Sponsorships
One of the most highly used forms of fund raising comes from sponsorships. I’m going to talk about it later in my blog regarding different aspects of running a non-profit. But for those who are already set up and those who plan on starting small or already have your infrastructure in place, I am going to talk about the sponsorship of Wild horses.
Sponsorship programs are not just to get the money of the sponsors. Sponsorship programs are to give people without the time, knowledge or facilities, the opportunity to be active in a wild horse's life. Happy sponsors who feel like they are an important part of the organization are your front line in Public Relations and bringing people new people into your organization.
Before I begin giving you information about this there are several things you need to know up front.
First, The way you set up your non-profit and the laws regarding non-profits will dictate how you run your program. If you have been reading this blog from its beginning you will already have made first contact with a State Agency and possibly a Lawyer about the information you might need regarding the setting up of your non-profit.
The contact that you have at the State level is an important one to nurture because that is the person you will be dealing with throughout the life of your organization. How you treat that person, hopefully cordially and professionally, will determine how easy it is for you to go through the process and glean any important information about reports, taxes, and other information you need. You can ask this person what the requirements are to set up a sponsorship program. They will either tell you out right or direct you to the proper documents online or in a public library.
Second and most importantly when you set up a Sponsorship program you don’t want to drop the ball or it can spell disaster for your organization. From the very beginning in your active budget set up money for the hiring of a Sponsorship Relations Person. This person can hold multiple jobs in your organization such as office manager, book keeper, Volunteer coordinator, and fund raising support. For a small organization this person can do all of these jobs. But as your organization grows they will have to be split between several people. I cannot say it enough: there must be excellent communication and transparency in your organization for it to thrive. So the right person involved in your Sponsorship program will not only bring in great sponsors but they will also keep those sponsors happy and coming back for more and bringing their friends.
Thirdly: Set the boundaries of participation clearly and early. While you want your sponsors to be active and participate, you also do not want them to interfere in the daily operation of your organization. Nor do you want them to actively try to undermine all of your good work. Sponsors like Advisory committee members and other volunteers are there by invitation. There purpose is to give and participate, however you and your staff are the heart beat of the operation and you make the policy and are ultimately responsible for the decisions you make as well as the outcome.
Sponsorship is generally the financial support by an individual, family, business , non-profit or group.
Sponsorships can be of individual horses
Sponsorships can be of an entire family or Band of horses
Sponsorship can be for a year
Sponsorship can be for the life time of the horse
Sponsorships can also be for smaller amounts of time or for specific needs
A good sponsorship program will have these qualities:
~An active connection with a specific horse or group of horses
~Monthly Updates about the horse or group of horses they support
~First call opportunities to participate in volunteer training and activities that will give them more opportunities to see and interact with their sponsor horse/s and others who also are in the program.
~Open visitation during all public hours
~Participation in Annual Volunteer Function and awards for all those who participate in the running of the non-profit
Some Sponsorship Perks are for Larger Sponsor Donations
Special VIP tours or activity days for their friends and families
The opportunity to give input in the form of termed membership on advisory and activity committees
Reduced tickets to all fundraising events depending on the size of their sponsorship
You can really add anything that is legal, in your state, as a sponsorship reward that is unique to your organization.
A word of caution don’t give away anything that you have to raise money to fund. Give from what you have.
Next Post: Where to find the sponsors:
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
How to fund an individual Horse. Part 1
Formula for Security for the Horse
There is a certain amount of money that you must raise before you try to support a single horse. This is the formula for that one horse budget:
(Foundational Care + Travel and Prep+ Vet Care+ 6 months of full care ) X number of years you want to keep the horse in sanctuary = security for the horse The estimate is going to vary for each location, as we know already.
How to Fund An individual Horse Part 1
So how are we going to raise that money? How you set up your non-profit is going to determine how you set up your public face and how much the public can be involved.
People want to belong. The want to contribute and they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
First they make the animals appeal to the public. What would make a furry dog, that is more suited to the colder climates, be a perfect dog for a person living in the city in the south where we have hot humid weather?
