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No More Homeless Pets Forum
July 21, 2003 Planning Special Events |
How can you plan special events that really work? Nikki Sharp and Michelle Thompson of No More Homeless Pets in Utah will answer your questions and share their top tips for planning successful special events.
Introduction from Michelle Thompson:
Are you thinking about hosting an event in your area -- a dog walk, an awards program, an auction, a fundraiser or something more unique? Are you unsure where to start? Are you in the planning process and just need a sounding board? Have you already completed your event and you are unsure how to grow it in the future? Do you need help setting your goals?Event planning is difficult work. It requires creativity, organization, tons of time and lots of help! Events can also be incredibly rewarding and sometimes very lucrative. I am happy to share the secrets of our largest fundraiser -- Strut Your Mutt -- and our awards/auction program -- The Lint Roller Party.
This week I will be glad to offer advice and give suggestions to help you get your events off the starting blocks or back on track.
Introduction from Nikki Sharp:
Do you want to adopt out hundreds of animals in a weekend? Do you thrill at the idea of emptying out your city shelters? You can achieve both by having a pet Super Adoption.The thought of putting on an event like this can be overwhelming. But don't let your fears of chaos hold you back from hosting your event.
This week I'll be happy to answer all your questions about planning and carrying out pet Super Adoptions and other adoption events.
Questions
Promoting a walk
Where do we begin when we are a new group?
When the person in charge of an event has too much control
Finding volunteers for events
How to set goals for events
Planning a super adoption event
Overcoming group differences to participate in an adoption event
Engaging corporate sponsors for an event
Additional ways to raise funds
Shelter adoption partnerships to lower euthanasia rates
Promoting a barbeque event
Serving meat at benefits for animal welfare group
Silent auctions
Deciding on the right event to do
Do you need media to have a successful event?
How to start a shelter partnership program
Promoting a walk
Question from Mary Ann:
I am a volunteer at a local no-kill shelter and have helped organize a dog walk fundraiser for our shelter. This year was our 3rd walk and I would like suggestions on how to reach more people to take part in our walk. We listed the walk in our newsletter a couple months before the event; the newsletter goes out to members and volunteers of our shelter. We have advertised in our local paper, put the event on the event calendars of various websites and passed out flyers. I know it takes time to build up participation in an event, but I wonder if we should be doing more.Response from Michelle:
You are off to a great start with the audience you are targeting. You are obviously reaching those who are interested in your cause. I would encourage you to take the next step and target a larger portion of your community - dog owners in general. If you are hoping for your event to grow, doing more promotion will never hurt. I always keep in mind the "Rule of 7's" when planning an event and trying to reach a larger audience. This rule states that it takes approximately 7 times for someone to see or hear an advertisement/flier/banner/commercial/etc. before it actually registers that it might be something they are interested in. Seven times!!! So, you need to look at your "market" and figure out the best way to target your potential "customers".There are so many ways to advertise your event. Just think of all the ways you see things advertised on a daily basis. How do you learn more about events in your own community? There are TV commercials, radio commercials, TV press events, Public Service Announcements, press releases, newspaper advertisements, newspaper articles, billboards, bus boards, posters, invitations, brochures, banners, bag stuffers, fliers, websites, and on and on.
One of the best and least expensive ways to promote your event is to hold a press conference the day before the event. I would suggest holding it at the event location. Invite all of the local media (TV and newsprint) and make it fun! For example, for Strut Your Mutt this year, the press conference consisted of several dogs practicing for the Strut Your Mutt contests. Because the contests at Strut Your Mutt are a huge draw for some of our participants, we hoped to attract the media by providing a "teaser" of the event. So we had dogs doing tricks, etc. while our media representative was executing the interview. We got some great coverage and it cost us NOTHING!! This is such an easy way to get people excited about the event - to see a preview on the news the day before.
Another great way that is pretty low-cost is a website. Do you have a volunteer that can do web-design? Do you have a local Internet Service Provider that would donate the space for you? People are so web-savvy these days and would prefer to learn more by going to a website rather than by calling a phone number. Even if the website is purely informational, that's okay - make sure you provide your audience with all of the information to find out the details of the event, and how to register. If your web-designer is comfortable with web registration, I would encourage you to go this route. We probably get 1/2 of our pre-registrations via our website. This is a great way to reach a huge amount of people.
Another thing to keep in mind with promotional materials, keep them streamlined. So when people see your brochure/flier it looks very similar to the poster/banner which looks similar to the article in your newsletter, your website, and so on. This allows people to make the connection between different types of promotion and start to realize they are all promoting the same thing. A low-cost option here in addition to what you are already producing is fliers. Do you have volunteer that can design a layout for a flier, then run them off on a copier? Hang them EVERYWHERE in your community! Ask local merchants to stuff them in their bags at check out. Approach a local pet supplier - can they put them at their cash registers?
One other thing to keep in mind when you are creating your event: Keep the banner/flier/article, etc. simple. Include date, time, location, cost, phone number or website to register with and who it benefits and leave the rest of the details off. One of the biggest mistakes people make when promoting an event is trying to cram too much information onto their promotional materials.
