News August 2011

How to Prevent Burnout in Shelter Staff
Are Your Pictures Worth 1,000 Woofs?
Is Big Money in Your 2012 Plan?
3,000+ Empty Cages in 1 Weekend

How to Prevent Burnout in Shelter Staff

Stress in animal welfare is a given, but there are effective ways to prevent burnout. Managers can create a healthy work environment that diminishes risk of staff burnout and increases agency productivity.

For years we have acknowledged a high turnover rate in animal protection and attributed it to the sad and brutal realities of the field. How then has it been possible for some organizations to maintain a stable staff for long periods of time? ASPCA VP Bert Troughton proposes that burnout is high in those animal protection organizations where orientation, training, and ongoing support is mediocre and minimal. She also proposes that organizations that maintain a stable staff have learned to take care of their people by ensuring they have the knowledge and skills to successfully perform their jobs.

By providing comprehensive orientation and training for your staff, you can ensure they're "soaking up" the things that will best help them and your organization. As it turns out, your best defense against burnout is also a strategy for being a productive and successful organization.

Consider these tools and resources for tackling stress and burnout at your organization.

Are Your Pictures Worth 1,000 Woofs?

Or 1,000 meows? Compelling animal and people photographs will speak volumes to potential adopters and supporters. How effectively do your photos tell your story?

Fabulous photos are crucial to getting your animals out the door and into good homes. Whether you're posting adoptable animals on the Internet or documenting your work in a newsletter or fundraising appeal, the photos you choose will represent you and leave a lasting impression.

The professionalism of your organization is judged by the quality of everything you do, including the quality of your photographs. Here are some strategies to make sure your pictures send the right messages and show your animals and your organization in the best possible light.

Check out these Ten Tips for Taking Effective Photos.

Is Big Money in Your 2012 Plan?

If you're planning to save more lives next year, plan on competing in the 2012 ASPCA $100K Challenge. That's right, there will be a Challenge 2012 – and you could win BIG money for your life saving work.

Who: Shelters across the U.S. – including U.S. territories – with annual cat and dog intake of 1,000 or more that s/n every animal prior to adoption.

What: A shelter competition to increase lives saved Aug. 1 through Oct. 31, 2012 over the same time in 2011. Grand Prize: $100,000.

When: Applications will open in March 2012. The Qualifying Heat (when your community votes to send you to the Challenge) will take place April 2012. The competition to save more lives runs August 1 through October 31, 2012.

Why: Save more lives. Build more community support. Win grants for your work ($100K grand prize; more than $400K in prize grants overall).

How: Next year's Challenge will be a lot like this year's Challenge – so read all about it and then follow this year's contestants to start building your strategy to save more lives and compete in the ASPCA $100K Challenge 2012.

3,000+ Empty Cages in 1 Weekend

Looking for ideas for a big weekend adoption event? Read on!

This past weekend the 49 shelters competing in the ASPCA $100K Challenge kicked off the contest. Staff rallied, communities rallied, volunteers rallied – and thousands of animals’ lives were saved. Check out some highlights from the live Twitter and Facebook feeds that ran all weekend.