How Does Your Rescue Group Work?

[Loreley]

I'm a nosey bugger

Just curious to see who does what to keep your financial head above water.

If you have someone wanting to surrender their dog/cat - do you charge them a surrender fee or equivalent?

Are your adoptions free or do you charge? for what - flat rate? what it costs (so if the dog is already desexed then you would not charge for that?)

Has anyone tried to obtain Government Grants to help with costs like vets & transport?

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I just rehomed a dog today, I made the decision to rehome for my vet fees - $250.

Generally I don't always cover my vet fees but put the same price on each dog I rescue - ie $350 - which includes all vet work. For a dog of 8+ I charge $200, even if the vet fees were $700 or $800 ... it's all about finding the right home.

Therefore if I have a young dog that doesn't need a dental but arrived desexed, I maybe have to do vac and heartworm test, grooming etc. If I can rehome for $350 then anything leftover from initial costs will go towards my other vet bills.

Nobody in rescue makes a profit.

I do think that sometimes it is worth charging a surrender fee, I never have as I want to get the dog to safety - often there are pretty terrible owners involved who would not want to pay something, I don't criticise anyone that does charge a fee and is successful. Rescue's a very expensive business and you need all the help you can get and why should they get off scott free for offloading a problem to them?

You can't vary adoption fees significantly generally by saying this dog only cost me $100, that one cost me $500. They are both females aged 4 yrs and will go desexed, vacc'd, etc etc. You don't want someone taking the $100 dog because it's perceived to be a bargain ...

Edited May 5, 2013 by dogmad

[honeybun]

The largest expense for most rescue groups would be veterinary care.

But there are a lot of other expenses that need to be covered for the rescue group to keep on operating successfully....such as......

Pound fees

Care of the dogs whilst in foster care,covering food,flea,worm,heart worm control,collars,tags,grooming,shampoo etc etc,

Behavioural training if needed.

Council Registration fees

Transport fees when needed

Admin.costs,any government fees and charges;stamps;envelopes,printer costs etc etc.

Whilst work is done by volunteers there are still the costs to be covered.

Adoption fees and any donations that can be raised must be able to cover the above costs otherwise the rescue group would not be able to keep their head above water.

So it a dog has already had everything already done vet wise, you would still charge the usual adoption fee as this goes to help cover these other charges for it and the other rescues dogs, and the dog would still have had costs whilst in foster care.

The next dog may need extensive vet care, and cost the rescue many times the adoption fee eventually charged,but that is just what happens, and you need to be able to cater for that.

Edited May 5, 2013 by honeybun

[honeybun]

I would imagine there would be very little by way of government grants for rescue groups to assist with their day to day operation.

DGR ...Deductible Gift Recipient status from the ATO is necessary for tax deductible donations, and an authority or licence to fundraise is another necessity.But these enable the rescue group to seek donations, and are not an actual grant from the government.

Surrender fees sound like a good idea but I would imagine most rescue groups never receive any.Probably they person surrendering would just prefer to dump the dog at the pound than pay a rescue group or claim they cannot afford to pay fees.

As Dogmad said, the rescue groups priority is to save the dog, and get it into safe hands.

Edited May 5, 2013 by honeybun

[Loving my Oldies]

Has anyone tried to obtain Government Grants to help with costs like vets & transport?

Pardon me while I try to stop laughing before I start crying. Nice thought, Loreley, but it has taken decades of hard work by dedicated people to get some pounds to desex their dogs and cats prior to adoption. Just think of the money and lives that would have been saved had that been brought in years ago.

I saw a great car sticker the other day:

Dogs can't vote

Dog lovers can.

[gillbear]

I actually think that appyling for grants especially local government ones would be a worthwhile task, it is usually a problem of getting volunteers who have the time and ability to take on the task of writing a good application. Do you know anyone who can help in this area Loreley?

[tdierikx]

Many pounds and shelters charge a surrender fee - and so do many rescues.

Our rescue asks for a donation rather than a fee for surrendering a dog - most people can front up around $20, sometimes more, or food/bedding donations and the like...

As for adoption fees, ours fluctuate for many reasons - age of the dog, desirability of the dog type, etc - but is normally around the $300 mark.

T.

[~Anne~]

I actually think that appyling for grants especially local government ones would be a worthwhile task, it is usually a problem of getting volunteers who have the time and ability to take on the task of writing a good application. Do you know anyone who can help in this area Loreley?

