Dogs, cats, and other animals deserve to live without fear of cruelty, neglect, and other forms of mistreatment. For many people, this emotional connection just leads to a quick donation or possibly adopting a homeless pet from a local shelter. However, many individuals and groups (like you) are doing much more, including animal shelter fundraisers.
As an animal advocate, shelter volunteer, or other animal welfare organizer, there’s room in your heart for every animal in need. Unfortunately, though, there may not be room in your facility or in your organization’s bank account to help all of the deserving animals out there.
To make a significant impact, you need ample access to resources. Organizing a fundraiser for your animal advocacy group can help you engage your community, spread awareness of your cause, and protect more pets. Let’s take a look at some simple, but highly effective animal shelter fundraising ideas that you can bring to your town or city.
1. Host an online auction
At a charity auction, you bring supporters together for an energetic evening in which they can bid on a variety of in-demand items. Both live auction and silent auction formats have the same general premise:
- You collect donations from supporters and local businesses to auction off. Alternatively, you can purchase the items, but you’ll want to ensure you can resell them at a higher price.
- Auction attendees peruse the items (either viewing the items en masse or one by one as presented by a live auctioneer).
- Supporters outbid each other to try to take home their favorite items.
- The winning bidders “check out” and make a donation to your organization.
You can still recreate this experience in an online format and host a virtual fundraiser. An online event is less expensive to host and allows you to reach a wider audience of potential bidders—meaning more revenue for your cause.
Of course, the success of a silent auction is dependent on the goods, services, and experiences you’re trying to sell. Consider seeking sponsorship from a local dog kennel or other pet business for auction items that will be desirable to supporters yet also applicable to your cause.
Using a dog daycare software or similar tool, they may be able to donate package credits or a gift certificate to their facility without requiring any in-person interaction.
2. Host a dog walk or run
A 5k race or walk-a-thon is a great way to engage your community in some healthy competition and animal rescue fundraising.
To raise the funds you need, you can either charge a registration fee, encourage your race participants to solicit pledge donations from family and friends, or use a combination of the two. These supporters may choose to support their loved one (and your organization) by pledging something like $10 for each mile walked. If your race is 5 miles, you’ll collect a $50 donation from that supporter.
A traditional walk-a-thon is already an exciting activity for all, but it gets even better when dogs are involved. Be sure to invite your participants to bring their furry friends along on event day for some great photo ops and an overall fun experience.
3. Organize a shoe drive fundraiser
A shoe drive fundraiser is a low-effort animal rescue and animal shelter fundraising idea that makes a huge difference. This option is an attractive choice for many smaller organizations because it requires no upfront cost from you and makes a relatively small ask from supporters.
Take it from former Funds2Orgs partners like Dog Gone Rescue, which raised nearly $4,000 by collecting shoes from the community!
Here’s how a shoe drive fundraiser for animal shelters works:
- You spread the word to supporters and community members that you’re collecting gently used shoes.
- You collect as many pairs of shoes as possible.
- You send the shoes to a company like Funds2Orgs.
- The shoes are reused in an environmentally sustainable way, and your organization receives a check in exchange.
With this option, your supporters get the opportunity to clean out their closets for a good cause. Plus, it helps keep shoes out of landfills, so it’s a true win-win for everyone, including the planet. Talk about effective fundraising!
4. Host a (pet-friendly!) bake sale
Few things get tails wagging quite like some fresh-baked goods. Bake sales are not only a great way to raise some extra cash, but they’re also an opportunity to get the word out about all the great work your shelter or organization does.
Have volunteers or members of the community donate baked goods, or, if possible, partner with local bakers or bakeries to get great deals without having to spend hours in the kitchen. Bonus points if some of your baked goods are pet-friendly!
Once you’ve gathered enough baked goods, pick a date and location for the sale, then set up shop! Another option is to have volunteers agree to bring their baked goods and work a booth or table at your event, then donate the proceeds to your cause.
5. Host a pet photo shoot
Most pet owners can agree that a cute, goofy picture of our furry friends is worth its weight in gold. Turn that love for animals into an opportunity for raising money by hosting a pet photo shoot pop-up event.
You can charge visitors entry fees to stop by and get a unique snapshot, or charge per photo. Jazz things up by offering optional accessories to glam up those pets who enjoy it, providing different backdrops or photo spots, or letting pet owners get in on the shot, too.
6. Seek corporate sponsorships
In recent years, more and more businesses have been giving back to their local communities. Through corporate philanthropy and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, businesses are making a difference through things like:
- Matching gifts. The sponsor may choose to match all eligible employee donations to nonprofits or commit to matching gifts made to your organization for a specific time period.
- Monetary sponsorships. A local business may be willing to contribute funds to your cause. Be sure to acknowledge their generosity in your marketing materials or on your website!
- In-kind donations. Businesses can also donate materials (like pet food) or their services. As we discussed earlier, things like gift cards or dog boarding credits work perfectly as auction items or raffle prizes.
The sponsor may also be willing to help you host a fundraising event. For instance, ask a local dog grooming business if they’d be willing to donate time and materials for a “dog wash” event. This event is similar to a classic car wash, except volunteers would offer pet washing instead of vehicle cleaning.
What Will Your Next Animal Shelter Fundraiser Be?
Animal care and advocacy work is important, but protecting pets and finding them forever homes can require more resources than you have available. With these creative ideas, you’ll be able to host an animal shelter fundraiser that achieves its goals and helps you make an impact. Good luck!
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