They don’t just make these dogs special,they make the dogs special to the people in the location. If the Dogs need training they get it for the dogs. If the people need training they offer it. If the potential adopter cant figure out how to keep the dog and give it exercise, then the rescue becomes a source of information and resources. The rescue always makes sure that the public face of those dogs is well groomed, well behaved and there is never a photo of them anywhere where the dogs don’t seem to be smiling.
So the rescue offers training, customer service, resources, present the animals well, and lastly gets people involved in the whole process. This particular rescue has no paid employees. So every cent of money goes into care for the animals. In other words they have a very solid financial foundation in place, however they still have to raise money for the operation.
The rescue is all volunteer and every one of those volunteers has to go through rigorous training or equivalent, before they are aloud to foster animals, help with training, care for them or take them on public events. The fact is that the Volunteers also have some basic PR training, so when they meet the public they don’t just sit behind the table and gossip, they actually are fountains of stories and information the general public needs and wants to hear.
The woman I met , who was in charge, has a pension and works a part time job. Most of the money she makes goes into her rescue efforts. She doesn’t just lead by interacting with people, she leads by doing. The sacrifice is worth the effort to her.
When I met her, she told me She has low over head because she runs everything from her home which is paid for and in the country. Since animals are only there short term or because she sends them to foster, she doesn’t have a need for large numbers of loud animals on her property that might be considered nuisance.
Her largest expenses are usually vet bills and transportation. Because each person who fosters an animal pays for its feed and upkeep that is a donation in and of its self to the effort. Records obviously have to be kept regarding the foster program.
She is continuously going to events to show case, not her rescue, but the results of the rescue and the animals themselves. Quite often on these location events people who have successfully adopted an animal from them have the animal with them and tell their own story to the public. Their rescue had animals on hand for the public at no less than 32 public events a year at the time I met them. On weekends they don't have festival, fair, or other events they tour Pet stores that will allow them to set up out side. The idea is to generate new contacts and keep the faces of the dogs before the public.
I'm telling you this because there are 6 very interesting things in this antidote that will help you raise money for your operation.
6 Things that will help you raise money:
1. Your commitment of time and money to your project. What are you willing to sacrifice to make your organization a success? Are you willing to sell all you have and do with out everything but the basic necessities if necessary? How much of your life can you give to it?
2. How you present the animals to the public Are they well groomed, well behaved, Do they have their ears pricked, is there a pleasant look on their face? Is your facility clean, neat and look safe?
3. What is your plan for getting donors directly involved? How will you educate them? Use their resources and time? How will you put their skills and talents to work? And what will their reward be? Will you try to keep those who have your services on the front row at events and activities you participate in in the name of your organization? How will you build your relationships with past donors, sponsors, adopters to keep them involved?
4. Efficient use of resources: Will you buy or rent? How will you maintain the location? Will you use the foster method? Will you have a permanent location?
5. Results and success stories. How will you get stay in touch with your donors? How will you share with them the victories and the failures? How will you make them a part of the success and show them how their contribution got the organization there.
6. Getting your projects out where people can see them. People are always interested in hearing the success stories. They also want to know the animal’s background, where they came from their story. They want to meet the animals they heard about. And they want to know how they can help. But if you aren’t public they won’t know about you, your animals or how they can donate. How are you going to get what you are doing to the public on a regular basis, so people know about you and can donate?
Notice also they put just the minimum info they need about their organization to help the public. The majority of the information is about the results.
The key ingredient to their success is a combination of getting those animals and stories out to the public and the caliber of the volunteers training.
When I met this group at a location, when I was exhibiting some of my pet portraits in 2008, they literally had 1 volunteer for each 2 dogs. The people interacted with the public and the dogs. I was told that of the 10 dogs on sight that afternoon, they adopted out 3 and had pending applications for 4 more.
The Pet Harbor Rescue and Referral Inc http://www.petharbor.org/aboutus.htm
Presentation IS half the battle.