Where do we begin when we are a new group?
Question from Penny:
Hello! As the president of a newly created not-for-profit benefiting local homeless animals, I need information on planning and creating fundraising events that will both help to fund our organization and raise our profile in the community. I have no experience at this and need suggestions from the experts!Response from Michelle:
Wow, that is a huge question! There are so many different types of fundraising events out there: dog walks, festivals, bake sales, auctions, raffles, cocktail parties, car washes, and on and on. There are also a ton of resources to help you. Get on the Internet and type in "fundraising event" and see what you can learn, go to your local library and check out "how to" books to help get you started.First off, I would do some research in your community. Don't try to duplicate what another group is doing; create your own event with its own flair. Let your creativity flourish; bounce your ideas off of other board/committee members. Has another group tried an event that didn't work? Talk with them, pick their brains, learn from their mistakes. Also, do some research about what events work in other communities the size of yours.
Once you have determined the event you are going to host, make sure you know who your audience is. Your audience will change with each type of event. I attract a different crowd to our dog walk/festival event than I do to our silent auction/cocktail party. This is an important thing to recognize early on, as it will effect your promotion of the event; how you invite (targeted, specific mail piece or a general broadcast message to your community) and who you invite (socio-economic demographic); what type of entertainment you may have; types of items on display at the event, etc.
Find someone (preferably a volunteer) in your community who has some event experience and can help you plan. Planning events is something that sounds like a lot of fun at the get-go, but can be a tremendous source of stress and frustration once you get into the nitty gritty of the planning. Having someone who has been through this process many times before will save you a lot of frustration and heartache in the long run.
Also, remember that an event is not always the best way to raise money for an organization. Larger events require a tremendous amount of time, effort and financial support to put on. And, generally speaking you will not yield a large amount of cash for your first few years. Events are geared toward community outreach - getting your community involved by donating products or services, getting your message out, and networking with your community. Word of mouth can be a very powerful tool. If you choose to host a large-scale event, stick with it. It may take years for it to pay off, but think of all the people you are attracting and educating about your cause This will benefit you in other ways as well, by attracting volunteers, donated services or products, financial donations, foster homes, etc.
Don't forget to set goals for the event. This is a very important step that many organizations miss. Make sure you have a clear picture of what you are shooting for, and share this with all involved. For example, if you are hosting a dog walk type of an event - state your goals to those who are helping you plan AND those who are participating. I like to tell my planning committee what our financial, volunteer, promotional, entertainment and attendance goals are; this helps them understand what we are shooting for as a group. And, I also share our financial goals with our participants: "We are trying to raise $50,000 for Utah's homeless pets." This helps people visualize what you are trying to accomplish and have a vested interest in what you are doing.
Finally, keep in mind that the first year of the event will be the hardest. But you will glean so much knowledge with your first event, and this will serve you well with other events to come.
When the person in charge of an event has too much control
Question from Judy:
We just put on a fundraising event that was a lot more work than it should have been because the lady in charge kept so much information "in her head." Most of us are list-makers and prefer to see things in black and white. That way, if something has been taken care of, we can check it off. However, with this event (it's the first time this lady has done a fundraiser for us), most of us were frustrated because we could never get answers to any of our questions. The answer was always, "I'm taking care of it."The event was Friday night and everyone had a good time (we had cocktails/appetizers under tents, with comedians from New York City as the entertainment). We did not sell as many tickets as the fundraiser promised (nor did we get the food donated the way she had promised). Because of 4 fantastic auction items, we were able to actually make a little bit of money. However, we have been working on this since March, and the amount of work (and worry and concern) for all the board members seems excessive because of the "style" of the fundraiser.
Last year, we had a non-event and we raised just as much money with the only work being to create invitations and donor cards and do a mailing. Many of us are now thinking that we should do a non-event again because it is just so much easier with the same result.
Any suggestions?
Response from Michelle:
Wow, it sounds like there is a real disconnect between the committee and the director. This is a slippery slope to be on. Sometimes, there are so many details that the event director deals with on a day-to-day basis, that not sharing all of them with the committee is very common. Sometimes it is innocent - she doesn't mean to keep details from the committee, they just slip her mind. Other times it is all about power. If you as a committee member don't have the information, you cannot make informed decisions and help with the planning process. Therefore, all decisions must be made by the event director, thus giving her all of the power over the event. This is a very bad cycle that will hurt both the organization and the event.One of the problems with creating events by committee is there are so many different personalities you have to work with. As the event director, each committee member needs a different set of parameters and works better in a certain type of environment. It seems to me with the information that I have that your director is not familiar with working in a group setting. Is there a way to change event directors each year of the event? What about someone else in the community who has event experience or another committee member? Have you directly approached the event director to discuss your concerns in a non-threatening way?
As far as your event goes...
