The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Choosing an Animal Charity
Betelgeuse
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys. I have been interested for a long time in donating to an animal charity. The thing is, I don't know which one to choose. I'd love to donate to help all kinds of animals in all situations, but for practical purposes I've narrowed my interest to companion animals (dogs, cats, etc). A charity that focuses on adoption promotion, spay/neuter programs, emergency aid geared toward animals and just general welfare sounds good to me. I checked out charitynavigator.org and there are plenty of charities that seem good, and one that caught my attention in particular is PetSmart Charities. Does anyone know anything about it, or any other similar charity? I can't seem to find a whole lot about it in terms of opinions or reviews. Any thoughts or suggestions in general, or any particular charities you think are worthwhile?
Betelgeuse on
0
Posts
You can check it out here.
I would imagine those would need the most help.
User Name, do you mean no-kill shelters? I don't want to donate to a shelter if they put down their animals.
Yes. This.
The Humane Society is great, but there are probably a lot of local organizations that set up foster owners for stray/unwanted animals and attempt to adopt them to responsible people. My wife and I are fostering a mamma cat and her four kittens (well, mamma and one kitten has already been adopted), and these places could totally use donations to help with vet costs and food.
ediot: I should read the entire post before I stick my nose in. Oops.
They are exactly like no-kill shelters, except, like I said, they don't turn any animal down. No-kill shelters will. I've seen it happen. (Examples being the dog is close to death, its not very attractive, etc).
Open-door shelters will also keep a dog for its entire life if it has to. (No-Kill shelters will actually send some of their "undesirable" dogs to the pound when it gets a little packed).
If you can, give anonymously. I gave to the Humane Society a couple of years ago. I don't remember how much, I think it was between $100 and $250. I swear that I've gotten my money returned to me in the form of crap I don't want or need. I wanted my money to go towards helping the animals, but it feels like it was all spent on mailings, stickers, calendars, umbrellas, tote bags, etc. I understand that they have to do this to get more donations, but it's not how they can get more donations from me. I still think they're a good organization (we have 3 dogs from there), but next time they get money from me it's going to be cash in an envelope with no return address.
Open-door shelters, however, shoulder an incredible (larger) burden, but they don't get much in the way of donations since they aren't as popular as the Humane Society.
Thanks for all the insights so far guys, it really helps to have these things to think about! I'll especially give more thought to foster programs.
Open-door and no-kill are not related, they are two completely separate terminologies for a shelter. "Open-door" means the shelter will take any animal regardless of anything. "No-kill" means they will never ever put an animal down. While there are open-door no-kill shelters, there are also open-door not-no-kill shelters. An open-door shelter, if it's not a no-kill, will put an animal down if it's necessary.
That said, finding a local shelter, and checking it out first, would be a great way to go. If you don't want to hear back from the shelter, donate anonymously as AtomBomb said. If you leave your name, you -will- be contacted, probably often (this does not cost the shelter anywhere near as much as they gain by doing this, by the way). Repeat donations are how many shelters survive. Anonymous or not though, most shelters will appreciate any amount in a donation. Every little bit helps.
Also, you can donate your time.
How does being a pet-foster parent work? Do they provide you with food, or just medical needs? Is there a maximum amount of time an animal will be with you, or a maximum number of pets to take in? Do you have any permanent pets and how do they respond to the other animals? Do you have a pet specialty, like cats only?
This sounds like something I would love to do in a few years.
It depends on the agency, I'm assuming.
The agency I'm fostering for pays vet bills, but I pay for food and litter. And, I don't think there's a time limit that I'm aware of... which is probably why they only pay vet bills.
At the shelter I work for, we provide food always, and litter when we have it (which is often, but not always). The foster families bring their fosters in once a week for a checkup. At that time, or any time between, if they need medical care they are brought in and treated in-house (no charge to the foster parents).
Depending on the reason for foster decides the time. If it's for a too-young animal, they are kept at foster until they are old enough for spay/neuter, then sent back with the foster parents for recovery, then brought back to go up for adoption. Fosters out for behavior issues are a case by case basis. Foster parents always have the option to adopt the animal rather then bring them back for adoption from the shelter.
There is a limit on the number of animals you can foster at a time, which varies based on how many animals you have already. Our team also does a walkthrough of the house for each prospective foster family, to ensure proper space, a suitable room to keep the fosters (if applicable), etc.
We also don't force breeds on people. You are asked at interview time what animals you prefer, and what you prefer not to foster. If you say kittens only, you won't be contacted for other fosters unless we're in dire need of foster homes (and you can always turn it down at that point). If you say "never dogs, anything else is fine", you'll be contacted for prospective fosters accordingly.
Fostering is awesome, and from my (albeit limited) experience, almost every shelter can use more foster parents, so if you have the time and means, certainly go for it!
Either way, as others have said, you might to best to consider keeping your donation local. Maybe visit some shelters in your area and look in on the conditions.
http://www.rational-animal.org/
she's also worked for the NYC ASPCA, which accepts donations and helps a lot of animals in the area... have you looked into your local SPCA?
Wouldn't the killy shelters put fewer animals down if they had more money? I always assumed it was a logistical issue, and that they weren't out to kill as many animals as possible.
So I found a local no-kill shelter that has a wish list on their site, and I plan on checking them out--if they look good I'll donate supplies. I'll hold off on monetary donations for the time being until I really nail down where I think that should go... I'll keep in mind the ASPCA and the Humane Society for sure.
If you want to donate to a non-crazy national organization I would suggest the ASPCA.