Animal Welfare Professionals

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Check out the Foster Recruitment links resource in our forum library that @Kelly Duer shared. It's a treasure trove of foster recruitment resources!

If you haven't already done so, I also recommend doing a search in the forum on "Foster" and "Foster Recruitment" to see other threads and content that other forum members have already shared.  The search field is in the top right hand corner of this page next to your profile pic. 

------------------------------
Kim Domerofski (she/her)
Community Manager
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Thanks, Kim! I had no idea there would be such a wealth of information on foster recruitment on this site. Clearly, I need to do more poking around! 

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 04:24 PM
From: Kim Domerofski
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

Check out the Foster Recruitment links resource in our forum library that @Kelly Duer shared. It's a treasure trove of foster recruitment resources!

If you haven't already done so, I also recommend doing a search in the forum on "Foster" and "Foster Recruitment" to see other threads and content that other forum members have already shared.  The search field is in the top right hand corner of this page next to your profile pic. 

------------------------------
Kim Domerofski (she/her)
Community Manager
Maddie's Fund

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

You're welcome, Carol! Have fun poking around and let us know if you have any questions or need any help.

------------------------------
Kim Domerofski (she/her)
Community Manager
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:08 PM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

Thanks, Kim! I had no idea there would be such a wealth of information on foster recruitment on this site. Clearly, I need to do more poking around! 

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 04:24 PM
From: Kim Domerofski
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

Check out the Foster Recruitment links resource in our forum library that @Kelly Duer shared. It's a treasure trove of foster recruitment resources!

If you haven't already done so, I also recommend doing a search in the forum on "Foster" and "Foster Recruitment" to see other threads and content that other forum members have already shared.  The search field is in the top right hand corner of this page next to your profile pic. 

------------------------------
Kim Domerofski (she/her)
Community Manager
Maddie's Fund

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Maddie's University also has a new course authored by @Kelly Duer on recruiting and retaining foster caregivers titled How to Place More Pets in Foster Homes. It has tons of great practical information,

https://university.maddiesfund.org/products/how-to-place-more-pets-in-foster-homes

------------------------------
Erika Shaffer
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

You can also sign up for the Foster Job-Alike group. Each month there are different presenters that talk about different aspects of running foster programs.  

------------------------------
Erin Ellis
Community Engagement Director
Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe

---------
Foster Program & Volunteer Management Specialist
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

------------------------------
Kelly Duer
Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Super awesome! Thanks! I will pass this along to the Powers That Be and offer my help to get these things started. 

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2023 01:36 PM
From: Kelly Duer
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

Hi Carol, 

I have a few thoughts for you, and I'm happy to meet with you anytime and puzzle it out. Recruiting fosters at your local veterinarian's office is a really good idea! That said, with the current vet shortage, most veterinary offices are incredibly busy-- they likely don't have much extra time.  

What other strategies are you using to find foster caregivers? I'm playing devil's advocate here: how do you know you're not overlooking good fosters that you might find somewhere else (for example, the illusive "unicorn foster": people who don't have pets of their own)? The organizations that are placing the most pets in foster homes are casting very wide nets, to ensure that as many people know about their programs as possible. They're making it easy to become fosters and automating training, which saves time. Here are some other thoughts: 

 

• You may have done this already, but if not, try reaching out to your current foster base and to ask if they're able to talk with friends and family about your program, and maybe ask them to post about it on their own social media accounts. Many organizations recruit 30% or more of their fosters via word of mouth. 

• On your organization's website, is it clear from the home page that you need fosters and easy for them to sign up? Here is a document on website best practices for growing foster programs. 

• Are you talking about foster often in your communications, such as newsletters, news releases and social media? I've found that the organizations with the biggest foster bases are talking about foster in some way, in about 30% of their communications (for many, this means mentioning it on a daily basis on social media). It's easy to work it in, and you really can't talk about foster too much (I have tried, lol). 

Here's a link to my Calendly where you can schedule a meeting with me if you'd like. I'll add the Zoom link as soon as it creates the invite: https://calendly.com/duer/fosterconsult   

------------------------------
Kelly Duer
Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist
Maddie's Fund

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Kelly,  this is so helpful, thank you so much!

------------------------------
Jennifer Geiger
VP Board of Directors
www.wmranch.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2023 01:36 PM
From: Kelly Duer
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

Hi Carol, 

I have a few thoughts for you, and I'm happy to meet with you anytime and puzzle it out. Recruiting fosters at your local veterinarian's office is a really good idea! That said, with the current vet shortage, most veterinary offices are incredibly busy-- they likely don't have much extra time.  

