Animal Welfare Professionals

What is the main source of income for shelters for the long run? We are a small rescue in rurual Iowa that recently opened 6 months ago. We have a board of commited professionals that are working day and night fundraising, applying for grants ect. Our manager is great about running a tight ship with expenses giving the animals the care they need without being frivalous. Each month our numbers show the same. We have more expenses than income. What do shelters do to remain open? We are no where near closing. At the rate we are going we will remain open for the next 3 years with our current finances. What is the best long term income to keep a shelter open?

#FundraisingandDevelopment

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Hali Gray
Manager
Almost Home Animal Rescue
IA
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It is such a tough time to be honest. Gaining a following is important for crowdfunding....so getting known in your area beyond just your rural community and identifying something "unique" or special about your model compared to others locally and then of course full transparency about expenses.

Grants are still worth pursuing but are so competitive....and many funders want to see more of a track record. There is one called Little Guys Grants that is specifically for smaller rescues and is very easy to complete. And try for contests (like Tractor Supply Rescue YOUR Rescue) because not only is it a nice amount of funding but also gains more exposure. 

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Pauline Haas-Vaughn
Director
Cherished Tails Senior Sanctuary
AZ
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Thank you for your insight!

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Hali Gray
Manager
Almost Home Animal Rescue
IA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-16-2025 07:32 AM
From: Pauline Haas-Vaughn
Subject: How do shelters fund their organization?

It is such a tough time to be honest. Gaining a following is important for crowdfunding....so getting known in your area beyond just your rural community and identifying something "unique" or special about your model compared to others locally and then of course full transparency about expenses.

Grants are still worth pursuing but are so competitive....and many funders want to see more of a track record. There is one called Little Guys Grants that is specifically for smaller rescues and is very easy to complete. And try for contests (like Tractor Supply Rescue YOUR Rescue) because not only is it a nice amount of funding but also gains more exposure. 

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Pauline Haas-Vaughn
Director
Cherished Tails Senior Sanctuary
AZ
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Here is a few ideas I am in the middle of implementing that you might like;

1. Setup a donation page on website where someone can choose to donate each month (recurring) an amount to help with something specific or for anything needed such as cat food or dog food, or to buy new traps, or pay to have a community cat fixed, and so on.  I am using this to get folks to support me paying for food for colony cats that I care for.  We have a number of people doing this, so I will set it up so folks can do drop down for feeder they want to support, or a specific page for each feeder.
2. Bring a tablet to any kind of event, interaction, etc. that has this donation page showing on it and ask them if they would like to support what you are doing with a monthly donation.
3. Setup ongoing adoption events at farmers markets, shopping centers, and so on - you can ask businesses in area make a monthly contribution of at least some amount and in return you will post flyers at your events of how they support you and add them to your website and social media.

Essentially, every interaction you have doing anything is an opportunity to ask for support.

Know you will do a great job!

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Greg Baker
TNR & Cat Colony Organizer
Action 4 Animals Hawaii
HI
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Thank you Greg! I really like the tablet idea!

Hali

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Hali Gray
Manager
Almost Home Animal Rescue
IA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-15-2025 03:23 PM
From: Greg Baker
Subject: How do shelters fund their organization?

Here is a few ideas I am in the middle of implementing that you might like;

1. Setup a donation page on website where someone can choose to donate each month (recurring) an amount to help with something specific or for anything needed such as cat food or dog food, or to buy new traps, or pay to have a community cat fixed, and so on.  I am using this to get folks to support me paying for food for colony cats that I care for.  We have a number of people doing this, so I will set it up so folks can do drop down for feeder they want to support, or a specific page for each feeder.
2. Bring a tablet to any kind of event, interaction, etc. that has this donation page showing on it and ask them if they would like to support what you are doing with a monthly donation.
3. Setup ongoing adoption events at farmers markets, shopping centers, and so on - you can ask businesses in area make a monthly contribution of at least some amount and in return you will post flyers at your events of how they support you and add them to your website and social media.

