Ten tips for success from group kicking butt

Congratulations to the Bendigo Animal Shelter for their recent news that the appeal against their Planning Permit has been dismissed, meaning they now have the go ahead to start building their new facilities.

There’s many, many things they are doing that are inspiring huge amounts of support and their success to date is overwhelming. Here’s ten things they’re doing very right that everyone could learn from.

 

1. Realise the value in being ‘No Kill’

Supporters don’t want to be educated about the bigger issues in rescue – they don’t care about the politics or the history or the implementation.

Potential supporters want to help groups who save animals. They don’t want to support groups who kill animals. Simple.

 

2. Believe in your own worth

Everything about the Bendigo group – every word on the website, their mission statement and their newsletter all focus on the positive difference they are making in the community.

Don’t try and make people feel sorry for your organisation. They don’t want to hear about your huge workload, the hard decisions you make every day or the scumbag owners you see. Never try to guilt people into helping you – guilt isn’t a feeling people enjoy partaking in.

You’re in the business of being effective – show your supporters your value. If you believe that you’re worth their support, people will believe and give it to you.

 

3. Have a brand

You need to have a brand that people can recognise and that will represent the experience people have when they deal with you. Get a logo and a colour scheme early on and try to use it wherever possible; it will be your calling card.

You need to have a spokesperson, or a face that represents your group. You shouldn’t have long ‘message from the director’ at the beginning of every newsletter, but do have a single point of contact for your group to build on.

Note: if you haven’t already, banish animated gifs from your website. If you have a running dog, blinking cat or spinning “help us” sign; get rid of them! They make your site look unprofessional. Much better that you include a few choice photos of your most adoptable pets.

 

4. Know why people want to help you

Spend resources on working out who your target market is. What appeals to them? What do they want to hear about? What is the best way to approach them? What is the reason they are attracted to you? Once you know these things, you can start involving them in what you do.

Next, show them how they’re helping you.

If you ask me each week for ‘support’ I will quickly start to feel ‘donor fatigue’.

 

Donor fatigue: A state in which donors no longer contribute to a cause because they have become tired of receiving appeals for donations.

 

But, if you ask me for ‘help with a project’ then give me direct feedback about how well the project went, how it benefits the animals, you allow me have a chance to feel warm and fluffy and involved.

Bendigo have broken down their requirements into ‘chunks’ of need. Feedback on the progress of these projects is vital. They have a donators gauge and give updates on the project as it comes to fruition.

Be proud to tell people about what you are achieving, then, when you ask me to be a part of it, I’m going to want to be involved. Let me be a hero too.

 

5. Love thy supporters

You must give your supporters recognition. Check out this article: what fundraising and one night stands have in common for the reasons why you need to acknowledge those who help

For corporate sponsors Bendigo offer the chance for sponsors to include their logos on their website. Individuals can buy a brick or design a tile to be used in future buildings.

People support you because it feels good to do so. You have to acknowledge their gift to you in some way – anything that makes your donators feel appreciated. Give them a chance to bask in your glow.

 

6. Spare us the pus-eyed cats

It’s not about you. It’s about me. Your supporter.

While you see damaged pets daily, we want good news. While you might have many, many issues that you want to be addressed, don’t bog us down with huge statistics of abuse and the number of pets killed. We get overwhelmed easily. And all we really want is to feel like we’ve helped.

Now don’t get me wrong – emotion is really important. But it’s the way you show this emotion that is what draws people in. Single out a pet for a feature, but one that has a happy ending. Show your organisation gets results. That’s what we want to support.

 

7. Make it easy for people to give

Don’t put any obstacles in the way of me donating to you – support as many ways to donate as you possibly can. Most people are happy to use their credit card via a paypal account, so it’s highly recommend you start an account with them.

There are many external donation engines, but check the fine print carefully! The last thing you want is a third party skimming off an unreasonable percentage of your money each time someone donates to you.

 

8. Be a media tart

Anything newsworthy should be sent to your local newspaper. A ‘letter to the editor’ thankyou to your supporters is another great way to recognise those that have helped you.

All your news inclusions should be on your website. By featuring in the media you build credibility and start to get your brand recognised in your community.

 

9. Be seen

Waiting for people to find you won’t work (especially if you’re in a remote location). You must find them.

Attend both pet related and non-pet related events. Take your pets out into the community wearing your corporate logo and advertising that they’re available. Give your fan club (including new adopters) information they can hand out to people or a dog t-shirt advertising the pet is a rescue. Your pets and their adopters can be your greatest advertisement and best of all it’s free!

 

10. Play well with others

Never speak badly of anyone – it will bite you in the ass.

This includes both other non-profits and the for-profit sector. You don’t have to love them, but other people will think less of you if you spend time harping on about how terrible they are. And you just never know what opportunities you will miss when one day they are looking for advice on changing their ways…

Work with other groups wherever possible. Working independently means you have to do everything from scratch – if you can put aside differences and share resources with other groups, you will save a lot of time. These aren’t necessarily pet organisations. Think outside the box and work with the whole spectrum of members of your community.

 

Totally.

By shaking off negative approaches, being proud of what we are achieving and understanding and recognising our supporters we can grow our fan clubs and bring more devoted supporters to rescue.