The first thing about putting on any event is that they are a TON of work and most of the time - especially if it is a newer event in your community - do not yield a high profit-margin. One of the common misconceptions about fundraising events is that it will be fun, easy and bring in a bunch of cash. As a general rule, these last two do not hold true. The goal of events such as the one you have detailed should be community outreach and education, not huge financial benefit. By educating your attendees and involving local businesses, you will reach out to more and more people at each event, and they in turn will spread your message by word-of-mouth. But, generally speaking, it takes years to fine-tune a fundraising event to be largely financially profitable.
It is hard for me to make a determination about your situation. There are so many pros to events: they are fun, you reach a large audience, you make contacts within your community, you attract attention, etc. But, they are a lot of work and can sometimes cause a lot of frustration within an organization. Only you and your committee can make the decision as to whether this is something you would like to continue in the future. I can tell you that the first event you do is always the hardest and they do get slightly easier each year - especially if you are holding the event in the same place and keeping the same type of theme. But, without trusted guidance from your event director, this could be a disastrous road to go down.
You mentioned a direct mail piece that yielded a good amount of income. I would definitely continue this effort (with or without the event) if financially feasible. You have started a good thing here. If nothing else, you know you have one solid fundraising effort that is successful.
Finding volunteers for events
Question from Mary:
What do you recommend if a shelter wants to have an event, but can't get any volunteer help? Is it possible to do? Or should the large events not even be considered until the volunteers step forward?Response from Nikki:
Volunteers are absolutely critical in order to have a successful event, whether it be an adoption event or a fundraiser. I do not know how it would be possible to have a successful event without volunteers. Therefore, your forethought and concern for the importance of volunteer recruitment is extremely wise and will make a huge difference in the execution of your event.I strongly believe that volunteers will join when they are aware that there is a need and support your goal. I suggest that when you have determined the type of event you want to have, and the goals you want to reach, that you find one person who will offer to be on your event committee and serve as the volunteer chair. This person would focus on finding and recruiting volunteers for the different jobs. In order to assist your volunteer chair to be successful, you will have to have clearly defined the number of volunteers and the skills you are looking for. It would be very difficult and stressful for a volunteer chair to recruit people to fill generic or non-specific roles. You are more likely to recruit a volunteer to fill a specific role--and therefore feel vital or even indispensable to the success of the event--than to recruit a volunteer for a non-specific role.
Go for the big event!
How to set goals for events
Question from a member:
When putting on any type of special event (whether a super adoption or fundraiser) how do you decide how big to make it? If you don't have pre-registration, how do you know how many people to expect, how many animals to bring, how many prizes to have, how much food/supplies vendors should have, etc. That is our biggest problem. We'd like to try a walk or an adoption event but don't know how big to shoot for on our first try.Response from Michelle and Nikki:
An adoption event and a fundraiser are vastly different types of events, so we will break them down individually in order to answer your questions.ADOPTION EVENT
There are basically 2 major things to consider when organizing a large adoption event. You need to determine the goal of animals you wish to adopt and look at the location you wish to have the event in.
It is important to establish your event adoption goal as one of the first things you do. This will make it much easier to plan for the event. If you know how many you hope to adopt, you will be able to plan for the amount of animals needed to attend to reach that goal and the amount of supplies/equipment needed in order to support the animals in attendance. Having an adoption goal will also make it easier to solicit corporate sponsors and to get the local media to cover your event.
You need to have twice as many animals available for adoption at the event as your stated goal. This is because the public wants to have a selection. They don't want to choose from amongst 'the leftovers' at the end of event. One clarification I might add is that you need to spread out the participation of the animals over a couple of days. For example, our Super Adoption goal is usually to adopt out 600 animals over 3 days. We don't plan on having over 1,000 animals present on the same day. We reach that number over a 3-day period. Since we can count on doing hundreds of adoptions a day we plan on a quick turnover period. This means new animals come in each day to fill the vacancies from the previous day's adoptions.
The second component of determining the number of animals to bring is to analyze the location where you wish to have the event. In order to expect hundreds of adoptions, you need to be in a fairly large city. Here are some of our results to help you set realistic expectations:
St. George, Utah (pop 40,000) = 110 adoptions
Salt Lake City, Utah (pop 1 million) = 550 adoptions 2x's year
Ogden, Utah (pop 200,000) = 210 adoptions
I find that it takes about as much planning to prepare for an event where I expect 200 adoptions as it does where I expect 600 adoptions. Therefore, if you are going to the trouble to organize an event and you have the population to support it, my suggestion is to go big!
FUNDRAISING EVENT
As far as size & attendance, you may not have any control over how big the event becomes. A good ballpark figure to base an estimate on is 5-10% of your direct mail households will attend. If you are not doing a direct mail piece, and just peppering your community with fliers, posters, bag stuffers, etc. you are really shooting in the dark - especially if you don't require some sort of pre-registration. My experience with pre-registration is that about half of the participants will pre-register and the other half will register the day of the event. So, I would emphasize pre-registration for your event, give the participants a free t-shirt or a price break to register in advance. The other thing pre-registration does is guarantees you some income if the weather turns bad on the day of the event.
