The Marin Humane Society (MHS) launched a three-month campaign on August 1 to find homes for more animals than ever before.
MHS is the only shelter in the Bay Area in the final round of the Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, which is sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). We are one of 50 shelters nationwide competing for thousands of dollars in grant funding, including a $100,000 grand prize. More than 600,000 votes were cast online earlier this year to determine the 50 contestants that moved on to the final round. MHS concluded the 100-day voting period at Number 22 out of 108 shelters, with 11,771 votes!
In order to qualify for grant funding, MHS must find homes, either through adoptions or reuniting lost animals with their guardians, for at least 300 more cats and dogs in August, September, and October than we did over the same period in 2011. Our goal is to find homes for 1,200 animals between August 1 and October 31, nearly double our number from last year.
MHS will use any grant funding to increase the number of spay and neuter surgeries performed, especially in our lower-income communities, and strengthen our adoption outreach program so that animals in need have increased visibility throughout Marin County.
The shelter that has the greatest increase in homes found will receive the grand prize, and a second-place prize of $25,000 will be awarded to the shelter with the second greatest increase in homes found. Another $25,000 prize will go to the contestant that does the best job of engaging its community members in helping to find more homes for animals. And those organizations that do the best in their divisions (West, South Central, North Central, Southeast, and Northeast) will be eligible for between $5,000 and $40,000 in additional grants.
While the $100K Challenge is partly about winning grant funding, even more important is having an opportunity to think of innovative ways to inspire staff, volunteers, and our community to go above and beyond to get more animals adopted or reunited with their guardians than ever before.
“The Challenge has allowed us the opportunity to explore new ideas and approaches to how we find homes for animals in our care,” says Keri Fennell, director of customer services. “It has been an amazing experience to collaborate with all the different departments and volunteers to excel in this goal.”
MHS kicked off the Challenge on August 1 with a month-long “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” event for cats and dogs, a first-time promotion for our organization. Just several weeks into the Challenge, the number for homes found has nearly doubled over last year, and many adopters have opted to pay the normal adoption fee.
To help us celebrate the halfway mark of the Challenge, on September 15 we will combine our annual Woofstock family music festival with an Adoptathon. MHS will also have a big presence at the annual Bay Area Pet Fair and Adoptathon, a multi-agency adoption event on October 13 and 14 at the Marin Center in San Rafael.
While the number of incoming animals has increased during the Challenge, staff has been cross-trained so that they can pitch in to assist other departments. On any given day you might see the chief operating officer cleaning kennels with animal care staff; the director of volunteer services helping the marketing communications department take photos of adoption animals; or the development department doing laundry.
To keep up morale, daily spirit boosts have come in the form of morning coffee carts, afternoon popsicle and homemade cookie deliveries, and staff car washes. “The enthusiasm, promotion, and activities of the Challenge are an intimate part of our busy days,” says John Reese, chief operating officer.
While adoptions are going strong, the customer and animal services departments have teamed up in an effort to reunite more cats with their guardians. MHS boasts a high dog redemption rate of more than 80% and is currently focusing on ways to increase cat redemptions, which typically hover around 35%. The departments have created a pilot program in which customer services representatives create found flyers for stray cats at MHS, and animal services officers post the flyers in neighborhoods where the animals are found, removing them once the animal’s stray time is up.
“Teamwork and collaboration between the two departments has been great,” says Brigitte Sanchez, customer service supervisor. “Just several days into the Challenge, a young cat named Houdini pulled off an escape act and was quickly reunited with his guardian after he saw our Found Cat flyers.”
Marketing and communications assistant Emily Robledo emphasizes that while the $100K Challenge is about numbers and percentages, it’s also about the story behind every number. “It’s about the happy mom and son who adopted Skye the dog. And the couple who adopted Picasso and then found out Sassy was his mom and adopted her, too! And Gilligan, a beautiful seal point who was adopted after spending several months in a foster home. For every one animal adopted, at least one more person’s life has also changed!”
Carrie Harrington is the director of communications for the Marin Humane Society.
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Main article photo by: Courtesy Marin Humane Society