Im happy to offer my experience and skill in writing applications for anyone wanting to go down that path. There are grants available, not a lot, but there are some that crop up.

[~Anne~]

When I operated my rescue I didn't charge for surrenders and I had a flat fee for adoptions of $300.

[Rosetta]

Just a thought - have any Rescues considered providing a private re-homing service at a premium fee? I know rescues are up against it rehoming dogs as it is - just it might be a way of raising funds for the more needy cases. Not actually fostering the dog as such more like screening prospective homes etc and making recommendations for a fee? Or are there already services like that?

[HazyWal]

The first greyhound rescue group I fostered for charged a $50 surrender fee and dogs were $250 to adopt. After desexing, vaccs etc and usually a dental ( racing greyhounds are not known for having fabulous teeth) all dogs were adopted with a coat, collar and lead and as required by law a muzzle. Costs were never covered.

[Loving my Oldies]

I actually think that appyling for grants especially local government ones would be a worthwhile task, it is usually a problem of getting volunteers who have the time and ability to take on the task of writing a good application. Do you know anyone who can help in this area Loreley?

I used to write heaps of letters and submissions to Councils and private businesses. Never got anywhere. Just had to continue the mounting of stalls at council days and the like. Exhausting work and very little money made, but I used to rationalise that these sorts of activities were more for exposure than fund raising.

The explosion of social media has certainly helped in awareness, but it has its downside too in that the efforts of people are spread thinly instead of organisations pooling their resources, knowledge and passion. Too many people doing a bit here and a bit there instead of working together for impact and results.

[juice]

Roseetta, the problem with that would be if you don't actually have the dog in care you can't judge what its like and what home it needs, and you certainly couldn't go off what the owners would tell you, most of the time its complete garbage in order to offload them asap

[Loving my Oldies]

Just a thought - have any Rescues considered providing a private re-homing service at a premium fee? I know rescues are up against it rehoming dogs as it is - just it might be a way of raising funds for the more needy cases. Not actually fostering the dog as such more like screening prospective homes etc and making recommendations for a fee? Or are there already services like that?

PAWS has a page on its website for private rehomings. I haven't looked at it for a long time, but I think it is just a place for people to expose their dogs, PAWS doesn't get involved. Could have changed; don't know without checking.

[honeybun]

A few years back I tried all the councils in the area relating to the shelter I was at ,at that time,and the majority told me they only gave grants to human charities, the others we were not successful in getting a grant.

There is also some of the banks that offer granst, but again we were not successful.

I applied for many grants,at that time.

Some grants are for education purposes,the making of dvds etc, which are very time consuming.

Grants usually come with a lot of strings attached, understandably, and the problem is you have to weigh up whether in your particular circumstances, you can abide by the requirements and time limit constraints.

To be honest,usually in rescues ,each team member is always very busy with their particular tasks,and to add yet another "job" to the mix is often out of the question.

I have tried various companies for animal related products,either for donated stock or for the purchase of items as a reduced rate.

I have had only one success,just recently,and that was to buy their products at a discount.

In our situation, adoption fees do vary, often depending on age and health.

Some of our golden oldies have had very large amounts spent on vet work but the adoption fee is $150 or $200.The usual adoption fee is $400 .Most require desexing, often dentals and of course often health issues for investigation and treatment.

I know a lot of people think the dogs should be free,but they never stop to think about what goes on behind the scenes and what costs are involved in getting that dog to the point where an adoption is possible.

Edited May 6, 2013 by honeybun

[~Anne~]

There seems to be an impression amongst rescuers that grants will be offered for bottom line running costs. Even if you ran the best education service, targeted at the disabled, who are involved in the arts, are female, low socio economic and indigenous (a conglomeration of popular criteria for funding grants) you will rarely be successful if you apply for basic or bottom line running costs.

There is a purpose for grants and a certain style required for applying although style acceptance varies amongst philanthropic orgs.

Edited May 6, 2013 by ~Anne~

[Perry's Mum]

Koolie Rescue does not charge a fee for adoptions - we fund our vet costs etc through private donations, fund raising, running sheepdog schools, etc. People who adopt often make a donation to the rescue.

We expect that anyone wanting to surrender a dog will pay for desexing, vaccinations, any necessary vet care, flea and worm treatment and donate a month's worth of dry food.