Charity Chatter

Cat Training and Fundraising

This blog post was inspired by a comment I read on a NY Post article comparing the intelligence of dogs and cats.  The commenter noted (quite rightly, I think)  that comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. 

Who's The Boss?

It's often said that cats rule the house.  I think that's true.  When my cat, Guru, wants his nightly treat, he tells me.  If I ignore him, he starts knocking things off the coffee table.  I'm now making sure I leave nothing on the coffee table.  People think I'm a neat freak... but it's just me having a contest of wills with my cat.  My other cat, Flurry, knocks stuff off my bedside table in the morning, if I sleep too late.  She likes to be fed in the morning, you see. 

In spite of the many ways, my cats demonstrate their "ownership of me", I can get them to do just about anything.  Not because I tell them to do it and not because it makes them happy to please me. They do it because I know what they like, what they want and what they need.  And by understanding their motivations and desires (and fulfilling them), I can usually get them to cooperate with me.

This is what good fundraiser's do isn't it?  We engage volunteers. We learn about their desires, their hopes and their motivations for supporting our organizations, and we help them fulfill those things through their charitable volunteering and donations. 

And lets not forget that volunteer boards are "the boss" where charities are concerned.  

So if you're looking for a great fundraiser... find someone who's great with cats and hire them. 

Charity Survey

I Want to Know You Better...

In past posts, I have discussed personal opinions, observations and shared past projects I have enjoyed in my Fundraising and Volunteer Management program.  Today, I am asking for your assistance with a survey assignment.  Please participate in my charity survey by clicking here.

This post is an appeal for assistance with a current project.   I need YOU!  I am working on 2 projects:

1. Survey Assignment - to better hone our survey question and analysis skills
2. Research Assignment - to look for trends amongst the charitable and philanthropic sector

To accomplish both of these assignments, I need your feedback.  I am hoping to determine the internet based trends amongst different demographic groups for individuals who are interested in charities - and more specifically, animal welfare related charities.  Please participate in my survey by clicking here!

Your Participation Helps Students (like me), Charities and Animals!

Please take a moment to participate in this survey and help animal welfare charities (and the students of the Humber College Fundraising & Volunteer Management program) to expand their knowledge of your interests and preferences.  You are not required to leave personal identifying information - however, I am offering a $10.00 Tim Hortons Gift Certificate to individuals who wish to be entered into a draw.

Thank you for your assistance, feedback and participation in this survey.  Your assistance will help students of the Fundraising and Volunteer Management program better understand your preferences and interests as they related to charitable giving and internet trends!  Click, win and contribute to the educational process for Humber College students.

Warm-up Your Winter With Love

That's the title of my new ACR Advertisement.

Fonts and pics will be adjusted by the graphics folks - but the basic layout, copy and design will remain the same. (don't fret over the pictures not being perfectly cropped and fonts looking funny - the pro's will manage that)

So what did I learn?  People read in a backwards S.  Don't cast your net too wide.  Ideally, this ad would focus on either donations, volunteer or adoption - however, that isn't an option this time.

Look for this 1/4 page ad in Canadian Pets and Animals Magazine.  It's a free publication.  If your vet or local pet-food supply store doesn't carry it, ask them to: http://www.petsandanimals.ca/

Next exciting project?  A direct mail for a local women's shelter and more website rewrites for ACR.

Shock Value Advertising

Annex Cat Rescue recently asked me to work on a magazine print ad for them.  I'm thrilled to do it.

I've spent several hours looking at various animal welfare ads, cat pictures and various other media looking for some inspiration.  A lot of charity ads are boring, boring, boring.  Some are cute and interesting.

I am particularly fond of these advertisements created by Leo Burnett Toronto for the Toronto Humane Society.

Very happy and upbeat - isn't it?  But is it inspiring?  Did more people adopt after seeing the ad?  Did more people donate?  It's fairly easy to identify who the target audience/s for this type of advertisement are.  I'd be curious to know how successful this campaign is.

However, I also came across some shocking ads that I found very compelling... So my question is - who responds to the shock value advertisements and why?  How are they different from the target audience for the THS ad series referenced above? (or are they?) 

I posted a poll on an internet forum that I frequent and gave the example of an ad with a photograph of a dead cat (not bloody and gruesome, but obviously dead).  The responses were 50/50 for and against that type of ad.

Some said it would motivate them, others felt it would put them off.  Different people offered different reasoning.  I don't have thorough demographics on all the individuals who responded, but it appears that younger people and males were more inclined to respond a "shock value" advertisement.  Women (particularly women over 35) were strongly opposed to it.  In the comments area, many people indicated that context is important.  If the picture is shocking but the text is hopeful, the respondants indicated they would be more inclined to respond. 

