Good Works Grapevine

GoodDogz.org helped host the annual Reston Pet Fiesta last Saturday, May 2, at the Reston Town Center in Reston, VA. Despite the threat of rain and overcast skies, the event was a huge success. We are still compiling the numbers, but we know that one dog rescue organization alone, K9 Lifesavers, found forever homes for 26 dogs of the 40 dogs that they brought to the event. That’s 26 homeless dogs that slept in a warm bed with a new family on Saturday night.

We also made some interesting observations about giving. We made more money in “impulse” donations than ever before – almost $700 cash from folks throwing their bills in the bucket. We had leftover t-shirts so we gave them away with a donation and folks were scampering to get a shirt. We also made more money on our dog walk than in previous years with over 100 folks pre-registered and about 25-30 more signing up the day of (in the rain).

We had an overall steady flow of traffic all day; there was never a lull in the action. And I would approximate that we saw about 8K- 9K folks stroll through our thoroughfare.

Our vendors also seemed to be doing well with a steady stream of sales throughout the six hour event.

What does this tell us?

• People are looking for inexpensive, fun ways to spend the day with their family.
• It is easier to throw a $20 bill in the bucket than to stick a check in the mail.
• People like to get something for their donation – even something as simple as a leftover dog walk t-shirt.
• Overcast days work in your favor if you are hosting an outdoor event.
• Qgiv (our registration service) makes it incredibly easy to manage a dog walk.
• People are spending more time at home and adding a pet to the household keeps the family on their toes.
• Our volunteers were much more engaged and we know of several folks who want to volunteer with us on a regular basis.

The money that we made at the Pet Fiesta will go enable us to host our Home 4 the Holidays super pet adoption event on November 7. More to come on that! Many thanks to our volunteers, rescues, vendors and organizers. The event was a huge success and we look forward to next year!

OK, it’s my turn to promote my cause. On the first Saturday of May each year, GoodDogz.org teams up with Myers PR, the Reston Town Center and RestonDogs to host the annual Reston Pet Fiesta. The event annually draws about 8000 metro DC residents to the Reston Town Center for a day of pet adoption, family fun and a kick ass dog walk. The Pet Fiesta is GoodDogz.org’s primary fundraiser of the year and this year we need your help more than ever. With giving down and pet surrender up, everyone in the animal welfare sector is struggling and GoodDogz.org wants to help bridge the gap where we can.

We’ve spent a lot of time lately helping place dogs left homeless by the economy. We are also working diligently to help families that want to keep their dogs make arrangements. We need your help to continue doing what we do.

By making a $10 (or more) donation to our dog walk, your money goes directly to this mission. It’s tax deductible and can easily, securely be made by Visa, MC, Amex or Discover through Firstgiving.com. Our organizational goal for the event is $10,000. My personal goal is $1,500 – aggressive but attainable with your help.

It’s easy…

1. Go to http://www.firstgiving.com/bethbates and make an online donation OR
2. Go to http://www.firstgiving.com/GoodDogz, set-up your own pledge page and start collecting pledges.

You can also attend and participate in the ‘Tails on Trails” dog walk if you are in the DC area. We welcome you!!

And last, but certainly not least, if you own a business, you can be a dog walk sponsor by making a donation and receiving promotional considerations. Sponsors need to be signed up by March 21.

A gazillion thanks to everyone who supports GoodDogz.org everyday and a hearty WOOF to our new supporters!

THANK YOU!

I think that everyone in the nonprofit sector (if not in every industry) is feeling the bite of the economy. At GoodDogz.org we’ve always had an appropriate albeit modest budget and this year we are just squeaking by. So, instead of relying on donations (which aren’t coming in) and large fundraising events, we’ve put on our thinking caps and tried to develop some ongoing fundraising programs that can sustain us through the year without putting stress on our human resources. Here are a few ideas that we are going to try.

Please let us know what’s working for you as we would really like to work together to ensure that we can all stay afloat during these tight times.