Without knowing more about your community, I would suggest contacting or researching what other communities your size have experienced in the past with similar events. For example, our dog walk in Salt Lake City attracts about 3,500 walkers with about 1,700 paid participants each year. There is a dog walk in Missoula, Montana that hosts about 90 people a year. The numbers are as different as the communities themselves. Some other factors are the time of year, location, cost, promotion, and what else is going on in the community that day.
Prizes: Here I am assuming you are referring to pledge prizes for those who raise money for the event. Keep them simple. Have prizes embroidered/printed with your event logo or name and leave it at that. Also, I would encourage you to order your pledge prizes after the event and either send the items out to the individual participants or have a pick up time/area at a central location. I would suggest having samples of the prizes at the event for people to see/touch/feel/look at sizes. You may upset a few people who are expecting to take home their prize the day of the event, but by doing it this way, you will save a tremendous amount of money over the alternative. By trying to guestimate the number of pledge prizes you will need you will invariably over-order, then what do you do with the leftovers? You can't really resell them to the public, if you were supplying them as an "earned" prize.
Supplies: If you plan on having vendors at the event, I would put the ball in their court. If you can give them the ballpark figure you are shooting for, they can plan accordingly. Most vendors are responsive to this when it is a new event - they do this all the time. Get your vendors on board early. Require them to pay some sort of a fee to come to the event. This will help offset your costs.
One thing to keep in the back of your mind while you are organizing, don't give away the farm. We made this mistake at the onset of our fundraising dog walk by making all of our pledge prizes cumulative. For example, if I raised $500, I would get all of the pledge level prizes below mine (say $50, $150, $250) as well as the pledge level I reached. This gets expensive!!!
Planning a super adoption event
Question from a member:
Since we are a no-kill shelter, our adoptions have decreased tremendously. I am interested in how to organize a super adoption. We do have several other shelters and rescue groups that could be involved. The question is how do I get it started? How many volunteers would I need to do it properly? How long in advance do we need to start planning, etc.?Response from Nikki:
We are just completing a manual that explains in detail what you need to do in order to have a successful Super Adoption. If you are seriously planning a super adoption event, you can email aimee@bestfriends.org, and we can work with you to get you the manual when it is available.You need to get started at least 6 months in advance if you are attempting to get sponsorship for the event and if you are organizing this event primarily with volunteers. It is possible to organize these events in less time if you have a staff person who is able to focus on the event or if you plan to have fewer then 100 animals at the event.
The new manual goes into the following components in more detail. However, in order to get started, you will need to address these 3 critical elements.
1. Put together an event volunteer committee with these suggested positions:
Site Logistics Chair: In charge of designing the layout of the event and obtaining all necessary permits
Volunteer Chair: In charge of volunteer recruitment and job assignments
Distribution Chair: In charge of a committee that will get posters/flyers out in the community
Sponsorship Chair: In charge of getting corporate sponsorship
Entertainment Chair: In charge of activities, demonstration, music and recruiting an emcee
Decorating Chair: In charge of the look and feel of the event
Fundraising Chair: In charge of creating fundraising opportunities at the event
Finance Chair: In charge of overseeing money received at the event
Group Chair: In charge of organizing the groups and shelters at the event. Oversees that all participants know the policies and procedures
PR Chair: In charge of pre-promotions, PSAs and other promotional material.
2. Determine a location.
Choose a location that is highly visible. Up to 70% of attendees at our events report that they came because they saw the event when they were just driving by. We have our largest event in the PETsMART parking lot where two major Interstates highways connect. Most people forget that we are in a parking lot when the event gets going.
3. Determine a date.
Avoid having an event that conflicts with other large local events. Don't limit yourself too much by weather. We have had outdoor events in the snow and in 98-degree heat. We have experience that tents can be adequately heated or cooled to provide a comfortable environment for the animals and the public. Wind is the one major problem I try to avoid. If you have a time of year that is traditionally windy, then I would avoid that time of year for the event.
Overcoming group differences to participate in an adoption event
Question from a member:
We are approaching our local groups about putting on a super adoption event, but are running into a few problems:Many of the groups have very different adoption policies and beliefs (some will do same-day adoptions and some won't, etc)
Many don't have transportation capabilities to bring a large number of animals
Many don't have liability insurance so can't participate.
How do you deal with those issues?
Response from Nikki:
The hardest problem with organizing a Super Adoption is the various groups who all have very different adoption philosophies. It is important that you standardize certain components to your adoption event; however, regulating the group's adoption policies is unnecessary. Let the groups continue to determine whether they allow declawing or indoor/outdoor dogs.At the adoption event you need to standardize the adoption cost, adoption application and event policies and procedures. The policies and procedure should include event requirements, i.e. what time participants show up and where they will be located. It should also have your spay/neuter and vaccination requirements. You should expect to experience some resistance and uncertainty. However, by reassuring the groups that these measures are necessary for the messaging and organization of the event, most groups/shelters will participate.
If transportation is a challenge, I have two recommendations. Recruit lots of volunteers to fulfill that role, or use a rental truck to pick up the animals. We have done both. However, usually we don't do anything. We usually have 25 groups who participate in the event, and that is a detail we usually leave to them.
