Soapbox Engage Blog

Animal shelters and sanctuaries are definitely unsung heroes, caring for the abandoned and neglected animals who need love the most. Volunteers and employees work tirelessly to feed, house, and care for our furry friends, who return the favor with love, support, and enthusiastic tail wags.

But we know love and support are (unfortunately) not enough. It takes money to run a great animal shelter and help pets find the homes and hearts they need. Today we've got 10 great ideas for your animal fundraising so Fido can find his "fur-ever" home.

Table of Contents

1. Crowdfunding
2. Sponsor a pet
3. Dog walk or run
4. Animal calendar
5. Pet training classes
6. Dog washing service
7. Partner with local news agencies
8. Team up with a local business
9. Host a Pet Photo Contest and Giveaway
10. Kitten Clinic and Pup-therapy

1) Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has undoubtedly become one of the most popular ways to fundraise these days. It's also become much easier with customized individual donation pages and platforms that exist just to host crowdfunding projects.

We love crowdfunding because it can be versatile in its construction and how large of a pool of interested donors you can reach. By connecting it to your shelter's website through interactive donation buttons and sharing it through social media, you can reach more people than a traditional email list or fundraiser.

Industry experts noted that creating a donation page that showcases multiple animals instead of just one or two has the most significant impact on donors. So, when you're developing your individual donation page, we recommend focusing your fundraising on encouraging donors to support the welfare of all animals under your roof.

2) Sponsor a pet

To develop a more intimate connection between an individual donor and a shelter pet, create a donation program where supporters can select a specific animal in your care to "sponsor" monthly.

This works great with animal lovers who may not be able to adopt at this time but want to make sure an individual animal gets all the treatment and care needed.

You could structure this type of fundraiser several ways, but one way is to think of it as a monthly donor program. They send you a monthly donation to feed and care for Spot or Sparky, and in return, you'll send them a few photos or videos each month of that happy, healthy, furry friend!

This could be an excellent program for those animals that have had trouble finding homes in the past. Consider creating "adoption info" for each of your sponsored pets so the donors can also help you spread the word and find a "fur-ever" home.

3) Dog walk or run

Walk/run fundraisers are not an unknown strategy to the nonprofit fundraising world. However, the safest fundraising bet always helps people interact with your mission and brings excitement to your cause. What brings more excitement to an animal shelter than a dog walk! All those adorable pups get to enjoy being outdoors and exploring, and your supporters get to enjoy time with the animals.

We love how this idea really rallies the community together. Even non-pet owners can get in on the fun by walking one of the pups staying at the shelter. You might even see some adoptions!

GO VIRTUAL: Virtually hosted walk/run fundraisers are becoming even more popular in the age of COVID-19 and social distancing. Even big names like IRONMAN are going virtual for some of their events. If you're thinking of going virtual, check out our hosting guide!

4) Animal calendar

Calendars have two great features: first, they remind your donors about your mission and what really matters (and those precious animal faces brighten everyone's day!). Second, they advertise your animal shelter to friends, family, and coworkers. It's a win-win!

Start planning your calendar promotion no later than mid-summer so you have enough time to prep, photograph, print, and promote before people are ready to buy their calendars.

Pro tip: most people begin thinking about the new year in November, so plan to have your calendar ordering ready by then! One easy way to sell calendars is to create an e-commerce shop for your animal shelter. You can do that easily and affordably with our Soapbox Shops app!

5) Pet training classes

Knowing how to care for animals and interact with them isn't something we're born with. There are probably many people in your area who have always wanted a pet but have never been around one to know just how to love them best.

A great animal shelter fundraiser is to host classes to teach people how to be great pet parents! Everything from animal behavior, grooming best practices, best nutrition, or that foolproof method to teach them to fetch can become great class topics.

You can feature different types of pets from the shelter in each class to bring awareness to less recognized pet options. This would be an excellent option for kids and adults to expand their horizons and know which animal will be a good long-term fit for their home.

GO VIRTUAL: Classes translate so well into the virtual space (and everybody loves animals on video). When it comes to hosting, you have so many options. You can host the classes behind a paywall on Vimeo, share snippets on your Instagram stories, or broadcast lessons through Facebook live.

6) Dog washing service

Think of it as a car wash, but for the four-legged, not the four-wheeled. Instead of a parking lot, take over the local park this summer, offering dog washes for donations. You can coordinate with local pet stores and groomers to sponsor the event by donating supplies and expertise.

