaskey
- "involved" - Tori Tanner
- "Challenged" - Amy Joshua
- "dedicated" - Renee Marshall
- "Compassionate" - Alicia Curley
- "caring" - Linda Rubin
- "caring" - Melody Karle
- "Intelligent" - Jenna Riedi
- "supportive" - Marit Ortega
- "Humane" - Chrissie Moore
- "Complicated" - Isabelle Côté
- "committed" - Jenna
- "conservative" - Erini Long
- "diverse" - Kelly Clardy
- "supportive" - Genevieve Frederick
- "collaborative lifesavers" - Lisa Pearce
- "Motivated" - Mary Serafini
- "Dedicated" - Melody Karle
- "struggling" - Sheila Segurson
- "Kind" - Alice Guttler
- "Rural, isolated" - Sharon Esempio
- "Strong" - Andrea Badri
- "Military/Civilian" - Debra DeVries
- "empathetic" - Michelle Schutz
- "needing help" - Karen Jealous
- "supportive/overstretched" - Elaine Edington
- "Collaborative" - Mary Flores
- "Nimble" - Erin Hooks
- "encouraging" - Jenna
- "Selfless" - Ashley Vargas
- "Low income Indiginous Mayan" - Suliana Lutin
- "Sonoma, CA" - Mary Serafini
- "Involved" - Christina Avila
- "Dedicated" - Tracy Horton
- "Struggling but passionate" - Martha Geri
- "Supportive" - Johna Boatright
- "Fractured" - Sara Fitzpatrick
- "Supportive, caring" - Nicole Baez
- "Striving" - Kathy Janssen
- National Updates
- Today's Presentation: Community-Centric Fundraising
- Guest Speaker: Michelle Shireen Muri, Co-Founder, Community-Centric Fundraising
- Quick Case Study for "SPCA of Polk County in Livingston TX, minimize the stray population" - Jenna
"SPCA of Polk County Rural County in Texas One of the only NoKill Shelters" - Michelle Muri
- Who is at the center of our work?
- "Staff adopters" - Lisa Gilbert
- "People and their pets" - Mary @ Maddie's Fund
- "The non-educated" - Christina Avila
- "Perfect way to handle TNR" - Norma Wallace
- "Animals" - Debra DeVries
- "cat colony caregivers" - Karen Jealous
- "betterTogether Forever LA, CA to preserve the human animal bond providing community support such as vet care, pet pantry, surrender prevention/shelter intervention, etc. to those who are in crisis to reduce animal shelter intake and homelessness for both people and pets." - Christy Schilling
- "I'm from the Tri-County Humane Society in St. Cloud, MN. We are an open-admission shelter that serves our community with voluntary pet surrenders, stray and seized pets, RTF cats, and adoptions." - Marit Ortega
- Who is connected to the folks at the center of our work?
- "staff and board" - Christ Schilling
- "animal control officers" - sue webb
- "transient residents" - sue webb
- "Volunteers. Active coloration with local Animal Control agencies. Open communication with other non-profit animal organizations including out of state organizations." - Debra DeVries
- Who might be values aligned with us? Who wants us to succeed?
- "Animal Feed stores" - Anita Selby
- "Senior centers" - Anita Selby
- "Donors" - Lisa Gilbert
- Related Links:
- Highlights from the Chat
- "Love the Ethical Rainmaker!" - Elise Pollard
- "I have to disagree with some aspects of your philosophy - it would seem that you feel the Donors should not have a say in the way their donation is used. I don't have a problem with a charity getting information, suggestions and participation from individuals that are part of the target audience. However, as someone that self-funds my charity, I would not want to be the major source of money of a group that did not value my involvement in the direction of the organization." - June Thomas
- "I don't think that's what she's saying at all. Centering the community doesn't mean cutting out donors altogether. It just means...centering the community :)" - Maria S
- "As one of those older individuals, I obviously will come from a different perspective. It's not a factor of the demographics of others involved in a charity. However, I find it's very easy for people to expect the source of funding to continue providing money while the donors lose any input as to how money is spent." - June Thomas
- "Again, that's not what she's saying. Look at this slide. Especially #6" - Maria S
- "I think she's saying it's more of an ethical question rather than a simple accounting matter of "how the donation is used"... of course donors should have some say because they are going to want to support certain programs & aspirations based on their passions. But, the organization has to make sure that the funding is going toward something the people (or pets, of course) actually need. Donors and Board members cannot, on their own, just assume what they think a community needs from their own perspective. The organization must ask the ones they serve those questions, and involve them in implementing the solutions. (Which, for those of us on this call since the pets can't talk 🙂 means asking pet owners what they need the most, and how we can help them keep their pets, rather than assuming!)" - Amanda Coburn
- "Bringing excellent vigor to this area. Brava!!! (I had some experience, and bailed in distaste...)" - Norma Wallace
- "Both the AFP and the Grant Professional Association (GPA) have Codes of Ethics. A lot to unpack here but being respectful and engaging the public in all aspects of program planning, implementation and evaluation. Impact means very different things to a client than a donor or grantmaker." - Lisa Pearce
- "As a group located in Oregon, there is a huge disconnect with people wanting to help animals and helping homeless folk's animals. It makes it extremely challenging to get support, both physical and financial, when you are helping these populations" - Karen Jealous
- "Karen, it is true too here in California. People are pretty polarized with it comes to the unhoused. I have the hardest time fundraising for pets of the unhoused in my community." - Julielani Chang
- "That's a connection with your community." - Anita Selby
- "We got a used golf cart at Christmas and it has changed our world!" - Gina Hays
- "I'll bet you could get Bass Pro Shops to donate an ATV!" - Lori Leberman
- "OMG this is sooo cool! Love this community mapping!" - Kerry Morlino
- "Sometimes it's not 'what' you know, but 'who' you know...and by extension, 'who' they know" - Debra DeVries
- "What is the best advice for someone who is uncomfortable asking for donations from the community?" - Julielani Chang
- "I would say coaching with friends and with small interactions." - Jenna
- "If it was me, I'd start small. Email a local pet store, for example, to see if they have a donation program or want to start." - Maria S
- "Never underestimate the value to saying 'Thank You' to those who help you." - Debra DeVries
- "Thank you, Michelle. Thank you for your time and energy!" - Sharon Fletcher
- "Thank you! This has been really wonderful!" - Molly Keith
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Charlotte Otero
Community Strategist at Maddie's Fund
she/her
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-18-2024 02:06 PM
From: Maddie's Pet Forum Admin
Subject: Community Conversations - 1/22/24 - Community-Centric Fundraising
Updated 1/22/24 at 3:08pm - Recording now available to watch on-demand!
Please note: Not all views expressed on Community Conversations are endorsed by Maddie's Fund.
We hope to see you on Monday, 1/22/24 at 11am PT for our next Community Conversations call. The Maddie's Fund team will be announcing the December 2023 grant winners and we will hear from @Michelle Muri, Co-Founder of Community-Centric Fundraising.
We love our community and live to serve it. Yet despite our dedication, many of our third sector practices perpetuate injustices we wish to end and overlook the social progress we've made! What would be possible if our work centered the communities we serve?
Join our hosts in conversation with Michelle Muri as we spotlight the pioneering Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) movement, initially established in Seattle, Washington (USA) now resonating globally, engaging tens of thousands of people in novel perspectives on their roles across the world.
Together we'll dive more deeply into interpersonal exploration of what CCF can look like in practice, exploring the ways in which we can step into and attempt to shift the power dynamics in service to our communities.
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#FundraisingandDevelopment
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Maddie's Pet Forum Admin
Maddie's Fund
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