If the groups don't want to participate because they don't have liability insurance, you might ask them why they aren't concerned about their other adoption venues? Your insurance policy most likely excludes coverage for contractually assumed liability, so you probably couldn't just list the groups as additional insureds and cover them under your policy. We simply tell the groups that they are responsible for any liability they incur due to their own actions (including choosing to participate in the event) and that we cannot cover them for that.
Engaging corporate sponsors for an event
Question from Michelle:
From both a PR and fundraising standpoint, walks and motorcycle rides, as fundraisers, are great ideas. What is involved logistically in planning such an event, i.e., do you have to get the police involved to block off paths or roads, and do you have to pay them for this? Also, do you have any tips on how to engage corporate sponsors to participate in a newly created event, such as a walk or ride, and how to create a sponsorship pricing structure for a new event?Response from Michelle:
Depending on how large your event will be, you may need to get the City involved with closing down streets and securing the proper permits and insurance. Once you contact the city or park where the event will be held, then you will begin the permit process. Generally, you will need to have a well thought-out plan in order to complete the permit. You may need to provide things like a specific description of the event, a copy of your insurance policy (or possibly an additional insurance policy for the event itself), information about waste removal, fire marshal approval if there is tenting or fencing, an emergency medical plan, a clean-up procedure, etc.Let's say you are planning a motorcycle ride event. If the group is small, they may be able to gather in a local parking lot then ride the route. So, the need for shutting down the street is not there. But, if you are talking about hundreds of cycles, I would recommend shutting down the start/finish areas for safety, thus you would need to contact your local government. Also, make sure you have a lead rider(s) who knows the route and mark the route clearly - or give each rider a map - and have a "sweep" rider. A sweep rider is someone who brings up the end of the line and has radio contact with the base and the lead rider. This is extremely important in case of any emergency. Finally, if there is a similar ride event in the community, call up the organizers and ask them how they do it.
As far as sponsorship goes, I would start with an initial overall budget for the event. I would brainstorm about whom to contact and for what amount by doing some preliminary research about how much different items will cost you. If doggie bandanas are going to cost you $500, for example, is there a local sponsor that could pony up $500 cash or a fabric store that could donate the fabric and sewing? Then, make sure you provide them with recognition. Make sure everyone who attends knows that your local fabric store donated the fabric for the bandanas. For the big cash sponsors, start early, at least six months before the event. Keep in mind that large sponsors get hit up all the time! Make your proposal to them unique. What makes your event different from all the other dog walks around the country? Or, can you come up with a sponsor that is untraditional and may not do a lot of pet-type sponsorships?
When approaching sponsors, be professional. Create a "pitch packet" highlighting your goals along with photos and the specific proposal you are presenting to them. Make sure you have a well thought-out event. Even though it is a new event, do your research. Have an identity (logo, theme, event name), and be clear about how you will recognize the company for their sponsorship. Meet with them in person and be ready to answer just about any question you can dream up. And, be open to in-kind donations rather than cash.
Additional ways to raise funds
Question from a member:
Can you share your top 3 special events that you have had success with or seen done successfully? Our shelter is tapped out of some good ideas and is in need of some new innovative ideas that we can do that don't take a lot of time and energy but that bring in some needed funds. We currently do a walk and a silent auction/dinner, but these are very labor intensive and we are looking for a few other events we could do that are not so intensive.Response from Michelle:
First off, if you are looking for something that doesn't take a lot of time and energy and isn't labor intensive, I would not suggest putting on an event. Events by default are labor intensive!Have you thought about a direct mail piece soliciting donations? You could tie this in with some special time of the year for your organization. Say if your fiscal calendar begins on April 1st, you could solicit donations to start off your new year.
What about creating a membership base? Solicit members--by mail, by website or at your shelter--to become a member of your organization for a nominal fee, then offer them discounts through the year on merchandise, events, supplies, adoptions or vet services to get them hooked into your organization. Send them a monthly e-newsletter to let them know what is going on at the shelter and to notify them about upcoming events.
Have you contacted your local power/water/electric/phone company about putting a flier in their monthly bill to subscribers?
Do you have the ability to accept donations on your website?
Do you have donation boxes at your shelter? At adoption events? At your vet clinic? Do you make it easy for those who would like to donate, to do so?
What about an open house at your shelter? Yes, I know this is an event! Can you get the local news media involved and emphasize that this is both a time to showcase the facility as well as raise some desperately needed cash for the animals. Maybe get the media to showcase an animal on the evening's news. Encourage people to come down for tours of the facility, maybe have guest speakers or short seminars, and illustrate what their money can go toward. Break down donation amounts into easily understood denominations. "Your $25 donation can spay/neuter a cat," or "Your $100 donation will help us place an animal for life." Make sure you set a goal and broadcast that message to everyone! Tug at those heartstrings!!!
