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  • 1.  Foster surveys

    Posted 03-20-2023 09:10 AM

    Hi, the goal of my non-profit is to raise awareness about fostering. I recently composed 2 question survey about fostering and posted them on Nextdoor (Davis and Woodland, CA).  Dog intakes from Woodland are 50-60% and <10% from Davis. Therefore, fostering might be more important in Woodland. The data are interesting and I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on them.  From Davis, out of 2000+ views, 48 responses. From Woodland, out of 500+ views, 9 responses.  Fairly similar rates of responses with Davis at 2.4% and Woodland at 1.8%. Two distinct demographics are based on the 2020 census.  33% of woodland responses indicate a lack of knowledge on fostering compare to 0% of Davis. 11% of woodland respondents identify as fosters compare to 29% of Davis. The same % of people know a little about fostering in both cities. When asked would you like to learn more about fostering? 67% of Woodland say NO 46% of Davis say NO.  33% of Woodland says YES and 15% of Davis say YES. None of the Woodland respondents are on the fence while 40% of Davis say Maybe. 

    Which city should we focus on?  We love to get your input. Less people in Woodland are aware of fostering but more are willing to learn. Most dogs in the shelters are from Woodland. Practically everyone in Davis knows about fostering, but not too many want to learn perhaps because people already know a lot. 40% of Davis is on the fence. Very few shelter dogs are from Davis. 

    Thanks.


    #FosterPrograms

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    Julielani Chang
    The Life of Kai: Compassion Connections Inc.
    Davis CA
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  • 2.  RE: Foster surveys

    Posted 03-20-2023 12:26 PM

    I am shocked at the level of NO for the response! Do you have a social media page where you can share info on the benefits of fostering and the "how to's" of fostering through your organization? Perhaps you can reach a larger audience by doing so and won't need to worry with focusing on a particular area. It has helped us tremendously!



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    Jill Gilbert
    Shelter or rescue staff
    Lee County Humane Society
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  • 3.  RE: Foster surveys

    Posted 03-20-2023 12:33 PM

    Hi Jill,

    I am really surprised at "NO" too but it is also informational and hopefully will help guide me. I do share tons of fostering info on my non-profit Facebook page and plan to share it on Nextdoor. Heartspeak has amazing foster infographics and I share them extensively.  Thanks for your suggestion and encouragement.



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    Julielani Chang
    The Life of Kai: Compassion Connections Inc.
    Davis CA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Foster surveys

    Posted 03-20-2023 12:52 PM

    I would say this isn't enough information to use for organizational decision-making. You would need a much larger survey covering a more representative sample of the population. Unless these are villages of 2500 people,  48 from one area and 9 from the other isn't nearly enough! And just because fewer pets come from an area doesn't mean they don't need or want information. 



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    M Saucedo
    GIS Analyst
    Pets for Life
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  • 5.  RE: Foster surveys

    Posted 03-20-2023 06:53 PM

    I agree the numbers are small and I am hoping that more will respond. The number of people that views it though is decent close to 3000.  I wonder why they did not want to take the survey. Maybe 3000 view the survey but did not want to bother with it and fostering is not something they are interested in. I am going to leave it longer. Will have to stoke it to renew interest. I am hoping to get 100 from each. 9 is too small and 48 is passable but more would be better.  I thought the number of views is interesting and quite high. Could they possibly just are not interested in fostering but did not spend the time to say NO. Thank you for the feedback, M Saucedo. I do appreciate it.



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    Julielani Chang
    The Life of Kai: Compassion Connections Inc.
    Davis CA
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Foster surveys

    Posted 03-21-2023 05:22 AM

    This is so interesting, Julielani!! 

    I  would try to get more Woodland respondents if possible-- maybe there are some local Facebook groups where it can be posted to? But I'm really excited to see that so many people in Davis have some idea what fostering is. Very exciting!

    It sounds like you're focusing more on dog fostering? If so, Woodland may be the better match, but if you haven't already, check with local shelters and rescues and see what types of pets they most need fosters for. If it's, for example, big dogs with behavioral incompatibilities like reactivity, it might make sense to concentrate on an area where homes are further apart.

    Also, you might think about ways people can try out fostering and what types of foster are available in which areas. If there's a shelter or rescue organization in one of the areas that has field trips that are open to the public, you might be able to make more progress there quicker. 

    Please keep me posted on this project!



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    Kelly Duer
    Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist
    Maddie's Fund
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  • 7.  RE: Foster surveys

    Posted 03-21-2023 10:10 AM

    Hi Kelly, it is so nice to get your input.  Yes, I would love to get more Woodland respondents. The demographics between Davis and Woodland are quite different and I wonder if that could be a contributing factor. Woodland and Davis are adjacent cities about 7 miles apart. The shelter is physically located in Woodland. There are more rescues in in Davis than Woodland. Dogs from Woodland and Davis are housed in the same shelter so I presume Davis is doing the heavy lifting in the fostering department as the majority of dogs in the shelters are from Woodland. 

    Based on the census bureau in 2021, Davis has 25,123 households, households with computers 98.3% and 94.7% have internet vs. 20,956 households in Woodland with 91% with computers and 87.5% with the internet. I thought the internet data is really interesting.

    I thought about FB but for this first round, I want to target the general public as I might introduce more bias with FB as it is usually grouped based on certain interests such as Pets Lost and Found. But I think it would be very interesting to post on FBs as well to see how a selected audience responds to the survey. As it is, I think the number of respondents is so small that the survey is already selecting those that are interested in animals in general and dogs in particular. Nextdoor has a "Poll" function, I might try to use that next if I can't get more respondents. What do you think? 

    Will keep you posted on this pilot project.



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    Julielani Chang
    The Life of Kai: Compassion Connections Inc.
    Davis CA
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    Original Message


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