Ask yourself as you are looking through their information? If I can’t get my horses out to the public how can I get the public to my horses. Do I know enough about my horses to tell their story? How can I present it? What kind of resources do I need to provide or refer to people I meet that will help get mustangs adopted or donations into my sanctuary? How can I do this without spending large amounts of money?
Imagine this if you only had one Mustang to start with that was well trained, did funny little tricks, liked to meet the public. This one horse could be the first educational experience your public has. When people meet the mustang for the first time they want to know more. Tell his story. Tell them how they can give and what you are hoping to accomplish. First thing you do is find the willing people and teach them how to tell the story and how to be involved. Some will do it because they were astonished and some will do it because they just want to spend time with the horse. Make it pleasant and get out and greet and meet. Make sure that every interested person has something in their hand to take home maybe a list of where to adopt mustangs, it might be a short brochure on what you want to accomplish, but it should have all your contact info on it and where to donate as well. That is an important step to positive public relations that you can do early in your organization and the first public funding of your organization.
**One more note. Not everyone is going to be able to run a non-profit that has no employees, especially one with large animals with special needs. However you can show how the donations represents the direct positive effect in the care of the animals.
Next post( Nitty gritty of direct sponsorship per horse)
There is a certain amount of money that you must raise before you try to support a single horse. This is the formula for that one horse budget:
(Foundational Care + Travel and Prep+ Vet Care+ 6 months of full care ) X number of years you want to keep the horse in sanctuary = security for the horse The estimate is going to vary for each location, as we know already.
How to Fund An individual Horse Part 1
So how are we going to raise that money? How you set up your non-profit is going to determine how you set up your public face and how much the public can be involved.
People want to belong. The want to contribute and they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
Case Study:
There is a Husky Rescue here in my part of Virginia. I was incredibly impressed with how they did everything. When I met them in 2008 they had a 99% adoption rate.Wonder how they got that??First they make the animals appeal to the public. What would make a furry dog, that is more suited to the colder climates, be a perfect dog for a person living in the city in the south where we have hot humid weather?
They don’t just make these dogs special,they make the dogs special to the people in the location. If the Dogs need training they get it for the dogs. If the people need training they offer it. If the potential adopter cant figure out how to keep the dog and give it exercise, then the rescue becomes a source of information and resources. The rescue always makes sure that the public face of those dogs is well groomed, well behaved and there is never a photo of them anywhere where the dogs don’t seem to be smiling.
So the rescue offers training, customer service, resources, present the animals well, and lastly gets people involved in the whole process. This particular rescue has no paid employees. So every cent of money goes into care for the animals. In other words they have a very solid financial foundation in place, however they still have to raise money for the operation.
The rescue is all volunteer and every one of those volunteers has to go through rigorous training or equivalent, before they are aloud to foster animals, help with training, care for them or take them on public events. The fact is that the Volunteers also have some basic PR training, so when they meet the public they don’t just sit behind the table and gossip, they actually are fountains of stories and information the general public needs and wants to hear.
The woman I met , who was in charge, has a pension and works a part time job. Most of the money she makes goes into her rescue efforts. She doesn’t just lead by interacting with people, she leads by doing. The sacrifice is worth the effort to her.
When I met her, she told me She has low over head because she runs everything from her home which is paid for and in the country. Since animals are only there short term or because she sends them to foster, she doesn’t have a need for large numbers of loud animals on her property that might be considered nuisance.
Her largest expenses are usually vet bills and transportation. Because each person who fosters an animal pays for its feed and upkeep that is a donation in and of its self to the effort. Records obviously have to be kept regarding the foster program.
She is continuously going to events to show case, not her rescue, but the results of the rescue and the animals themselves. Quite often on these location events people who have successfully adopted an animal from them have the animal with them and tell their own story to the public. Their rescue had animals on hand for the public at no less than 32 public events a year at the time I met them. On weekends they don't have festival, fair, or other events they tour Pet stores that will allow them to set up out side. The idea is to generate new contacts and keep the faces of the dogs before the public.