Shelter adoption partnerships to lower euthanasia rates
Question from Sharon:
I've heard that you have a partnership with a local shelter where you get animals that would otherwise be euthanized and you adopt them out. We would love to do something similar with our animal control but wonder how that works and if you think it has been successful?Response from Nikki:
We do indeed have a very successful partnership with a local shelter. The partnership has been in place for 10 months. Both the shelter and our rescue group have been very happy with the results of this relationship. Prior to this partnership, the shelter was euthanizing almost 65% of its total intake. Since the partnership began, we have had months where it has dropped down to 27%. At the end of the 12 months, we will be able to do a year-to-year comparative analysis.Our program is based upon the following observations we noticed with rescue groups and shelters:
Most shelters did not have the staff or financial support to be able to make adoptions a focus. Therefore, the animals had minimal opportunities for exposure/adoptions outside of the shelter.
At the same time, rescue groups have always struggled with recruiting and retaining fosters. This limitation has affected the group's ability to do a high number of adoptions.
Focusing on the deficits that shelters and rescue groups experience, we created a partnership that enabled our local shelter and our rescue group to work together to reduce the euthanasia.
All of the animals in our program are pulled from the shelter's euthanasia list. We've moved the animals to the kennel space and a cat bank that the shelter has given us. Pulling animals from the euthanasia list is the most critical part of our partnership. We would not be assisting the shelter to reduce their euthanasia if we were taking easily adoptable animals into our program. Since all of our animals are kept at the shelter, we are able to load them up throughout the week and take them to adoption venues throughout the city. Keeping the animals at the shelter has helped us to have a fast turnaround with adoptions. We are capable of doing several adoptions on a Friday that would be impossible to do if we were dependent upon fosters to bring their animals. The shelter has also given us keys to the shelter so we can assess the animals during off-hours.
I am a true advocate of figuring out ways that shelters and rescue groups can work together. All you need to do is figure out what your needs are and the shelter's needs are.
I am thrilled to hear you are interested in developing a partnership. Let me know how it goes.
Promoting a barbeque event
Question from Romi:
I'm planning a BBQ for Beagle welfare in September and am in desperate need of tips and advice! I've never planned a fundraiser before.A friend has donated 100 pounds of beef for our BBQ and I'm tentatively planning the event at a doggie daycare facility. What advice can you give to help make this a success?
Response from Michelle:
Promote it, promote it, promote it!! Can you get a local radio station involved? What about TV? Make it as high profile as possible. The challenge you have at the Doggy Daycare facility is that you are cutting yourself off from the public. People have to go out of their way to an unfamiliar place to find your event. If you hosted it in a public park or someplace similar, you have the chance of getting walk by/drive by traffic.Is your event open to owners of other breeds, or is it a Beagle specific event? I would encourage you to open it up to all breed lovers. Can the Doggy Daycare send out a mailer to their clients? What about partnering with the Doggy Daycare to do it as an open house for potential clients for them, and donors for you? As a breed-specific organization, you are more limited in your donor base.
Make sure there are fun things for participants to do. Can they leave their dog in a part of the facility while they enjoy the festivities? Do you have live entertainment - a band, a pet psychic, a vet giving free advice. What about having a photographer there taking pictures of you and your dog for a donation? How about a raffle? How much are you charging for admission or for the food?
Set your goals and communicate them to your participants. Do you have a financial goal for the day? I would encourage you to pick a specific dollar amount and broadcast your message loud and clear.
Serving meat at benefits for animal welfare groups
(We received several comments from members about animal groups serving meat at a fundraiser. Below is a sample.)
Comment from Celeste:
Many dog lovers also care about animals of all sorts. That's why many, many "animal people" refuse to attend events that serve animals as part of the menu.They may not make an announcement to this effect, so you'll never know how many people WOULD have attended, until your next event is vegetarian! :)
Our parent organization, Pet Over-Population Prevention Advocates (POPPA), Inc. recently decided to hold vegetarian events only and the response from the community has been one of relief. Many people then shared with us that they'd wanted to come to our events, but didn't want to sanction the unnecessary use and sale of animals as commodities.
Hope you enjoy similar response when your group takes the meat off the menu, as well!
Comment from Shell:
How disgusting! I wish you recommended a vegan BBQ. 100 lbs. of dead cow to help animals? There's something very wrong with that picture.Comment from Kim:
I have to say that rescue groups shouldn't serve other animals at fundraising events. If we have compassion for cats and dogs, our efforts to alleviate suffering must extend to all animals.Comment from Jeannette:
I won't have anything to do with my local SPCA events because they can't see how wrong it is to cook and serve up one animal to raise funds to save another. They actually get angry when you bring it up and will not even discuss the possibilities of a vegetarian event or even offering a choice for those who are vegetarian. Not to mention they insist on exploiting animals with pony rides and petting zoos and putting the animals through all kinds of things. Everything they do is geared toward making the animals jump through hoops in one way or another... and the time of year is the peak of summer!Sorry for ranting, but this is really a sore subject with me. Anyway, I almost choked when I read the message about the barbecue and didn't see anything in the response to at least try to encourage a vegetarian event. My personal thanks for saying this.
