Are you following Animal Shelter Tips on Facebook? If you are, you probably read about the yoga studio which offered a free yoga class in exchange for donations or supplies for a local shelter. The studio raised $200 and badly needed supplies. Any small business can be a fundraising partner. Here are ten types of small businesses you could approach in any size community to help homeless pets. You can also find many ideas by looking through your town’s yellow pages. Classes are good fundraising tools since several people attend for a short investment of time by the business.
Businesses that participate in these fundraisers greatly benefit from community goodwill.
Hair and nail salons – Offer free haircuts and manicures for a specified time on a Saturday.
Dog trainers – Offer free dog training sessions all day Saturday.
Restaurants – Offer a free specified meal on a certain evening, a free happy hour, a free wine tasting, etc.
Fitness studios – Offer any class, such as yoga, Zumba, Pilates, weight conditioning, etc., for men and/or women.
Photography – Offer a free class to animal lovers on how to take photos of their pets in exchange for donations and/or supplies to the local shelter.
Blogging – An enterprising young man in our area is offering classes on how to blog. Many businesses and individuals would be interested in a class like this. Ask a local computer retailer or computer service business to sponsor a blogging class.
Organic gardening – Ask a local landscape or nursery to offer a class on home gardening. We attended a class conducted by the owner of a restaurant specializing in her homegrown organic salad greens and vegetables. She presented many details concerning what grows best in our area, how she starts seeds, etc. So much good information to learn from a successful gardener.
Legal rights for writers, artists, or creative people – Ask a local lawyer who specializes in copyright and other rights of creative types to conduct a class on contracts, copyright registration, and other issues of concern.
Art class – Ask a local artist to offer an afternoon of watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, oil, etc. painting for a two to three-hour session.
Cooking – Ask a local chef or cooking school to offer a class on how to make their specialty items.
Consider several of these events spread over a few months. You’ll learn which businesses and owners are the best to work with. Perhaps you can ask them again for more fundraising help in the future. These fundraisers may also introduce your shelter or rescue to animal lovers who have never donated before.