Find a Fundraising Partner to Help Homeless Pets

Have you planned any fall fundraisers? Find fundraising partners with other nonprofits or local businesses to reach more potential donors in your community. Homeless pets can help say thank you for the donations with postcards. Here are some ideas you might try.

Partner with a pet-friendly hotel(s) in your area this fall to be a major sponsor and supporter of your shelter on a continuing basis. More and more hotels are pet friendly. Usually, they charge a pet fee. Ask the hotel to donate a portion of those fees to your rescue or shelter. This is excellent public relations for the hotel. People who travel with their pets are usually serious animal lovers. This would take the sting off the extra fee they must pay.

Have a thank you postcard printed to hand out to each guest who is traveling with a pet. Along with a shelter pet photo, say something like:

Thanks for staying at the Sagebrush Hotel and bringing your pet. My name is Ringo. I’m desperately seeking someone to take me on trips, but for now my home is the Forever Friends Humane Society. My caretakers here will use a portion of your pet fee to take care of me till my new family finds me. Maybe then I can go on trips too!

Include your website address and physical address. Sometimes hotel guests are visiting family and friends in the area and may spread the word about your group.

Take advantage of special events or fall festivals in your area and ask local restaurants or other businesses to donate a portion of an evening’s revenue to your shelter. These businesses can be totally unrelated to animals. They may have a customer base not familiar with your animal shelter.

For example, many parts of the country celebrate the fall season with winemaker dinners in which restaurants pair wines with their menu specialties. In our area, these dinners are usually at least $150 per couple. I’ve noticed that many restaurants are offering a reduced price on some evenings or trying lower-cost wines. They might find they book these events quicker if they would donate proceeds to a cause like homeless pets.

Have a thank-you postcard to hand out with a homeless pet’s photo. You could say something like this:

I hope you enjoyed your dinner this evening. I’ll have many more dinners since the High Desert Grill is donating a portion of tonight’s revenue to my current home at the Westside Animal Shelter. Could I ask you to do me a favor? I desperately want to be part of a real family. If you know anyone who’s looking for the best friend ever, tell them about me. Here’s my phone number or visit me on our website.

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