• GoodDogz.org Days – We are asking small, local businesses to hold a GoodDogz.org day. On that day, the business donates a percentage of their profits to GoodDogz.org. This started when a local yoga studio offered to hold a special class in honor of GoodDogz.org and gave us all of the proceeds. We ended up with close to $700 and really did nothing but promote the event. It’s a win for the business because we help provide them with exposure that they might not have had. It also helps them be part of the community by giving back (which is so important right now).
• Product Parties – We’ve all been to Mary Kay or Tupperware parties. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of these parties, but they are a great way to easily raise money for your organization – especially if you are a small org. We are compiling a list of local representatives for Mark Kay, Tastefully Simple, Silpada jewelry, etc. who want to help us support our mission through fundraising. It is likely that you have one or two volunteers who LOVE to host these parties. Well, let them do what they love. They can  select a party, host it and part of the proceeds go to your org. The rep wins by expanding their audience. The volunteer wins by having the party. You win by getting the $$. And its easy.
• Cookbooks - My “pet” project this year is putting together a cookbook for the org. I’m not a very good cook but I do love cookbooks. So, we’re launching a 5-month campaign that enables food lovers to submit their recipes to the cookbook and for a small donation they can include a photo of their dog with the recipe. I would rather not print the cookbook, so I’m trying to devise a way to offer the cookbook online for a one-time fee. Again, for 5 months all we do is collect recipes and then kick it into gear in August to develop the cookbook.

These are just a few ideas for sustaining your organization when the donations just aren’t coming in. Please feel free to share your ideas!

As you know, I try to keep my posts on target with the exception of my unnatural attraction to LoveSac. But this article really cheesed me off and I wanted a forum to collect the comments of other dog rescuers…or anyone who loves animals.

A friend of mine shared this article with me this morning and I just read it. It’s by Hal Herzog (credited as a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., has studied societal attitudes and behavior toward animals for more than 20 years) and, in my opinion,  is so wrong on so many levels. It wasn’t until I read the comments that I realized that this guy is all over the place. I think that he’s single handedly offended Northerners, Southerners, dog rescuers, pit bulls, Democrats, Republicans…you name it.

The title is also misleading – I thought it was a public interest story – until I realized I was fuming by the end of the article.

A First Dog from Down South

Here’s what I walked away with…

• 4 million dogs euthanized in the U.S. in 2007 is acceptable.
• We are running out of adoptable dogs….HUH?
• All pit bulls are bad.
• Choosing a dog for your family is a strategic political move.
• Only the south has a skewed view of animals as companion animals. (I live in rural Virginia and I’m here to tell you, it’s not just the south.)

As you’ll see from the comments, other readers took away other interesting tidbits. I understand that there are statistically a lot of adoptable dogs in the south, but to say that they are “nicer” or more adoptable is irresponsible.

Am I reading too much into this? What’s your take? I invite all views. =)

Tomorrow I’ll be giving a presentation on GoodDogz.org and our hopes for participation in the virtual world in Second Life. This will be part of the weekly Nonprofit Commons meeting.

Please feel free to join us in the ampitheatre in the center of the Nonprofit Commons -> SLURL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/129/175/26

The meeting starts at 11:30 SLT (PST). Pull up a chair and enjoy the conversation!

I’ve been off the radar for the past few days due to the death of one of my dogs and I apologize. As a little self-therapy, I’d like to dedicate this post to my best friend, Max.

At 7PM on Sunday night, we had to make the painful decision to put our ten-year-old Pit Bull/Lab mix, Max, to sleep. He had developed a large mass in his belly that was bleeding out and making him anemic, lethargic and sick. The prognosis was poor and we did what we felt was the best thing for him. He didn’t suffer and died peacefully by our side at the emergency vet.

The folks at Valley Emergency Veterinary Clinic were kind and sensitive to the situation. The vet on duty, Dr. Haase, gave us an honest assessment of Max’s condition and was very understanding throughout the process. The clinic even followed up with a sympathy card which I thought was very thoughtful.