I'm telling you this because there are 6 very interesting things in this antidote that will help you raise money for your operation.
6 Things that will help you raise money:
1. Your commitment of time and money to your project. What are you willing to sacrifice to make your organization a success? Are you willing to sell all you have and do with out everything but the basic necessities if necessary? How much of your life can you give to it?
2. How you present the animals to the public Are they well groomed, well behaved, Do they have their ears pricked, is there a pleasant look on their face? Is your facility clean, neat and look safe?
3. What is your plan for getting donors directly involved? How will you educate them? Use their resources and time? How will you put their skills and talents to work? And what will their reward be? Will you try to keep those who have your services on the front row at events and activities you participate in in the name of your organization? How will you build your relationships with past donors, sponsors, adopters to keep them involved?
4. Efficient use of resources: Will you buy or rent? How will you maintain the location? Will you use the foster method? Will you have a permanent location?
5. Results and success stories. How will you get stay in touch with your donors? How will you share with them the victories and the failures? How will you make them a part of the success and show them how their contribution got the organization there.
6. Getting your projects out where people can see them. People are always interested in hearing the success stories. They also want to know the animal’s background, where they came from their story. They want to meet the animals they heard about. And they want to know how they can help. But if you aren’t public they won’t know about you, your animals or how they can donate. How are you going to get what you are doing to the public on a regular basis, so people know about you and can donate?
***
Take a look at how Safe Harbor Husky Rescue is set up at their Web sight. This only represents a small portion of what they do. You will notice that they took on Cats as a satellite to the Husky rescues. Sometimes its necessary when you end up with one animal to take on all the family pets. And just a note to all of us who intend to help mustangs through non-profits, it is possible that the animals in our care will not simply be horses, we will have a few satellite animals as well.Notice also they put just the minimum info they need about their organization to help the public. The majority of the information is about the results.
The key ingredient to their success is a combination of getting those animals and stories out to the public and the caliber of the volunteers training.
When I met this group at a location, when I was exhibiting some of my pet portraits in 2008, they literally had 1 volunteer for each 2 dogs. The people interacted with the public and the dogs. I was told that of the 10 dogs on sight that afternoon, they adopted out 3 and had pending applications for 4 more.
The Pet Harbor Rescue and Referral Inc http://www.petharbor.org/aboutus.htm
Presentation IS half the battle.
Ask yourself as you are looking through their information? If I can’t get my horses out to the public how can I get the public to my horses. Do I know enough about my horses to tell their story? How can I present it? What kind of resources do I need to provide or refer to people I meet that will help get mustangs adopted or donations into my sanctuary? How can I do this without spending large amounts of money?
Imagine this if you only had one Mustang to start with that was well trained, did funny little tricks, liked to meet the public. This one horse could be the first educational experience your public has. When people meet the mustang for the first time they want to know more. Tell his story. Tell them how they can give and what you are hoping to accomplish. First thing you do is find the willing people and teach them how to tell the story and how to be involved. Some will do it because they were astonished and some will do it because they just want to spend time with the horse. Make it pleasant and get out and greet and meet. Make sure that every interested person has something in their hand to take home maybe a list of where to adopt mustangs, it might be a short brochure on what you want to accomplish, but it should have all your contact info on it and where to donate as well. That is an important step to positive public relations that you can do early in your organization and the first public funding of your organization.
**One more note. Not everyone is going to be able to run a non-profit that has no employees, especially one with large animals with special needs. However you can show how the donations represents the direct positive effect in the care of the animals.
Next post( Nitty gritty of direct sponsorship per horse)
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Foundational Care Part 3: The Argument for the $10K
Why You need $10K when you already have a sustaining income for the horse.
No one can tell when a horse might have a catastrophic illness or injury. If you have a 20 horse or a 200 horse operation and 10% of your horses come down with the same problem you can’t expect the local vet or vet college to fund your catastrophe for you or they will soon be out of business.
