Animal Welfare Professionals

We are in the process of creating a new nonprofit animal rescue in GA.  While we have volunteered & fostered for many county shelters and rescues; we've never actually been responsible for an entire animal rescue organization. 

We want to do everything in our power to start off correctly. Looking to find out the necessary insurance we need to carry initially and long term and the milestones along the way. (For example: one type of insurance might not be needed if only two primary rescue volunteers are fostering but might be needed when we grow to have X number of fosters.)

A little more about us:

• we will be 100% foster based
• we are starting with kittens but will include puppies & dogs as we grow
• initially two primary volunteers will do any animal transports but as we grow we will expand to include other volunteers for transport (with training and an SOP)
• we are starting very slow based on our ability to raise money (must have an adequate amount of money in the bank to cover an "average" emergency vet visit)

Once we understand the types of insurance needed now and in the future; how did you determine the best policies to purchase?

Thanks so much for your input!!

Make a Facebook page. It's a great way to raise funds. 

For vetting start a Waggle fund online. They will directly pay your vet.

I googled you and didn't find you. You need an online presence for potential donors.

Thank you for wanting to help kittens in Georgia. You didn't mention spay/neuter. All our kittens are fixed, vaccinated and chipped before adoption. 

We are in the process of creating a new nonprofit animal rescue in GA.  While we have volunteered & fostered for many county shelters and rescues; we've never actually been responsible for an entire animal rescue organization. 

We want to do everything in our power to start off correctly. Looking to find out the necessary insurance we need to carry initially and long term and the milestones along the way. (For example: one type of insurance might not be needed if only two primary rescue volunteers are fostering but might be needed when we grow to have X number of fosters.)

A little more about us:

• we will be 100% foster based
• we are starting with kittens but will include puppies & dogs as we grow
• initially two primary volunteers will do any animal transports but as we grow we will expand to include other volunteers for transport (with training and an SOP)
• we are starting very slow based on our ability to raise money (must have an adequate amount of money in the bank to cover an "average" emergency vet visit)

Once we understand the types of insurance needed now and in the future; how did you determine the best policies to purchase?

Thanks so much for your input!!

We are in the process of creating a new nonprofit animal rescue in GA.  While we have volunteered & fostered for many county shelters and rescues; we've never actually been responsible for an entire animal rescue organization. 

We want to do everything in our power to start off correctly. Looking to find out the necessary insurance we need to carry initially and long term and the milestones along the way. (For example: one type of insurance might not be needed if only two primary rescue volunteers are fostering but might be needed when we grow to have X number of fosters.)

A little more about us:

• we will be 100% foster based
• we are starting with kittens but will include puppies & dogs as we grow
• initially two primary volunteers will do any animal transports but as we grow we will expand to include other volunteers for transport (with training and an SOP)
• we are starting very slow based on our ability to raise money (must have an adequate amount of money in the bank to cover an "average" emergency vet visit)

Once we understand the types of insurance needed now and in the future; how did you determine the best policies to purchase?

Thanks so much for your input!!

Hi Rosalie,

So great that you are taking steps to help homeless and surrendered pets. It sounds like you are being very thoughtful about both short and long-term needs. My husband and I run a small cat rescue in Massachusetts and faced (and continue to face) many of the same start-up challenges you noted.

What type of insurance are you looking into? Pet insurance to cover pet emergencies or hazard/safety insurance to cover animal-related injuries to foster homes or volunteers? We are foster-based and don't actually have any insurance for our program. While many people would probably say this is a bad idea, the simple fact is that we don't really foresee situations in which we would need it, since we have all volunteers and foster homes sign a detailed waiver of liability in which they acknowledge that cats are living creatures and there is no way to predict their behavior; therefore, the volunteer/foster accepts the risks and releases us from all liability in the event of injury or damage to any person or property, including guests of the foster home. Maddie's University has many online trainings related to legal issues- I definitely recommend watching a few of those.  On the advice of one attorney doing a training, we included a blurb in our waiver of liability form that we cannot be held liable even if injury or damage stems from neglect or accident on our part.  I would definitely suggest focusing mostly on creating a really iron-clad waiver of liability form and ensuring that every single person who steps foot in your organization signs it, even if they don't come into contact with animals.  Either have a separate waiver related to driving or include a piece in your regular waiver form to make it clear that you cannot be held liable any accidents, damage to cars, etc. that occurs while someone is driving for the program and that you do not reimburse for any damage to cars. If you have that, you should be able to have an inexpensive insurance policy with minimal coverage, if you choose to insure your program. I also suggest checking out any requirements in your state regarding insurance for animal-related programs. 

