The Lion's Share

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Top 10 info nuggets from this session at HSUS Animal Care Expo (aggregated from my live tweets):

1. Planning for your campaign is key – it can take up to 3 years to get everything lined up

2. A case statement & feasibility study are vital elements of effective campaign planning

3. As part of your plan’s feasibility study, identify major donors who are highly likely 2 give

4. Develop a gift pyramid to determine how many prospects to approach for each level of support

5. Financial support from 100% of your board is critical in garnering new/increased donations

6. Your board should collectively contribute at least 30% of your total campaign $ goal

7. Develop a gift acceptance policy to avoid mismatched expectations between you & your donors

8. Make sure to develop a budget for the campaign itself in addition to the project budget

9. The largest gifts/60-75% of your total $ goal should be raised in the campaign’s quiet phase

10. A lasting benefit of a capital campaign is that it will help grow your future annual support

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Top 10 observations on emerging trends and ideas about future directions that surfaced during this session at HSUS Animal Care Expo (aggregated from my live tweets):

1) More outreach to faith-based grps to advance humane ed, expand adoption & foster base

2) “Connecting the dots” in communities to be a central resource for all pet-related needs

3) Streamlining adoption requirements/processes to get more pets out the door

4) Using peer-to-peer map software to help shelters around the US manage pet supply/demand

5) Greater use of non-surgical sterilization to address pet overpopulation

6) Outreach to social entrpreneurs to advance animal welfare outside the nonprofit sector

7) Maximizing resources & leveraging efforts among orgs via mergers and/or partnerships

8) Orienting towards serving and benefitting PEOPLE as well as animals

9) Making shelter medicine a more attractive pursuit for vets & veterinary students

10) Using Big Data to drive change by aggregating animal metrics from shelter software pkgs

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I’m super-excited to be attending the 2013 Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Animal Care Expo at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville,TN — the largest gathering of animal welfare professionals and enthusiasts on the planet! In fact, this year’s conference is reported to have drawn around 1,900 people representing over 40 countries. I’m here with my colleagues in the ASPCA’s grants department as conference exhibitors to provide information about our giving, but I’ll be tweeting interesting Expo tidbits strictly from a personal perspective for my Lion’s Share audience (NOT on behalf of the ASPCA). Stay tuned for quickie updates over the next couple of days!

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New Requests for Proposals have been issued for the following initiatives:

• The ASPCA is accepting applications for its fall Mega Match-a-thon, a weekend of high-volume community adoption events to take place simultaneously across the U.S. October 18-20, 2013. Grants of up to $10,000 each will underwrite these events. Preference will be given to applications that demonstrate how a significant increase in adoptions will be achieved through collaboration and community involvement. The application deadline is May 15, 2013.

• The ASPCA’s Rescuing Racers initiative is awarding a combined grant total of up to $250,000 to 501(c)(3) equine rescues and sanctuaries in the U.S. who provide rescue, rehabilitation, and/or a permanent home for horses cast out from the breeding/racing industry. These grants are intended for direct care of individual horses and are not meant for general operations or feed programs. To be eligible, organizations must participate in the rehabilitation and placement of 12 or more retired race horses (of any breed) or offer sanctuary to 25 or more retirees annually. The application deadline is May 27, 2013.

• The Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation has issued a request for pre-proposals for grants of about $30,000 each to fund high-quality research studies that focus on the health effects of animals on humans with the following conditions: autism, cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia/Alzheimer’s, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or childhood allergies and immunity. The deadline for submitting pre-proposals is June 28, 2013. Full proposal submissions will be invited from selected applicants.

• The Pedigree Foundation Is accepting applications from nonprofit, tax-exempt animal shelters and dog rescue groups for its Innovation and Operation Grants to help more dogs find loving homes. Innovation Grants range from $10,000 to $25,000 and are awarded to qualifying organizations based on demonstrated use of creative programs aimed at increasing dog adoptions. Operation Grants of $1,000 each are intended to help fund operational needs for shelters and rescues who are actively promoting pet adoption. The application deadline is June 30, 2013

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