Rescue Journal

rescue 101..fundraising

Carol · Nov. 10, 2013

here are my thoughts on fundraising in rescue..personally i like planned, predictable events spaced out appropriately thru out the year. up until now we have hosted the pub night in march, the open house in june, the gala in sept. and the xmas letter/donations at the end of the year. there are other fundraising efforts hosted by others...the plant sale in may/the bank bake sale in nov/Helga's annual garage sale plus ongoing fundraising programs like animal sponsorships and 1000 saints.
it is the predictability and consistency of these events that allows us to reliably plan ahead and pay our bills.
the change in date of the bake sale this year is a bit of a hit but next year we can switch the timing with the pub night to the fall and the bake sale to the spring to compensate for this.
we do offer lots of ways for people to support us in various ways...our fundraising events, our sponsorship programs, and making individual donations whenever they want.

part of the reason for planned events spread out and ongoing sponsorship programs thru out the year is to be respectful of our donors and prevent donor fatique. in my mind the last thing our donors need is saints hitting crises after crises and continually sending out begging pleas for more and more money.

I have always been reluctant to fundraise additionally for specific emergencies...a dog needs surgery, we need two new roofs..the septic system is crashing, or can't pay our current bills. I think it sends a message that we cannot manage our budget and live within our means.

of course the issue is depending on donations, depending on the success and predictability of our fundraising efforts, depending on which crises strikes next..it is difficult to always know (and sometimes guess) what is coming in and going out. a crystal ball would be handy for this.

in any case...I do think it is important to attempt to keep to some predictability and consistency in our fundraising efforts and not to cry wolf unless the wolf is right at the door and about to come in. so far we have managed to take a deep breath, stretch and juggle and figure things out to keep the wolf away from eating us.

funds in rescue are almost always feast or famine depending on the time of the year and where we are currently sitting between fundraising events and there is no doubt that this causes a lot of added stress.but it is what it is..and nothing about rescue is ever easy so we do need to learn how to deal effectively with that stress.

I am continually working on this.

anyway..if folks could please keep voting in the petfinder shelter challenge (and I personally know how difficult this is cuz I can't even get in there to vote without getting their error messages!)..without the bake sale this month we are really going to need some extra money. winning the petfinder challenge may not be as much, but every little bit will definitely help.
thx.

Comments

Willie C

For the first time in over a week the VOTE button displayed and I was able to vote today!!

laura

just read the post on fundraising.... i get that fundraising needs some predictability and we have that with Saint run functions as well as other ones hosted at a private homes such as plant sale and garage sales....however the bake sale is hosted by the bank and we have been very blessed that last few years to get what we want, but must be aware that there is a lot of other local charities whom also want a piece of the pie...thus this nov. the bank is supporting another worthy cause. i totally understand that running 2 fundraisers the same month is not a great idea....so the plan of a bake sale in march can be postponed and i will try for Saints turn again next nov/14

Jan

I've been voting for the past 14 days no problems...managed to recruit 2 new friends, but there are about 10 of us who were FB friends of Orion and Pasat's mum so we are all voting...

Barbara

Could the problem with voting be related to the web browser being used? I'm using Firefox 25.0 and rarely have any trouble voting.

Bridget

i mentioned the water/laundry issue of SAINTs to mum, and the trouble involved with the septic bed.
she said, perhaps a rocky cesspit would be best for the grey water?
i know you'll likely need to replace the septic bed anyway.
i just thought i would pass on what she said.

Carol Ann

I can't vote either this time.

Tammy

I have had trouble voting since the beginning. It always comes up with an error message, no matter what I do. Its quite frustrating, I used to vote daily.

Brenda Mc

I just voted in the Petfinder Shelter Challenge, and had no problem voting for S.A.I.N.T.S. - When you search for a shelter , make sure you type it in exactly as I have - with the periods in between the letters, and Saints will come up. Maybe this makes no difference, but not sure why some folks are having difficulty in voting. Good luck!

lynne

thanks for posting magie how true and 25 dollars a month is for me 3 bottles of wine for others who knows but it could not go towards a better cause. please everyone think of what it means to these animals and carol. that is not a lot of money for most people. i will get on my friends and family for sure. cant seem to get on the petfinder challenge help.

Maggie

I understand the need for the security of knowing there is a consistent flow of funds to the bank every month. How can anyone plan ahead and budget when the funds coming in are themselves unpredictable.

The need for every household to have a base line of money hitting the bank every month is no different than Saints need to have baseline financial security.
This is why it is so important for everyone to pass the word about 1000 Saints. Committing to donate $25 a month is not anywhere near onerous for most of us but put a lot of those donations together…hopefully we will hit 1,000 one day…and magic happens. Suddenly the fear of high vet bills, the septic field, the barn roof leaking and the washers quitting…again, is gone because funds have been put aside for just these possibilities or, in most cases, eventualities.

Please help us by spreading the word to your extended family, your friends and neighbours, and your place of work, how much their $25 monthly donation means to us.
There is a PDF of a 1000 Saints poster on our website www.1000saints.ca to post on as many bulletin boards as possible.

One last thing, every single penny raised goes into care of the animals. There are no administration costs other than wages for bare bones staff, no dinner meetings, no board retreats, just a lot of hard work to give as many animals in desperate need a decent happy life. That is what we are about.