After setting up a nice refreshment station for owners while they wait, get the whole team in on the sudsy fun.

This is a great time to stretch those promotion muscles on social media, with donor mailing lists, local radio stations, and news agencies.

Take your fundraiser to the next level by inviting veterinarians, dog trainers, or other animal care professionals to discuss animal care and answer training questions while owners wait.

Don't be afraid to let those professionals advertise their services at your event in exchange. A little cross-promotion is almost always a good thing! Usually, people who adopt dogs are keen to find a good veterinarian or obedience class. In exchange, those professionals will probably be more than eager to refer your animal shelter to clients interested in adopting another pet. Everyone wins!

7) Partner with local news agencies

While on the topic of news agencies and advertising, having a permanent spot on the local news is a great way to find homes for pets and bring a bright spot to the news cycle.

You can coordinate with your local news agencies to feature your adorable pets either on a weekly news segment, in a newspaper column, or as a feature on their website. While the primary goal is to find families for your adoptable animals, you can also use the space to share some of your shelter's financial needs and how viewers can help.

8) Team up with a local business

Business sponsorships are a great way to gain helpful donations and advertisements! Start by asking shop owners if you can display a portrait of Mittens or Rex in front of the tip jar at coffee shops (maybe a "Fluffy Friday Fundraiser?"). Another option is to have cashiers encourage "round up" donations to go to your shelter.

You could also get the stamp of approval from veterinary clinics as their go-to adoption agency and set up donation options within the clinic itself.

Another way to partner is to create donation stations at vet clinics and at local pet supply stores. Offer a list of acceptable items on the bins and then collect them regularly. Generous shoppers can bring bags of food and equipment for donation, helping your shelter meet essential needs.

9) Host a Pet Photo Contest and Giveaway

This is a great way to stir up some excitement on your social media accounts. Prompt your supporters and foster families to send in the best photo of their furry friend for a photo contest.

You can create a hashtag and encourage your followers to share and "like" their favorite photos so everyone can enjoy all the four-legged friends. Turn it into a fundraiser for the shelter by encouraging a local business to match (1 like = $1), or possibly offer a grand prize for the winner while sharing your crowdfunding page link.

10) Kitten Clinic and Pup-therapy

It's a well-known fact that pets relieve stress, improve health, and bring hope. Some colleges and even workplaces have started hosting puppy rooms to help students ease exam anxiety. We could all use less stress in our lives these days, and you could raise funds by offering pet therapy spaces for people to come and relax with cuddly animals.

This could be a great temporary program where you visit colleges, businesses, nursing homes, or parks. Set up a series of small pens filled with (vet-approved and excited to see you) pups and kittens to bring joy and soft meows to visitors for a small ticketed fee or suggested donation.

Or, if you have space at your shelter, you could set up a quiet room with soft fabrics, calming lights, and gentle tones. You can easily rotate out the animals (to reduce stress and fatigue on them). Visitors can enjoy their time relaxing with Fluffy or Fido. Who knows, a few animals may find their "fur-ever" homes in the process!

We hope you found these ideas inspiring to launch your next fundraiser. With a little planning, these can all be fun ways to rally your community around loving pets. Our animal friends bring us much needed joy, and your shelter offers a much-needed service to our communities. Thank you for everything you do.

At Soapbox Engage, our goal is to take care of the complicated fundraising tasks (like donor email lists and donation fees), so you can get back to what really matters… those furry puppy and kitten bellies aren't going to rub themselves!

Here are three more resources to help you take your animal shelter fundraising to the next level.

• 3 Elements of an Effective Fundraising Appeal Letter: Despite all the technological advances and digital fundraising opportunities, there's still nothing quite like the old-fashioned appeal letter. They're more tangible, empathetic, and they offer powerful touchpoints with your supporters. Head over to this blog to learn the essential elements of a great appeal letter (including samples).
• 8 Proven Ways to Grow Your Nonprofit Email List: Email remains one of the easiest ways to communicate with your donors, and it has one of the highest returns on investment of all the online marketing options. This blog offers some valuable tips and insights on how to grow your email list and expand your audience (which, if done correctly, can lead to more donors).
• How to Add a Donate Button on Facebook and Grow Your Fundraising: Many nonprofits are increasing their presence on social media like Facebook (and other platforms) add donation options and features for organization pages. But what are the pros and cons of this fundraising strategy? How do you take advantage of these tools for your nonprofit? We dug up all the dirt on the Facebook Donate Now button to help you decide if it's right for your fundraising goals.