Animal Welfare Professionals

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all! 

I'd say take to social media to highlight and show your appreciation for all that they do! It could be a little video segment or interview with them asking questions about why they started fostering, what their favorite part is, stories & pictures of some of their favorite fosters and debunking any misconceptions about fostering. It could be a great way to attract new fosters and you could highlight a variety of fosters both on social media posts and on your organization's website. 

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all! 

I'd say take to social media to highlight and show your appreciation for all that they do! It could be a little video segment or interview with them asking questions about why they started fostering, what their favorite part is, stories & pictures of some of their favorite fosters and debunking any misconceptions about fostering. It could be a great way to attract new fosters and you could highlight a variety of fosters both on social media posts and on your organization's website. 

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all! 

Ooooh a video featuring them is a good idea to attract more fosters! 
I think most of them are pretty private, so I'll have to hope we get some public speaking fans soon :) 

I'd say take to social media to highlight and show your appreciation for all that they do! It could be a little video segment or interview with them asking questions about why they started fostering, what their favorite part is, stories & pictures of some of their favorite fosters and debunking any misconceptions about fostering. It could be a great way to attract new fosters and you could highlight a variety of fosters both on social media posts and on your organization's website. 

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all! 

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all! 

I recently moved to a new role at my shelter where I'm helping with social media, community relations, etc. and I've been trying to encourage fosters to send photos/videos of their fosters with bios or snippets about why the foster for us to post. It generates interest in our program and pets, and the ones who are participating seem excited to have us post their words! 

In the past, we've had a hard time getting fosters to come to any kind of volunteer appreciation event (whereas the onsite volunteers love those events), so I'm definitely interested in other suggestions too! 

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all! 

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all! 

We have a really small but passionate foster base,  so a few individuals end up doing a ton of work (when a larger program would have the capacity to give them a break).  Many of them don't consider themselves traditional "volunteers" and visit the shelter building pretty rarely. As such, all our "volunteer appreciation" tends to miss them. I'd really love to figure out a way to appreciate our wonderful fosters, but I lack a budget or any means to buy them gifts. Does anyone have any ideas for meaningful ways to thank our fosters besides gifts?

Thanks y'all!