I'm pleased to report that the theme for this week is "connections." I have been known to harp on the importance of making connections and setting up partnerships in the context of fundraising (if you look at the ideas in Funds to the Rescue, many of them are simply creative fun partnerships), but connections can help you in other ways as well.
When you connect or partner with others, you can raise awareness, increase your adoptions, offer additional products or services, and find volunteers. Here are a few examples from emails I received from NAPRP members this week:
1. Partner on Products. NAPRP Vendor Member, Dan Merson from Walk Your Dog with Love emailed me saying he was writing quarterly checks out to rescue groups that are participating in his program and wondered if I could help spread the word. I have one of his no-pull harnesses and use it on my Samoyed mix, aka, "The Pulling Machine" every day. (Let me just say that the sled dog heritage is strong in Cami!) There is zero cost for rescues to sign up for the program. You get a custom cart page, and when a no-pull harness sells, you get a percentage of the sale. Visit this page for more information: http://walkyourdogwithlove.com/savealife.php
2. Partner with Businesses: NAPRP Golden Paw member Lewis Turner told me about the great success he has had working to bridge the gap between pet stores and rescue groups. Most rescues view pet stores as "the enemy" but it doesn't have to be that way. Lewis and his wife Paula are former pet store owners who are on a mission to educate pet store owners and rescue groups about how they can work together to save more lives. He outlines a plan where a pet store can work with a rescue to boost the number of customers and sales without any increase in cost. At their own store, Lewis and Paula worked with Ken-Mar Rescue in California and have shown this plan can work. You can read more about their progress on their Web site:
http://www.amodestproposal.org
3. "Surprise" Connections: NAPRP Golden Paw member Amy Good from Angel's Wish wrote to tell me about how a seemingly small connection led to a really big "win" for the group. She says, "You never know where connections may lead...we had an adopter who works for esurance. She nominated us for a $5,000 grant from corporate, which we won! We leveraged the gift with a local outdoor media company, and were able to place a billboard prominently throughout the city for over two months which has resulted in great awareness. All from one person having a positive experience--that's great stuff!
Great stuff indeed! Amy pointed out that their growing social media following is having an impact on adoptions too. Their Facebook page is full of fans "cheering" for a dog to be adopted and people referring others to go adopt from Angel's Wish.
I know it's easy to become discouraged when you don't see an immediate return from activities like social media. But the more connections you make, the more likely you are to see results. After all, you never know what's right around the corner!