We are trying to cope but not very well. We buried Max today on our property and I ordered a beautiful blue stone memorial for his grave. We are going to have the landscapers come back and plant tall, ornamental grass on the grave site as Max liked to go potty in the tall grass. He was very modest like that.

We adopted Max in June of 1999 from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. He had been found at 8 months wandering the streets with a chain hanging from his neck. The woman at the shelter said that we shouldn’t adopt him because he was a “spaz”, but we didn’t listen and took him home anyway. It turns out that he was just a fantastic dog. He was a great companion for our Jack Russells, Katie & Willy, an his brother, George, and was a wonderful friend to us. Just a few things we loved about Max:

• He was always very regal and carried himself in a reserved manner.
• The top of his head smelled like perfume. I could never figure out why.
• His ears were always warm.
• He was very loving and liked to stick his head in between your knees to get petted.
• He loved to ride in the car.
• Up until 2 weeks ago, he ran like a bat out of hell through the backyard.
• We called him the “prince” because he got to do whatever he wanted.
• He would stand at the door, tail wagging, when you pulled into the drive way.
• Even at the end, his tail was still wagging and he still eager to please.
• He was just a wonderful dog.

This is a very sad time at our house. While the Jack Russells don’t seem to notice a difference, George, Max’s playmate is very whiny and needy for attention. I feel really bad for him.

After the holiday, we are considering adopting another dog so that George will have a friend. It’s a little early for me, but I think that we will all be better off in the long run with a new playmate for George.

I appreciate the outpouring of support not only from friends and family, but from my online family as well. It’s comforting to know that we are not alone. We don’t have children, so our dogs are our family members.

Please feel free to share your stories of the pets you love and give them a hug for me.

Climbing up on my soapbox…

I don’t know if everyone is keeping up on this story, but I felt a need to pass this on as its the most ridiculous situation I’ve heard in a while. Initially, the military wouldn’t allow “Ratchet” a stray dog rescued from a burning pile of trash by Sgt. Gwen Beberg in Baghdad to come home with the soldier due to military regulations prohibiting soldiers from adopting pets abroad.

The story has spread like wildfire and I’d like to think that any person with a heart would see that the situation is completely absurd. The latest news – the military approved Ratchet for transport on a rescue flight from Baghdad, but the approval came so late that the dog missed the flight. Imagine that.

For the love of Velveeta and sock puppets, put this dog on a plane and let him come home to the person who loves him most – Sgt. Beberg. Doesn’t the military have bigger things to worry about? Um…I don’t know…like terrorists and war?

And KUDOS to The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International’s Operation Bagdhad Pups for stepping in and helping get Ratchet and six other pups home. Donate to this organization – they do good work.

Here is more information, I urge you to read up on this issue as well as sign the petition to get Ratchet back. I’d personally like to see this ridiculous regulation repealed, but baby steps, Beth, baby steps.

Iraqi dog’s journey to America hits another snag – CNN.com

Care2’s Petition – Clemency for Ratchet

OK – I’m off my soapbox for the day. Thanks for listening.

Care2 just launched a wonderful contest which invites folks to vote for their favorite animal shelter. In the wake of Katrina, Ike, the flooding in Des Moines, etc. animal shelters need our help more than ever. I really like this contest as it offers several ways to win – a grand prize of $10,000 – a daily prize of $1000 and $50 gift certificates to the top recruiters. Please remember to give to your local animal shelter as a way to give back to your community and have fun participating in this fun contest!

I (or perhaps Cordelia Gothly) was asked today to complete a profile for Nonprofit Commons in Second Life and it forced me to sit down and write out some of the things that tend to sit in my melon until someone forces it out (thanks Megan!) What I wrote seemed helpful, so I’ve decided to share it with you! Enjoy my brain droppings of the day!

Brief summary of your organization

GoodDogz.org is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to educating potential dog owners on dog selection and care and supporting the efforts of rescue groups. We believe that by assisting with good dog-owner matches, we’ll give each family the best opportunity for a life-long relationship with their new dog and help to keep dogs out of shelters.