Best of luck!

We are in the process of creating a new nonprofit animal rescue in GA.  While we have volunteered & fostered for many county shelters and rescues; we've never actually been responsible for an entire animal rescue organization. 

We want to do everything in our power to start off correctly. Looking to find out the necessary insurance we need to carry initially and long term and the milestones along the way. (For example: one type of insurance might not be needed if only two primary rescue volunteers are fostering but might be needed when we grow to have X number of fosters.)

A little more about us:

• we will be 100% foster based
• we are starting with kittens but will include puppies & dogs as we grow
• initially two primary volunteers will do any animal transports but as we grow we will expand to include other volunteers for transport (with training and an SOP)
• we are starting very slow based on our ability to raise money (must have an adequate amount of money in the bank to cover an "average" emergency vet visit)

Once we understand the types of insurance needed now and in the future; how did you determine the best policies to purchase?

Thanks so much for your input!!

We are in the process of creating a new nonprofit animal rescue in GA.  While we have volunteered & fostered for many county shelters and rescues; we've never actually been responsible for an entire animal rescue organization. 

We want to do everything in our power to start off correctly. Looking to find out the necessary insurance we need to carry initially and long term and the milestones along the way. (For example: one type of insurance might not be needed if only two primary rescue volunteers are fostering but might be needed when we grow to have X number of fosters.)

A little more about us:

• we will be 100% foster based
• we are starting with kittens but will include puppies & dogs as we grow
• initially two primary volunteers will do any animal transports but as we grow we will expand to include other volunteers for transport (with training and an SOP)
• we are starting very slow based on our ability to raise money (must have an adequate amount of money in the bank to cover an "average" emergency vet visit)

Once we understand the types of insurance needed now and in the future; how did you determine the best policies to purchase?

Thanks so much for your input!!

We are in the process of creating a new nonprofit animal rescue in GA.  While we have volunteered & fostered for many county shelters and rescues; we've never actually been responsible for an entire animal rescue organization. 

We want to do everything in our power to start off correctly. Looking to find out the necessary insurance we need to carry initially and long term and the milestones along the way. (For example: one type of insurance might not be needed if only two primary rescue volunteers are fostering but might be needed when we grow to have X number of fosters.)

A little more about us:

• we will be 100% foster based
• we are starting with kittens but will include puppies & dogs as we grow
• initially two primary volunteers will do any animal transports but as we grow we will expand to include other volunteers for transport (with training and an SOP)
• we are starting very slow based on our ability to raise money (must have an adequate amount of money in the bank to cover an "average" emergency vet visit)

Once we understand the types of insurance needed now and in the future; how did you determine the best policies to purchase?

Thanks so much for your input!!

We are in the process of creating a new nonprofit animal rescue in GA.  While we have volunteered & fostered for many county shelters and rescues; we've never actually been responsible for an entire animal rescue organization. 

We want to do everything in our power to start off correctly. Looking to find out the necessary insurance we need to carry initially and long term and the milestones along the way. (For example: one type of insurance might not be needed if only two primary rescue volunteers are fostering but might be needed when we grow to have X number of fosters.)

A little more about us:

• we will be 100% foster based
• we are starting with kittens but will include puppies & dogs as we grow
• initially two primary volunteers will do any animal transports but as we grow we will expand to include other volunteers for transport (with training and an SOP)
• we are starting very slow based on our ability to raise money (must have an adequate amount of money in the bank to cover an "average" emergency vet visit)

Once we understand the types of insurance needed now and in the future; how did you determine the best policies to purchase?

Thanks so much for your input!!