Vets are amazing people who are always looking out for ways to help out on non-profits, especially where animal rescue and sanctuary is concerned. But you as the non-profit organizer and founder need also to be responsible for the horses in your care. And unless you are independently wealthy or are in a profession that makes a lot of money for you, you need to fund every aspect of your operation to the best of your ability and manage it well.
So with this in mind, there is a 4 in 1 chance that any horse you bring new on to your property is going to have some sort of devastating illness or injury with in the first 3 months of arriving. 1 in 10 is going to have some catastrophic injury or illness on its way to your location.
So, If you don’t have that $10,000 to fall back on how will you fund the treatment and recovery? Are you willing to take a chance at $2,500? How about at $5,000? What about an insurance policy? Is insurance an option until you can raise the money? Over a 20 year period would it be less expensive to pay for insurance on the animal or to raise the $10,000. What about co-pays and deductibles? What can you afford with what you have available?
These are things you need to investigate yourself and see what applies. Just remember it doesn’t matter if you paid $25 for the horse or $35,000 for the horse, If that animal becomes ill or is injured its cost to your organization will be the same.
Some people are going to tell you that they have been running rescues or sanctuaries for years and have never had any problems like I am suggesting here. But the truth is in this economy and in this environment, we don’t have the luxury of not having a management plan to make sure the animals in our care and people in our employ are cared for if needed.
Personally, I suggest you start small and work your way to larger. Raise what you can of the $10,000; say up to $2,500, before you bring the horse to the farm. Then allow the interest you don’t use in the up keep of the horse be reinvested until your reach that figure. All the other money over the amount you need to keep the horse can go into an escrow account for the next horse and upkeep for the designated horse. The goal is to have every horse funded completely for its entire lifetime.
Ok now we know the formula for keeping a horse so how do we raise the money?
Next Blog post: How to fund an individual Sanctuary/or Rescue horse.
No one can tell when a horse might have a catastrophic illness or injury. If you have a 20 horse or a 200 horse operation and 10% of your horses come down with the same problem you can’t expect the local vet or vet college to fund your catastrophe for you or they will soon be out of business.
Vets are amazing people who are always looking out for ways to help out on non-profits, especially where animal rescue and sanctuary is concerned. But you as the non-profit organizer and founder need also to be responsible for the horses in your care. And unless you are independently wealthy or are in a profession that makes a lot of money for you, you need to fund every aspect of your operation to the best of your ability and manage it well.
So with this in mind, there is a 4 in 1 chance that any horse you bring new on to your property is going to have some sort of devastating illness or injury with in the first 3 months of arriving. 1 in 10 is going to have some catastrophic injury or illness on its way to your location.
So, If you don’t have that $10,000 to fall back on how will you fund the treatment and recovery? Are you willing to take a chance at $2,500? How about at $5,000? What about an insurance policy? Is insurance an option until you can raise the money? Over a 20 year period would it be less expensive to pay for insurance on the animal or to raise the $10,000. What about co-pays and deductibles? What can you afford with what you have available?
These are things you need to investigate yourself and see what applies. Just remember it doesn’t matter if you paid $25 for the horse or $35,000 for the horse, If that animal becomes ill or is injured its cost to your organization will be the same.
Some people are going to tell you that they have been running rescues or sanctuaries for years and have never had any problems like I am suggesting here. But the truth is in this economy and in this environment, we don’t have the luxury of not having a management plan to make sure the animals in our care and people in our employ are cared for if needed.
Personally, I suggest you start small and work your way to larger. Raise what you can of the $10,000; say up to $2,500, before you bring the horse to the farm. Then allow the interest you don’t use in the up keep of the horse be reinvested until your reach that figure. All the other money over the amount you need to keep the horse can go into an escrow account for the next horse and upkeep for the designated horse. The goal is to have every horse funded completely for its entire lifetime.
Ok now we know the formula for keeping a horse so how do we raise the money?
Next Blog post: How to fund an individual Sanctuary/or Rescue horse.
Foundational Care Part 2: The Formula and how to use it
The Formula and how to use it to sustain a specific living horse.
