This was kind of alarming so I asked him to elaborate. He pointed out we may have a competition to see who can show the saddest picture of the neediest pet in order to get Chances funded.
Well, darn it - that was not the point of creating Pet Chance. It should be among the happiest places on the Internet because we're saving pets here! So it got me to thinking...
What do we need to do at Pet Chance to make people smile?
Here's what I came up with so far:
- Before & After pictures - so we can celebrate the healing of a pet
- Conversations - so owners can report progress on their pets' treatment
- Encouragement - some way for everyone to send kind words to the pet (and the owner)
WHAT ELSE?
But there must be other things we can do... got any bright ideas? If so, please post them in the comments for this post. If we use your ideas, we'll let you know!
Two things that make places that do rescue (and while you technically aren't a rescue you are rescuing pets) is A) THEY ARE GOING TO BE KILLED! posts and B) WE NEED MORE MONEY OR WE CAN'T HELP posts.. yes, generally they are shouting. Most of us who want to help want to help, but we know if we over extend ourselves we can't do much of anything. I like your facebook post where you ask for 10 donations of 10$ instead of saying you need $100. While watching the Royal Wedding a year ago one of the stats that came out was that the cost of that major affair worked out to about a dollar a person. Keep things small, keep them upbeat, and try to do fundraising with out a sick animal on the line (showcase ones you have saved)
ReplyDeleteI wish you well, the world needs more organizations like yous.
(you also might want to consider removing word verification on your comments, a lot of people have a very hard time getting those right)
One thought. Get some large donors on board. Use the money they donate to match donations from others. This will provide incentive for those donating and be heartening to those needing help.
ReplyDeleteYes,I can see that the stories on the chances *are* already a competition of "saddest story". A recommendation is, instead of having someone write a "story", how about using short fields? For example: "Money is needed for _____ (field)" "The condition is/is not life threatening." Medical care "has already been provided" "is waiting on funding" (check one). Then, to keep from getting into the sad stories: A short field "Tell us about yourself". And another "Tell us your favorite story about your pet." Something like that. Enough to knwo who needs what, without haveing to be terribly maudlin.
We really love feedback like this -- thanks! We are going to make a few other tweaks to the Chance form so we'll consider doing some of what you suggested here as well. We appreciate you taking the time to write to us.
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