Comment from Elaine in FL:
I get so upset when animal rescue people put on events that serve meat. It is such a hypocritical thing to do. Rescue one and eat the other? Dogs and cats are the only animals that deserve humane treatment? I wish that the person taking questions could have pointed out the fact that serving meat at animal-related functions sends the wrong message to the public and that we "animal lovers" need to be especially aware of this fact. We should be setting the example that ALL animals deserve humane treatment and that the destruction of ANY animal for the sake of a tasty morsel to please our pallets is not acceptable.Get with the program, people! I just hate it when animal groups are so insensitive to the way in which farmed animals are abused and exploited but yet they are so concerned with the welfare of companion animals. Don't they realize that those pigs, cows and chickens have the same capacity for pain and suffering as their precious pups and kitties? HELLO!
Comment from Shari in NJ:
I'm surprised that Best Friends would condone serving meat at a BBQ fundraiser. Michelle should have suggested the person contact companies such as Boca, GardenBurger, Morningstar Farms and Smart Dogs to request donations of cruelty-free food for this event. How can we claim to be animal lovers if we discriminate whom we eat and whom we don't?Comment from Bonney Brown, Director of No More Homeless Pets at
Best Friends:
If you're on the board or staff of a local humane group, or plan events or
meetings for your organization, we recommend that you take a look at a short
booklet called "Food For Thought: Promoting the adoption of vegetarian
policies for SPCA and humane society sponsored events."
It's produced by Animal Place, an animal sanctuary in Vacaville, California. You can request a copy from them by calling 707-449-4814, or by e-mailing info@AnimalPlace.org. It's a worthwhile read.
Comment from Faith Maloney, Director of Animal Care at Best Friends:
Sometimes people contact us to ask about our policies regarding the food that we serve here at Best Friends.Like religion, we feel what people choose to eat is a personal matter. Our staff is not pressured to be vegetarian and they are at liberty to bring a bagged lunch or run into town for their meal. However, we made a decision at the beginning of Best Friends that we would only serve vegetarian food at our cafeteria, and at any events that we are involved with.
It was an easy decision as many of the founders of Best Friends have chosen a vegetarian lifestyle after working with animals of all kinds for many years. And it really isn't that big a deal. Many families who eat meat will enjoy a meal of mac and cheese or spaghetti marinara at home. We serve a varied and interesting menu for our lunches and receive many compliments and requests for the recipes.
When it comes to fundraisers and promotional events, serving vegetarian food helps reduce conflicts and potential criticism from people who have strong feelings about this issue. People do not attend animal events for the food. They come to help the animals. For many of our events, caterers from some of the best restaurants in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City have donated their services and people are bowled over by the food.
Silent auctions
Question from Jeannette:
When you have an especially nice gift donation that you want to auction, what is the best way to go about it? How does a silent auction work? Who do you invite to participate?Response from Michelle:
Auctions are a great way to raise money & can be a lot of fun in the process. I have a favorite auctioneer I work with when I want to do a live auction, because he makes it so much fun and really gets the crowd going. He has even been known to stand on top of tables! If you were doing a live auction, I would have several fabulous items available for bid & a really energetic auctioneer to draw in your crowd.As far as a silent auction goes they are pretty straightforward. Generally, silent auctions are showcased at cocktail parties and dinners - although you are not restricted to doing it this way, this is the most common. Choose a ticket price for the event that is reasonable for your area. Don't price yourself out of the market right off the bat.
Solicit your auction items early and give yourself a cut-off date to accept items. Holding yourself to a cut-off date will give you time to categorize, collect, price, name and purchase props to enhance your items. Once you have all of your items on hand, group them into categories. For example, Tickets, Trips, Health and Beauty, or Animal-related. Some of the items will be more appealing if grouped together - such as dinner for two and theatre tickets. Set a minimum bid for each item - this can vary wildly from one event to the next. You want to make the starting bid appealing, but you don't want to price it too low either! Also, set bid increments for each item. Some items may have a bid increment of $5 and others may have an increment of $50.
Each item will need to have a bid sheet & description. Come up with a cute name and a description for the item or package and then place the bid sheet in front of the item.
I like to have my auction items arranged on the night of the event according to their category so they are all together and easy to find. Another suggestion is to color code your tables according to their category. When your guests arrive, assign everyone a bid number or have them just use their name on the bid sheets. Set a specific time to close the auction - you must stick to this time!!! Once you close the auction, collect the bid sheets, and have your guests check out and collect their items.
There are dozens of ways to close an auction. Some events require you to check in directly with the auction check-out desk to find out if you have won, pay and then go back to the auction item with your receipt to collect your item (volunteers monitor the items during this time). Others allow you to go directly to the table where the auction item is on display, pick up the item, proceed to the check out area, pay and leave. In a third way, all of the items are collected and taken to the auction check-out area, where you pay, collect and leave all from one location.
Determining your attendees depends on your location and the feel of the event. Generally those who attend silent auction type of events are in the higher tax bracket. Getting these addresses is another thing. You can buy a mailing list, but that can be expensive and may not yield a good turn-out. If you have your own database of members or attendees to your other events, you can start there and grow the event over the years. Sometimes the largest stumbling block in event planning is securing a good mailing list. Approach vet clinics, shelters, retail outlets and other animal-related events to promote your event. One of the biggest draws to our Silent Auction/Cocktail party is that we allow guests to bring their dog(s)!
