News March 2011

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ASPCA $100K Challenge
ASPCA Grants Program
Small Shelters, Big Adoption Rates
Does Your Mission Statement Inspire Support?
The Five Freedoms and Shelter Wellness

Save More Lives. The Time is Now! $300,00 Up for Grabs

The 2011 ASPCA $100K Challenge is a contest which challenges shelters to save at least 300 more dogs and cats in August, September and October over the same time last year. Grand prize is a $100,000 grant; second prize is $25,000. In total we'll give out over $300,000 in prizes. And more importantly, thousands of lives will be saved!

A qualifying heat will help you get your community behind you right from the beginning of the Challenge. During the qualifying heat your community members will vote online to send you to the Challenge. The 50 agencies with the most votes will be the official contestants in the 2011 Challenge.

• Applications for the Challenge's qualifying heat are being accepted March 16 to March 18!
• Consider these 10 Reasons to Take the 2011 Challenge.
• Join a 60-minute webinar to learn how to win the Qualifying Heat. Register for Inspiration to Action: Using Supporters to Qualify for the Challenge
  

Lives are depending on you. Learn more about the 2011 Challenge. The time is now.

Are Your Ideas Looking for Funding? Consider Applying to the ASPCA Grants Program

The ASPCA Grants program awarded nearly $7 Million in 2010. For the second year in a row, we gave at least one grant to an organization in each state, plus DC, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa. And we expect to give about $12 Million to organizations in need in 2011. While we do not place a ceiling on grant amounts, most grants will range between $500 and $5,000.

Learn about the application process and requirements for our grants program. The ASPCA's funding priorities for 2011 include grants to U.S.-based non-profit animal welfare organizations for the following purposes:

• Response to and prevention of animal cruelty
• Shelter and spay/neuter programs
• Veterinary outreach
• Emergency and disaster response and preparedness
  

For an overview of how to apply for ASPCA grants, take this quick tour and learn what to expect when you apply for a grant from the ASPCA.

Small Shelters Can Have Big Adoption Rates Too

Just 'cause you're a small organization doesn't mean you can't have huge adoption numbers. Take it from NOAH, a small adoption and spay/neuter center in Stanwood, WA. Despite having an annual intake of only 1,600 animals – making them one of the smallest organizations in the 2010 ASPCA $100K Challenge – they saved 710 animals in just three months (a 155% increase in their live release rate over the same time in 2009!) and finished in second place in the competition. And they decreased their average length of stay by three days.

NOAH's staff shared their strategies during a recent webinar, and here are a few tips to get you started in planning your own dramatic adoption increases:

• Don't Give In To Fear: NOAH's ED Austin Gates asked her staff, "Can you do 5 more adoptions a day on the weekends?" When goals are conveyed in small increments, they seem much more doable and much less scary.
• Do Take Stock… and Stock Up: Before your next big adoption promotion, make sure you order extra supplies for the increased number of animals and adoptions you'll be handling in your facility. That includes vaccines, microchips, collars, even shampoo.
• Do Lower Your Adoption Fees: Free cats with a donation — a bag of food or litter or a cash donation — was NOAH's hands‐down number‐one way to increase adoptions, but you may have to try several promotions offering various discounts to see what's best for your agency. Even with fee‐waived cat adoptions, NOAH saw a 53% increase in adoptions revenue and a 41% increase in gift shop revenue during the Challenge.

Watch NOAH's webinar recording, see all of the tips, and even download some sample flyers NOAH found useful. Your next promotion could be your biggest ever! Your next month could be your biggest ever!

Does Your Mission Statement Inspire Support?

You don't want a mission statement that simply describes what you do now because the world isn't standing still. You want a mission statement that incorporates your values and your aspirations. A good mission statement helps your community and especially your stakeholders to "get" what you're about, and hopefully that sets the stage for them to donate their time, money, and support.

• Check out examples of powerful statements from around the animal welfare world.
• Learn about writing (or re-writing) your mission statement from experts like BoardSource and the Stanford Nonprofit Institute (see Julie Morris' comment to access a highly recommended audio lecture).

Brought to you by The Shelters' Edge Blog.