Considering I live in a small town, we seem to have a lot of animal issues. I guess it's no different anywhere else, but this week I found out that the low-cost spay/neuter clinic I worked for in 2001 is going to close tomorrow after 20 years of serving the community.
Obviously, this loss is going to have a big impact. At the clinic, the prices were truly low. You could get a cat neutered for $20 when I worked there. Many people who otherwise would have let dogs and cats remain "unfixed" brought them in. We spayed and neutered a lot of feral cats and foster animals. Many clients were retired folks on fixed incomes.
Even with all the good they did, I may be the only person who isn't surprised the clinic is closing. Unlike most of the people I talk to who do humane work, the board of directors at this non-profit clinic was content to do virtually nothing. They wrote no grants, did no fundraising, and this week's newspaper article is the first "publicity" they've had in my memory (I've lived here 13 years). The board let the clinic limp along for years, and now in the article, the people quoted sound surprised that they've run out of money. When I was there, employees asked if they could volunteer to write for grants and put on fundraising events. The board was monumentally and repeatedly uninterested.
There are a lot of lessons that can be learned from this situation:
1. Make sure the community knows who you are. Twenty years ago there was no animal shelter, and this clinic made the mistake of including "humane society" in their name. Everyone thought it was an animal shelter. After the local animal shelter finally was built in the early 90s, everyone thought it was THAT shelter. The clinic should have changed their name 19 years ago to eliminate confusion and avoid the 7,000 phone calls per year they received for another organization.
2. Get your name out there. Whether it's announcing events, crowing about your successes, or simply saying thank you for donations, stay in constant contact with the media. When I worked at the clinic, the second question people asked (after "is that the shelter?") was, "where is it?" With media attention, people learn where you are and what you do.
3. Always be marketing. Create a fundraising plan and set up events throughout the year. Establish budgets and make worst-case projections, so you never run out of cash. The clinic is blaming a "lack of donations" for its closure. Hello? The recession is not exactly breaking news. What have they been doing for the last 6 months to a year? Certainly not doing any fundraising, that's for sure.
I understand that keeping the doors open is a struggle for a lot of people. But many organizations are getting donations. It's just like marketing any business. To be successful, you have to get out there and get in front of people. Let people know what you do and why you do it. Every little bit you contribute to help homeless animals makes a difference!
As always, thank you for all you do to help the animals ;-)
~ Susan Daffron
Founder & President, NAPRP
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