First lets run some numbers:Lets say you are living in the East.
Full board in these areas runs about $300 in bigger barns in the country and $600 plus in the city or suburban areas. So to set up this foundation for your horse you will need to adjust your figures according to the location. Lets say in a 50 mile radius from you Full board runs about $450 a month.
$450 x 12 months = $5,400.00 for a year at full board. This money either needs to be in an escrow savings account or in a special foundation account where the money will be invested wisely and interest generated.
The average mustang running on good quality pasture is going to cost less than $50 a month to sustain. In the three winter months in the south or south east you might want to add Hay depending on the conditions of the pasture in winter. So that might add another $15 to $35 a month for grass hay depending on hay prices.
So the total amount for keeping a healthy mustang at grass is about $705 a year or spread over a year about: $59.00 a month.
So the interest on the $5,400 needs to cover a minimum of $59 a month just for basic, no frills ,horse care. However, you need to pay someone to check the horses ever day, to rent a locations and the horse’s up keep. Add $30 a month for an employee per horse and $109.00 for facility and maintenance.
So basically out of that the interest needs to be $200 a month per horse to sustain each horse’s basic quality of life. Some months that will be a larger amount and some a smaller amount.
The hard cruel fact is you need to have the “full board for a year” amount of money in the bank to sustain that horse before it ever comes on the property. And as long as that horse is on the property the money designated for it should not be used on any other horse. Putting the money in a foundation or escrow account will prevent it from being used to over fill your operation. Over filling is how sanctuaries and rescues fail.
The rule of thumb is: Don’t do it if you can’t sustain it! The amount of foundation money of course is going to vary from location to location so here is the formula again.
The Formula for Foundational Care
(Full board x 12) + $10,000 per horse x Number of years you need to keep the horse = monthly sustained life time care for one horse
*A Rescue Horse on average will stay with the organization non longer than 3 years on average.
*A Sanctuary horse to live out its life might be anywhere from 7 to 15 years on average depending on the health and age of the horse.
This means you will have a suggested amount somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 per horse per year in residence in escrow to sustain one horse once you have raised the money. The horse will live on the interest for its lifetime and the money will be designated to that specific horse for as long as it is in your organization and cannot be used for any other purpose. Once the horse leaves the organization that money can be assigned to another horse. You also cannot barrow against the money, nor can your creditors take it as an asset.
You can talk to your bank about the details of how to set up such a foundation so it can benefit a number of horses, how your state and federal laws will apply to it and how it can be best managed to the benefit of incoming horses as well as established horses. Each state is a bit different so be sure to do your homework on how to make this work. Be sure to ask about the Specifics of what it will cost to set it up and maintain it.
Next blog: The Argument for the $10K
Formulas For Management : Foundational Care Part 1
What is Foundational Care?
Foundational Care is having a solid form of support for each animal that your organization is responsible for that cannot be used for any other purpose.
Chances are most of us are going to either have small parcels of land or rented land when we begin our sanctuaries or rescues. Actually this is not necessarily a good thing if you plan on providing life time care to any horse. These days, with all the modern advances food and health care, it is quite possible that even your sanctuary mustangs could live to be 40 or more years. Generally, that means that for each horse you intend to take in you must have a solid form of support designated to that animal, and to no other, for an average minimum of 20 years.
This way you will give the horse an opportunity to survive and thrive no matter what the economy is and no matter what your personal situation is. The best way to figure out what that amount of money should be is to look at the area in which you hope to establish your facility and see what the average cost of full board is for one horse in a 50 mile radius.
Now I realize that most mustangs aren’t going to be requiring full board. In fact most sanctuaries are going to want to put those horses into as natural a situation as possible with minimal contact from humans, minimum handling and the minimum natural care to keep them healthy, sound and thriving.
Some people will look at these numbers I’m about to give and say “that’s ridiculous. You only need to use pasture board figures for your estimates.” The truth is there are times in the lifetime of the horse when their might be some sort of catastrophe that will require full care in an isolated space. You need to be prepared.
