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How we raise money.
1) 80% of the voluntary work done by our volunteers is related to raising money to pay for the 20% of cat related work that we do. This is a fair reflection of the work that needs to be done to keep an animal charity working in the UK. Volunteers would usually rather be working with the animals, but obviously can't if the money can't be raised.
2) You have a fixed site, have you got room for a shop or two? You need a very good volunteer who is an accountant or similar, or has run their own retail business. Thornberry Animal Sanctuary, Only Foals & Horses and others have set aside areas where they sell donated goods to the public visiting the centre.
3) Have a membership - a group of supporters who pay you £5 to £10 per year for a regular newsletter (at least quarterly). These members are the group from which you recruit volunteers, to whom you sell raffle tickets, who come to fundraising events, sponsor individual animals or pens, leave you money in their wills, etc.
4) Ask for donations of food, cash, donated goods for sale, litter, hay etc at EVERY opportunity. When you advertise an event, put in a footer saying that you need donated goods to sell, and that food and other supplies can be brought to the event. When you take an animal in (where practical), when you home an animal, when you homecheck.
5) When you get donated goods, look through them for anything that you can use rather than sell. We were given 70 reams of off-size paper last year, which we use for printing leaflets etc, and has saved us about £30 so far. A penny saved is a penny earned.
6) Have LOTS of fundraising events. You'll need them. In March we had a jumble sale (nearly £150), three car boot sales on the local market (£250 total), went to a cat show with new goods (£250), had a table top sale (£180) and went to a local fete (£250). Approximately £1,000 raised in a month from events alone.
7) Newspaper appeals. They bring in a little money, not as much as the public think, unfortunately, but everything helps.
8) Grant making bodies - you'll need someone who is good at searching for sources of funding, and writing applications. Sadly, the vast majority of the trust funds in this country, including the lottery, don't usually make grants to animal charities, although you may be able to get awards to make areas more accessible, e.g. pay for new paving to make areas more wheelchair accessible.
9) Finally, it's not easy, but it is do-able. I have to go now to pick up a car load of donated goods from a supporter who lives twenty miles away. Travel time, 1 hour, goods sorting and cleaning time, 3 hours, probable total value of goods when sold at an event which has to be staffed, booked, advertised etc, £25 - £50 (this supporter gives us good stuff).
10) Oh yes - EBay etc!
11) Oh yes again. Buy new goods wholesale or at clearance, animal themed, and sell them on. Remember to make a profit!
Good luck
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