News June 2011

Little Black Book of Adoption Promotion Ideas
The Equation for Livesavin'
Apply for $5,000 in Pro Bono Research Services
The Hidden Life of Shelter Cats

A Little Black Book of Adoption Promotion Ideas

Looking for more adopters? Hoping to boost traffic at your shelter? Trying to spread the word about your services? Then you need a campaign. And if you want to create a cool or fun or successful adoption campaign, then the Little Black Book of Adoption Promotion Ideas is for you.

The Little Black Book of Adoption Promotion Ideas is a new collection of adoption-focused campaigns from shelters across the US and beyond (possibly including yours!). This free online resource was designed to inspire you and get those creative juices flowing when you're creating print, online, and video promotions. We hope the Book will aid your quest to get your agency's call to action heard by your local (or national) media and the folks in your community – so even more animals get adopted.

The Little Black Book of Adoption Promotion Ideas is broken into 5 chapters, each full of examples of flyers, videos, coupons, banners, and other promotional ideas:

1. Dog Promotions
2. Cat Promotions
3. Discounted Promotions (both reduced fees and fee-waived)
4. Holiday Promotions
5. Promotional Strategies – to get your calls to action heard

Thumb through the Book and let your own imagination soar. And please share your successes – contact ASPCApro with your campaigns and they could be added to a future update of the Book.

The Equation for Lifesavin'

Lifesaving is a complex dance of procedures, techniques, and data. Interested in learning a variety of strategies to decrease intake, improve animal health, and increase your number of live releases? Look no farther than ASPCApro's fascinating webinar The Equation for Lifesavin', presented by Drs. Emily Weiss, CAAB, and Miranda Spindel, DVM. Here are a few tips they suggest which you can try at your shelter:

1. Target risk. Look at your own data to determine who's coming in your door (adults or juveniles, altered or intact, specific breeds, etc.), from which sources, and when. Focus your preventive programs on the real sources of the animals who come to you.
2. Examine and treat at intake. A brief intake exam helps you identify illness or injury requiring immediate treatment and/or isolation. Vaccinating and treating for parasites immediately upon intake (not a few days later) protects individual animals and the shelter population as a whole.
3. Focus on getting them home. Look at all your policies and processes to see which may be preventing an animal from being adopted sooner rather than later. The more streamlined and simple your operations, the sooner animals can get home, and the more animals you can help.
   
   Watch the webinar recording and download all 14 tips.

Apply for $5,000 in Pro Bono Research Services

Research is one of the best investments any organization can make to help animals. Understanding the people you're trying to influence, choosing which ones to reach, assessing different messages, considering alternative communications, and evaluating your campaigns can dramatically increase your impact. National organizations such as the ASPCA and many others conduct research to fine-tune their efforts and get the most done for animals.

However, many smaller organizations may feel stretched to afford the research projects that would help them get better results. That's why the Humane Research Council (HRC) has launched a new Grassroots Research Fund to provide free services to help increase success for the important work done by smaller organizations. HRC will provide 100% pro bono research services for two or more animal groups per year that operate with budgets of less than $250,000.

The application deadlines are July 1st and January 1st of each year. Get the details and download the application today. Apply by July 1!

The Hidden Life of Shelter Cats

In honor of Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month, The Shelters' Edge discusses balancing a cat's need for a retreat area and an adopter's need to view the cats…

Just as the human shelter staff needs a break room to escape from the hubbub, so too do the feline residents especially need chill-out space to retreat from the hustle and bustle of shelter living. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) guidelines for shelter standards call for a retreat option for all cats in shelters.

How do YOU strike the balance between providing what cats need — retreat areas — and what adopters need — to notice the cat amidst all the "Pick Me!" kitties in the room? Share your experiences by leaving a comment on the blog post.