What other strategies are you using to find foster caregivers? I'm playing devil's advocate here: how do you know you're not overlooking good fosters that you might find somewhere else (for example, the illusive "unicorn foster": people who don't have pets of their own)? The organizations that are placing the most pets in foster homes are casting very wide nets, to ensure that as many people know about their programs as possible. They're making it easy to become fosters and automating training, which saves time. Here are some other thoughts: 

 

• You may have done this already, but if not, try reaching out to your current foster base and to ask if they're able to talk with friends and family about your program, and maybe ask them to post about it on their own social media accounts. Many organizations recruit 30% or more of their fosters via word of mouth. 

• On your organization's website, is it clear from the home page that you need fosters and easy for them to sign up? Here is a document on website best practices for growing foster programs. 

• Are you talking about foster often in your communications, such as newsletters, news releases and social media? I've found that the organizations with the biggest foster bases are talking about foster in some way, in about 30% of their communications (for many, this means mentioning it on a daily basis on social media). It's easy to work it in, and you really can't talk about foster too much (I have tried, lol). 

Here's a link to my Calendly where you can schedule a meeting with me if you'd like. I'll add the Zoom link as soon as it creates the invite: https://calendly.com/duer/fosterconsult   

------------------------------
Kelly Duer
Senior Community Solutions Initiative Specialist
Maddie's Fund

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Hello Carol,

                          I have found vets offices to be a poor place for marketing.  Not only for adoptions and fostering but for marketing  pet photography, boarding and dog walking as well.  This is from many years of personal experience. So if you wanted to know where you went wrong in my opinion it's where you chose to look.  My take on this is that people only go to a vet when there's an issue that will  cost them money.  And sometimes there's grief so it's not the greatest time for recruitment.

------------------------------
Richard Colosimo
Manager
Homeless Pet Help Senior Pet Home New York
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

One of our vets has a TV with ads playing but they also are using it to help us get dogs adopted and get fosters by posting pics and videos of our dogs and a blurb about the group and our needs.   It is a very busy place and lots of people watch the TV.    Maybe finding a vet that has a TV and would be interested in helping your group

------------------------------
Sandy Cole
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-12-2023 07:06 AM
From: Richard Colosimo
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

Hello Carol,

                          I have found vets offices to be a poor place for marketing.  Not only for adoptions and fostering but for marketing  pet photography, boarding and dog walking as well.  This is from many years of personal experience. So if you wanted to know where you went wrong in my opinion it's where you chose to look.  My take on this is that people only go to a vet when there's an issue that will  cost them money.  And sometimes there's grief so it's not the greatest time for recruitment.

------------------------------
Richard Colosimo
Manager
Homeless Pet Help Senior Pet Home New York

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------

Hello, Carol! 

 

We are so sorry to hear that you are experiencing so many issues and hurdles trying to find fosters. We'd love to share a platform where you could recruit new fosters and manage your current fosters. Have you heard of Doobert's Fosterspace module? One of the key factors to keep your fosters interested or find new fosters is to keep them engaged and in the loop by reaching out to them. A great feature about FosterSpace that I think would really benefit you is the ability to send out Mass Announcements and event invitations through emails or text messages. It is an effective way to minimize the number of apps and tools that you need to use to deliver important messages to the people you work with. Kelly pointed out the use of social media in raising awareness to grow fosters and you can definitely link the FosterSpace module to your social media accounts to share foster requests, etc. Please visit Doobert website to learn more and email help@doobert.com if you have any additional questions. 

 

I hope this helps!

------------------------------
Gladys Mateo
Doobert
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2023 08:22 AM
From: Carol Brendler
Subject: Recruiting New (Quality) Fosters

I'm looking for fresh ideas, tips, opinions on finding new fosters for our home-based rescue organization. Anyone?

I thought I had a scathingly brilliant idea a while ago that we could ask our own personal veterinarians to bring up the topic to clients whom they know to be responsible animal lovers, thus roping in both new and "quality" fosters in one go. I sent an email to my own vet, suggesting this and offering flyers they could leave on the counter as well. I even brought up the idea of staff wearing pins I would provide that say, "Ask me about fostering homeless pets!" They ghosted me.
I know vet offices are busy, busy places but I really thought they would at least return my email. I mean, I am a VERY frequent visitor. So where did I go wrong? More importantly, what are some better ways to find new people? 

#FosterPrograms
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Carol Brendler
Volunteer
Paws of Hope
------------------------------