Wow! That's good information to know. We don't need more intake, as we and all our other local rescues and shelters are overflowing now.
Sent from my iPad
We looked into the Google ads grants and were accepted. We decided to bow out because of the feed back we got from a dozen or so other cat rescues... -posted to the "Animal Welfare Professionals" community
Original Message:
Sent: 9/23/2024 8:29:00 AM
From: Buck Hamilton
Subject: RE: Fundraising and donations
We looked into the Google ads grants and were accepted. We decided to bow out because of the feed back we got from a dozen or so other cat rescues. For us small rescues, the Google ads grants brought not donations, but more cats. These shelters stated that they became the "drop off point" from unwanted cats, even if you were not accepting new inflow. We are more a hospice than a true rescue and don't accept the sick or disabled cats from other than our TNR partners and local animal services. We decided the few donations that might come in was not worth the trouble. I hope this helps.
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Buck Hamilton
Chief Cat Wrangler
Mandarin's Retreat
TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-22-2024 03:22 PM
From: Pauline Haas-Vaughn
Subject: Fundraising and donations
That sounds like a very well thought out approach Bruce. I had not heard about the Google Ads program so will be looking into that. Our most stable source of funding is a "per animal" sponsorship or plea. It is definitely getting harder.
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Pauline Haas-Vaughn
Director
Cherished Tails Senior Sanctuary
AZ
Original Message:
Sent: 03-29-2024 07:39 AM
From: Bruce Thorsen
Subject: Fundraising and donations
I'm the volunteer President of the Board of Purrfect Match Cat Rescue based in West Tennessee. We're a smaller non-profit with a $250K budget. In 2022 our board created a Fund Development Strategic Plan with the goal to expand our revenue sources from primarily FaceBook posts seeking small/medium contributions to a more well-rounded fund raising program. Our plan is to institute ONE new avenue of revenue each of the next 5 years. In 2023 we focused on grants. We received 7 grants from foundations across the US totaling over $60K in NEW REVENUE. We will continue seeking grants in 2024. Our 2024 focus is expanding our social media presence. We qualified for Google Ads for Non Profits and get $10k a month to create campaigns on Google. Our Facebook and website are connected to these campaigns. In addition, we are starting an Instagram presence and it is connected to our FaceBook posts. In 2025 we will continue both of these programs and add corporate fund raising and Donor Advised funds locally. In 2026 we will add Planned Giving as by then we hope to have greatly expanded our donor base that will give us more opportunity to promote bequests and gifts of stock/IRA contributions. As a totally volunteer-driven organization, we feel that we can handle one new program a year and still continue to strengthen the ones we have put in place in past years. We purposely DO NOT do any special events as we don't have the volunteer bandwith it takes and the ROI is usually not enough for the time and expense they take to be successful.
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Bruce Thorsen
President, Board of Directors
Purrfect Match Cat Rescue
Millington TN
Original Message:
Sent: 03-28-2024 10:30 AM
From: Meghan Randolph
Subject: Fundraising and donations
Donations are definitely going down in all sectors. It can be really challenging, so you're not alone. We do four appeal letters each year to our mailing list, and make sure to feature a heartwarming story about an animal and lots of pictures. We also have a fee-waived adoption event and vendor fair in the summer, and this year are having a concert and dance party in the fall with a local band. We also do one-off events like Cat Trivia and Cat Yoga (we are a cats-only operation). It all depends on how much money you're looking to raise, but with some ingenuity and a good team, there are ways. If you don't have a big team I'd try the appeal letter (maybe you're already doing that?) And always share many many pics of the animals...that's what the people want to see!
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Meghan Randolph
Development and Communications Coordinator
Madison Cat Project
WI
Original Message:
Sent: 03-26-2024 09:43 AM
From: Michele Futch
Subject: Fundraising and donations
What are some ways your group has been successful with fundraising and donations this year? It seems like most rescues are hurting. I know we are. Just wanted to see what other groups are doing successfully. :)
#FundraisingandDevelopment
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Michele Futch
President
N FL Rescue Inc
FL
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