Deciding on the right event to do
Question from Diane:
We have multiple animal groups in our community and one already does a walk and sit-down dinner and another does a golf outing. We are looking for our niche event but are having trouble finding one that can bring in a good amount of money and grow each year. Do you have any thoughts on how to decide what would be a good event and what wouldn't? Are there places that list different types of special events so we can see what other communities do?Response from Michelle:
There is no one good answer about what kind of an event will be a moneymaker, sometimes it takes trial and error. I find it tremendously helpful when we have office brainstorming sessions. Some of our best ideas are born there. Take advantage of your staff's experiences - sometimes all it takes is one person to name one event they attended and you are off and running with a new idea!Also, a question to ask yourself is what makes your organization unique? What does your organization offer that other organizations in your community do not? Can you tie this into an event somehow? Do you have relationships with local or national celebrities? Do you have a member/donor that would be willing to offer up their home for an upscale soiree? Think of all of your volunteers/members/donors/participants, who do they know or what contacts do they have that could potentially help you? Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm!!
As far as deciding what kind of event would work and what wouldn't, this sometimes takes someone with event planning experience. The thing you have to keep in mind with events, they are very detailed - so someone with an eye toward how much detail will be involved will be a huge asset to you. Do you have a volunteer or staff person with event planning experience? If you do, bounce ideas off of him/her - generally with a little information a good event planner will be able to see the challenges associated with a specific type of event.
And to answer your final question, I don't know of a specific database that lists all of the special events in the country - if you find one let me know! But if you go to different communities' chamber of commerce websites, this is generally a good place to start. The chamber of commerce is a wealth of information, and if they don't have the specifics you are looking for, they generally can refer you to someone who does.
Do you need media to have a successful event?
Question from a member:
When putting on a special event or adoption event that you want to get the public to come to, how important do you think it is to have a media sponsor and coverage before the event? A lot of other non-profits that hold very well attended walks always have a TV, radio, or newspaper sponsor and we never have. We are wondering how big of a factor that is in their success. But we worry that if you tie in with one station that the other stations will be less likely to cover you because you are linked with a specific station. Do you think that is true?Response from Michelle:
Media is a huge part of any successful event. The more coverage you get, the more people you will attract, and the more attendance you will have. Also, you are smart to diversify your coverage - TV, radio, newspaper.In my experience, you will not cut yourself off from other news outlets by partnering with one. If your event is one that is fun, interesting and newsworthy, you should have no fear that many of your local media outlets will be in attendance. News is still news, even if one station is a "sponsor" of an event.
It may take you a while to "get on the radar screen" with some of your media outlets, but keep at it. It will pay off for you in the long run.
How to start a shelter partnership in your own community
Question from Mary:
I have some questions about the partnership that was mentioned in a previous post. One thing that I see raised again and again locally is, "The taxpayers don't/can't/won't continue to feed, house, etc. animals for an extended period of time."Can you give me some arguments to convince our city council, mayor, and other political figures to support a partnership? Also, what happens if the shelter runs out of space for lost/stray animals? Thanks for your time!
Response from Nikki:
In order for us to proceed with our partnership we had to go through the mayor and the city council. The city that we are working with is the second largest and fastest growing in the state of Utah. It was relatively easy for us to get this passed because the shelter staff and the administrator who oversees the shelter were excited about it and did all the foot work to get it passed. From the moment we agreed on what we wanted to do, it took about 3 weeks to go through all the key governmental figures.Arguments that you should consider using:
It won't cost the shelter anything. We arranged to get food/litter donated so that the shelter couldn't use this as an argument against a partnership.
You will save the shelter money. It costs money to euthanize an animal and dispose of the body. By reducing the shelter's euthanasia you will reduce the shelter's cost. You are also saving staff time if they don't have to perform as many euthanasias.
You will make the shelter money. We take several of the shelters animals to adoptions and adopt them out for the shelter. We then give them the income for that adoption to the shelter. We also put pictures of the shelter animals on the Internet and list them in the classifieds. This combination of doing adoptions for the shelter and promoting their animals (before they are in our program) has dramatically increased their revenue and they are thrilled to do things for our program in return.
A reduction in euthanasia has increased staff morale.
Taxpayers do want to see a reduction in euthanasia. The community will rally behind a shelter that is trying to reduce the euthanasia.
If you would like to do a partnership with a shelter, try and find out ways that they will financially benefit from such a partnership. This more than anything will get the city's attention.
We haven't had the problem where the shelter has run out of space for lost/stolen animals. We always find ways to make space. We always seem to get by. Our key contribution is that we are freeing up space for the shelter through adoptions instead of euthanasia. What tends to happen for us is that we will do a weekend adoption and move up to 30 animals. Therefore, on Monday the shelter is virtually empty. The shelter then starts to fill up again throughout the week and then we repeat the process over the weekend.