Essentially, every interaction you have doing anything is an opportunity to ask for support.

Know you will do a great job!

------------------------------
Greg Baker
TNR & Cat Colony Organizer
Action 4 Animals Hawaii
HI
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Hi Hali, 

Kalamazoo Animal Rescue utilizes social media a lot for fundraising. We have set up subscriptions, we have our wish list linked, we utilize the GiveButter online platform for easy online donations. We do a lot of in person events with the animals present. We sell homemade pet toys and merch. We partner with local pet supply stores for adoption events and donation drives. We started off partnering with local vets' offices for low-cost services for our foster animals, but we have fortunately gotten to the point now where we have our own vets that perform surgeries in house as well as do low-cost community vet services that also helps fund the rescue.  All of this to say, KAR has been around for over 30 years so it has taken quite some time to get to the position we are in. Just don't give up, stay strong and stay true to your mission and your community will notice. 

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Kayla Yarbrough
Secretary
Kalamazoo Animal Rescue
MI
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Thank you Kayla for the encourgement! It is much needed today : )

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Hali Gray
Manager
Almost Home Animal Rescue
IA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-15-2025 08:22 PM
From: Kayla Yarbrough
Subject: How do shelters fund their organization?

Hi Hali, 

Kalamazoo Animal Rescue utilizes social media a lot for fundraising. We have set up subscriptions, we have our wish list linked, we utilize the GiveButter online platform for easy online donations. We do a lot of in person events with the animals present. We sell homemade pet toys and merch. We partner with local pet supply stores for adoption events and donation drives. We started off partnering with local vets' offices for low-cost services for our foster animals, but we have fortunately gotten to the point now where we have our own vets that perform surgeries in house as well as do low-cost community vet services that also helps fund the rescue.  All of this to say, KAR has been around for over 30 years so it has taken quite some time to get to the position we are in. Just don't give up, stay strong and stay true to your mission and your community will notice. 

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Kayla Yarbrough
Secretary
Kalamazoo Animal Rescue
MI
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I am just starting our nonprofit animal rescue. Would you mind sharing your budget with me?

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rosalie hathcock
Board Member
Little Lives Animal Rescue
GA
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HI Rosalie:

Our budget was around $125K when we first started and we are about double that now after 7.5 years.....we intentionally have stayed pretty small and it is still always alot of hustle to keep up with everything including the funding 

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Pauline Haas-Vaughn
Director
Cherished Tails Senior Sanctuary
AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-17-2025 12:51 PM
From: rosalie hathcock
Subject: How do shelters fund their organization?

I am just starting our nonprofit animal rescue. Would you mind sharing your budget with me?

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rosalie hathcock
Board Member
Little Lives Animal Rescue
GA
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Rosalie,

We are aroun $100k. It is a constant to keep funding going. We are a small community. I am trying to expand our reach. 

Hali

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Hali Gray
Manager
Almost Home Animal Rescue
IA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-17-2025 12:51 PM
From: rosalie hathcock
Subject: How do shelters fund their organization?

I am just starting our nonprofit animal rescue. Would you mind sharing your budget with me?

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rosalie hathcock
Board Member
Little Lives Animal Rescue
GA
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This is such a great question! I'm in the same boat - just started a rescue in August of 2024 and finding funding is basically a full time job in itself (in addition to my paying full time job and the full time job of running a rescue!). Networking within my community has been our single biggest source of incoming donations. Make friends with small businesses that live in the pet space, engage a social media audience by creating captivating content, and just ask for what you want. I hate asking for help or money, but I've found that being very direct about what I'm asking for makes it much more likely that I'll get it.

Putting on and attending local events, with or without pets, has also been helpful. Partner with a local bar and do a BINGO night, set up at a local pet store for an adoption event - there are so many options and the more different they are, the larger following you'll accumulate.

Stay strong; we've got this!

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Meredith Evens
Founder
Olyver & Co
WI
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