I suspect this type of an advertisement would be a little "too much" for ACR.  However, it's an interesting topic and I hope to explore it more thoroughly in the future.  Some questions I have:

Who responds to these ads (age, occupations, incomes, city, rural etc.)? How do they respond?  Is it interest only?  Do they donate?  Do they volunteer?  Are certain mediums more effective than others (print, internet, TV, radio)?

Soo many questions - so few research resources!

The WILL to Live!

Imagine your father or grandfather having an accident that resulted in the need to amputate their leg or arm.  What an awful thing!

Now imagine that one of your relatives suggests that nobody will want him anymore because he's old and will be a burden.  So they recommend that he be killed.  WHAT?  Never!  We don't do that.  We're civilized folk; an enlightened society.  We care for the old, the weak, the frail, the meek!  Or do we? 

I suspect a good many people would argue that we do not care for the less fortunate, very well at all.  I tend to agree.  I'd say we do a horrible job of caring for the less fortunate of the world - be they people or animals.  We could probably include the environment in that category as well.

We've domesticated many animals for our use and/or pleasure.  Almost 50% of us own a cat or dog.  Many people are good to their companion animals and love them like a family member.  Others are... not so good.  A story in the Western Star makes my heart hurt:

A pair of city men saw the male tabby cat dragging itself and a fox or mink trap along the Trans-Canada Highway on Monday. They removed the trap, gave it to the RCMP in Deer Lake, and transported the injured animal to the Bay of Islands SPCA.

On Tuesday, a veterinarian appointment verified Evelyn Hancock’s (SPCA shelter manager) suspicions that the cat had suffered serious injuries and it wouldn’t be a responsible use of their resources to save the animal. 

“In consultation with the vet, it was decided we would put him down because of his age and physical condition,” a distraught Hancock told The Western Star. “The cat turned out to be very malnourished and is an older cat.

Translation:  Some poor cat was horribly injured because his owners didn't take care to keep him safe.  Because people in that area are allowed to set traps near populated areas where pets AND children might be hurt; and because this little fellow was older (note that they don't say how old) and had been abandoned for so long that he was malnourished - they didn't want to spend the bucks to help him.  Afterall, nobody would want an older, 3-legged pet. 

The cat with no name served no purpose.  So they killed him.  As the woman from the SPCA notes, 3 legged animals can do quite well!  It's remarkable how quickly they learn to do get around, play, and have a wonderful life.  I've known a few people who have had animals with less than 4 legs or who are blind or deaf.  They were all well loved animals in their families and if you told those families that their old pet needed to die - they'd be devastated.

I understand that the SPCA's of the world try to balance out fiscal responsibility with wise decisions.  I, like most other pet owners, know how tragic it is when you must make the choice to euthanize your pet because it is ill and suffering and there is no chance for recovery.  However, that doesn't appear to be the case here.  It appears to me that someone did a cost/benefit analysis and decided that he could recover, but it'd be too hard to find a family for him... so lets just end his life now.

This is why "no-kill Rescue" organizations like Annex Cat Rescue are so important.  The volunteers who work for these organizations are remarkable.  They save the aged, the physically challenged, the malnourished and sometimes ill-tempered cats of the world, and they patiently and diligently invest their time, energy and money in these cats until they recover their health.  Eventually... some wonderful person falls in love with the cat, adopts them and they live happily, ever, after. 

Sadly the little male tabby won't have that happy ending.  The poor old-boy wasn't even given a name.  A cat with the will to live so strong that in a malnourished state, he managed to survive and pull himself to a place where he'd be rescued... and people didn't think it was worthwhile to save him?  Seems to me that that the cat certainly thought it was worth it.  Apparently we humans knew better.

Since nobody named him in the article.. I've decided to name him Will.  Not William - or Bill.  No - that male tabby had WILL... and now, posthumously.. he IS Will. (at least in my little world)

So - take a quiet moment to think of old Will this holiday season... and if you're so inclined, make a donation to one of your local no-kill organizations.  And if you're not sure where to find one?  You can just click right here!

Furry, Freezing and Forgotten

As the holidays are either upon us or approaching (depending on your culture and/or faith), please remember that not all those "in need" are of the human variety.  While we're all in the giving spirit, please remember the furry crittes of the world.  There are far too many lost, abandoned and discarded cats and kittens in this world.  So please consider making one of your holiday gifts to the wonderful folks at Annex Cat Rescue:  http://annexcatrescue.on.ca/

My lovely Flurry was rescued by Annex Cat Rescue over a year ago. 

When they found her she wasn't even a year old and was pregnant and horribly malnourished.   Annex Cat Rescue provided her (and her soon to arrive kittens) with food, veterinary care, and a loving foster home, until I discovered her on their website and brought her home to live with me and her fur-brother, Guru

So a big thank you to ACR and the amazing work their volunteers do.  They are a registered Canadian Charity and rely on donations from people like you!  Ten Dollars goes a long way towards helping their organization, so please consider giving the gift of warmth, food, and friendship to these furry, freezing and forgotten felines.

Happy Saturday!