How did you find out about the NPC and why did you get involved?

I found out through Susan Reynolds initially and since I was new to SL, I had a burning desire to know more! I love finding ways that nonprofits can effectively leverage emerging technology and SL is about a “new and shiny” as you can get! I’ve come to find that NPC is chocked full of great, creative people with a mind for social good. I’m excited to be involved!

Is your work here in Second Life as an individual or are you representing a foundation?
Until my organization becomes a little more technically savvy, I work here as an individual. My hope (and dream) is that I can generate a new volunteer base in-world so that GoodDogz.org can have an active presence.

Some say the professional networking opportunities in SL have been extraordinary. Have you found this to be true? If so, what advice would you give someone for effective professional networking in SL?

Yes! My advice is – don’t be afraid to approach people with your ideas. I’ve met several people that have never chatted with anyone in SL. I may just be lucky, but I’ve found almost everyone I’ve met in-world to be accessible, pleasant and extremely helpful. Find like-minded people and exchange ideas. You’ll make a friend as well as a potential business contact.

Why do you think virtual worlds such as Second Life are valuable for non-profits?

Networking is the obvious answer – but I also think that it gives nonprofits an opportunity to reach out to folks that wouldn’t normally have access to. Some might be next door and some may be halfway around the world. But if they are interested in your initiatives, they may want to get involved. And human resources (in SL or RL) are critical and hard to come by.

Do you think every non-profit should have a presence within SL or is it only appropriate for particular types of organizations?

I think that if a nonprofit can have an “effective” presence in SL, they should be part of the Non-Profit Commons. But, with all initiatives, SL takes resources – time, human, monetary. If you can’t tend to your SL presence actively, I think groups should hold off until they are ready with a strategy and a team.

More than likely you are fairly new to SL. Since there is a learning curve, what advice would you give to make being in SL easier?

Again, talk to people and make friends. Most people in SL are very nice and don’t mind helping new folks out. If you’re just not finding the right people, pull up the map – look for a populated area – and transport. And start chatting again. Eventually, you’ll find folks who are like-minded, fun and ready to befriend you in SL.

Upcoming projects/events

We would love to have a presence in SL. If there are any animal welfare folks out there who would be willing to lend their time and expertise to our organization, we’d love to have you. We are also in our busy season in RL, with a major pet adoption event in November, two fundraisers in October and another in December. So, if you live in the DC area, give me a shout!

Current/On-going Needs (RL or SL)

As always, we need volunteers – both in SL and RL. Ping me if you’d like to get involved!

GoodDogz.org is heading into its “busy” event season, with four events between now and the end of the year. As we move forward, we are looking at different ways we can promote these events online. We use both convention methods as well as our social media properties to push these events to our target market. As online marketing continues to PUSH to users (rather than trying to bring people to you), we find ourselves constantly changing our methods. Here is an example of what we are doing and some of the mediums that we are using.

One October 23, we are hosting our first Rock 4 Rescue benefit concert. It will be held at a local nightspot and will include 2 popular bands, food, drinks, door prizes, etc. Here’s our plan for promotion:

• Community Calendars – In our community, community calendars are key and always bring us a lot of traffic. They are easy to post to and reach a large audience.
• E-Newsletters – We will put out several e-newsletters to our subscribers encouraging them to attend.
• Blogging – We will blog about the event up to, during and after the show.
• Facebook - We are posting the event to our Facebook page as well as to our personal pages.
• Facebook Groups – We will also reach out to relative Facebook Groups in the hopes of generating more interest from our market.
• Twitter - Get ready, my little tweethearts, you’ll be hearing about our events shortly.
• Meet-ups – We are planning to push the event out to our local pet and singles meet-up groups.
• Member Websites – We will ask our member organizations to post the event on their websites and e-newsletters.
• LinkedIn - We will push this event out to our network on LinkedIn.
• NING - The event is already listed on our NING community and we will start sending out mass notifications to members of the network.

That is our starter list. Please let me know what avenues I might be missing as we are open to any and all forms of online exposure for our event!