Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  foster 101 workshops

    Posted 05-18-2024 01:37 PM

    I am about to plan for my third foster 101 workshop to be held in Los Angeles on July 21st.  In the last workshop there were about 20 people in attendance.  I would like strategies/tips to promote and market this to reach a bigger audience.  This is not my field so how could I find someone to help me plan for a larger crowd?  I am not skilled with social media platforms.


    #FosterPrograms

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    Melissa Klaskin
    psychologist
    Reducing Animal Stress
    CA
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  • 2.  RE: foster 101 workshops

    Posted 05-20-2024 01:08 PM

    You'd probably want to start by partnering with your local shelters and rescues. They can direct potential fosters to you.



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    Maria Saucedo
    GIS Analyst
    Pets for Life at HSUS
    Baltimore, MD
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  • 3.  RE: foster 101 workshops

    Posted 05-20-2024 08:05 PM

    No, I am trying to recruit fosters FOR the rescues and shelters by giving attendees information and tools about fostering.   None of the rescues have enough fosters therefore they cannot pull dogs or too many end up in  boarding



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    Melissa Klaskin
    psychologist
    Reducing Animal Stress
    CA
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  • 4.  RE: foster 101 workshops

    Posted 05-21-2024 08:42 AM

    Well, they can still use their existing social media platforms to advertise! That would be the easiest way to reach potential fosters. Is this workshop in person?  That's going to be a huge barrier. You'd probably get more attendance with a social media campaign for a Zoom call. You can also advertise on the neighborhood social media in areas local to each specific rescue, like Nextdoor, Facebook groups, Instagram, and TikTok if you want to reach people under 40. Or put flyers with QR codes in local shops, bars, churches, etc.

    I'm a long time foster myself so I have lots of thoughts about foster recruitment campaigns.  Even though I already WANT to foster, reasons I do NOT foster for certain groups include:

    1. excessively long drives to pick up/drop off fosters

    2. having to buy all food and supplies out of my own pocket

    3. a rescue having no backup plan if fostering a specific dog doesn't work out

    4. the group not providing boarding or pet sitting when I need to travel

    5. overly-restrictive adoption policies that keep dogs in foster homes for too long

    If shelters and rescue groups can mitigate these issues, that goes a long way towards allowing me to foster for them. A lot also depends on the local housing and the types of dogs the rescues are wanting to pull. Many rental homes ban dogs altogether or have weight restrictions, so even if people want to foster, they often can't for reasons out of their control. Then there's behavior....I can't foster dog-reactive dogs or people-reactive dogs because my densely-packed neighborhood is full of dogs and people.

    All that to say....it's lot more complicated than simply figuring out how to get more people to a workshop!



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    Maria Saucedo
    GIS Analyst
    Pets for Life at HSUS
    Baltimore, MD
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  • 5.  RE: foster 101 workshops

    Posted 21 days ago

    To promote your workshop, try reaching out to local community centers, libraries, and schools to post flyers. For social media help, consider hiring a freelancer on Upwork or Fiverr. Also, join local Facebook groups related to your workshop's theme and share your event there. 



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    Avery Jones
    Engineer
    CraftyCreator
    CA
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  • 6.  RE: foster 101 workshops

    Posted 18 days ago

    Try partnering with your local library , you can increase your reach with their social media who may love to read but never considered fostering .



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    Virginia Brantley
    President
    Georgia Heartland Humane Society
    GA
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