Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello, 

We have recently started to send our med/larger dogs into foster homes.  What is the best way to find fosters? I have found that most people who are interested fill out interest forms but  never follow through.
#FosterPrograms

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Jamie Tavenier
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How are you making contact with them after they have filled out your interest forms?  Getting foster homes is one of the hardest things to do.  I find that making a personal connection with them, and getting them excited about the difference they are going to make.   I start with a text asking when a good time to chat is. Then follow up with the phone call when they requested.  I like to do our home check in person if possible or at least video chat. I find a better connection when you can put a name to a face.  If it's in person, I make sure to take a copy of our foster handbook.   I hope this helps

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Donna Hill
Kennel attendant
A ReJoyceful Animal Rescue
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Fosters are so incredibly hard to come by. Most of my fosters are for small breed dogs, and even then, we only have about 4 that are dedicated. When we have adoptions, I include literature about fostering, and that is always one of the things I highlight at community events. The benefits of having a dog without having to pay for one (we as the rescue cover all costs associated), and it allows them to try breeds that maybe they haven't considered, etc. Personal connections & talking about the hardships of shelters helps as well.

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Riley Morris
President
Almost Eden Rescue
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75% of our fosters are volunteers at our facility. We have people who come in just to spend a day volunteering at the facility and they fall in love with an animal or want to help more but cant be at the facility every day so were able to promote the idea of fostering at that time. We put a lot of effort Into just getting people in the door where they can meet the animals one on one. Cute pictures are great but the opportunity for a dog or cat to show off their personality really helps!

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Dava Cooley
Ex. Director
County Roads Rescue
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Have you taken the Adult Dog Foster MU course?  If not, it's something to check out. Here are a few other resources:

Maximizing Big Dog Foster Impact (30 min. video) 

How to Place More Pets in Foster Homes (MU course)

Foster Friday Everyday! Creating a Community Culture that Values Pet Fostering (blog)

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Kelly Duer
Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist
Maddie's Fund
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Hi Jamie,

 

I understand that it can be very stressful to find committed fosters and I appreciate your efforts in helping our furry friends. Have you heard about Doobert? It is a platform built for animal rescue/shelter organizations to help with many different things, including foster recruitment. You can use the FosterSpace module to help find new fosters, assign animals within your organization to those fosters, and overall manage the entire process right from the dashboard. Feel free to check out this quick video on how easy it is to invite new fosters. Another great feature in addition to FosterSpace is that you can also link your social media accounts and share foster requests directly to your platforms. If you need more information or have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out at help@doobert.com. 

 

Thank you for what you do to the animals!

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Gladys Mateo
Doobert
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