When you make up your budget for management you want only real care figures. But before you get to that point you have to have Foundational Care figures.
Foundational Care figures are amounts that are set side and invested so that they earn interest or money for the horse toward its life time care. Here is how it works.
Full board x12 months plus $10,000 per horse will give you the annual figure you need to sustain one horse for its life time. Any month that you do not need to use money from the interest generated to care for the horse, that interest goes back into the fund for that horse as a hedge against inflation. Once your total goal for sustaining the horse is reached then the remaining overflow can go to help sustain another horse.
What do I mean by full board?
Foundational Care is having a solid form of support for each animal that your organization is responsible for that cannot be used for any other purpose.
Chances are most of us are going to either have small parcels of land or rented land when we begin our sanctuaries or rescues. Actually this is not necessarily a good thing if you plan on providing life time care to any horse. These days, with all the modern advances food and health care, it is quite possible that even your sanctuary mustangs could live to be 40 or more years. Generally, that means that for each horse you intend to take in you must have a solid form of support designated to that animal, and to no other, for an average minimum of 20 years.
This way you will give the horse an opportunity to survive and thrive no matter what the economy is and no matter what your personal situation is. The best way to figure out what that amount of money should be is to look at the area in which you hope to establish your facility and see what the average cost of full board is for one horse in a 50 mile radius.
Now I realize that most mustangs aren’t going to be requiring full board. In fact most sanctuaries are going to want to put those horses into as natural a situation as possible with minimal contact from humans, minimum handling and the minimum natural care to keep them healthy, sound and thriving.
Some people will look at these numbers I’m about to give and say “that’s ridiculous. You only need to use pasture board figures for your estimates.” The truth is there are times in the lifetime of the horse when their might be some sort of catastrophe that will require full care in an isolated space. You need to be prepared.
When you make up your budget for management you want only real care figures. But before you get to that point you have to have Foundational Care figures.
Foundational Care figures are amounts that are set side and invested so that they earn interest or money for the horse toward its life time care. Here is how it works.
Full board x12 months plus $10,000 per horse will give you the annual figure you need to sustain one horse for its life time. Any month that you do not need to use money from the interest generated to care for the horse, that interest goes back into the fund for that horse as a hedge against inflation. Once your total goal for sustaining the horse is reached then the remaining overflow can go to help sustain another horse.
What do I mean by full board?
Full board means the following:
Daily stall care and bedding
Pest control
Worming
Daily grooming
Turn out
Exercise
Feed
Supplements
Hay
Salaried groom for care and stall cleaning twice daily
Administration of medicine or wound care
Regular teeth floating
Regular hoof care
Administrations costs (record keeping)
When You are calling around to get estimates, find out what they charge extra for. You will need to add the extras in if they are on the list above but not covered by the full board figure.
Full board does not include any training or showing activities, tack, blankets, toys or special facilities/equipment needed to be created just for your animal’s needs or transportation.
So what is the $10,000 for? The $10k is for catastrophic injury, illness and/or other emergency, that might put the horse in a life threatening situation where in order restore it, long term nursing care and medical attention might be necessary. Or in case of a natural disaster a way to evacuate the horse and provide for its temporary stabling and care, or any other unforeseen thing that might happen out of your control.
I know some of you are freaking out at these figures, however, remember the goal here: No more Failed Sanctuaries and no more Failed Rescues.
Next Blog: Foundational Care Part 2: The Formula and how to use it to sustain a specific living horse
Daily stall care and bedding
Pest control
Worming
Daily grooming
Turn out
Exercise
Feed
Supplements
Hay
Salaried groom for care and stall cleaning twice daily
Administration of medicine or wound care
Regular teeth floating
Regular hoof care
Administrations costs (record keeping)
When You are calling around to get estimates, find out what they charge extra for. You will need to add the extras in if they are on the list above but not covered by the full board figure.
Full board does not include any training or showing activities, tack, blankets, toys or special facilities/equipment needed to be created just for your animal’s needs or transportation.
So what is the $10,000 for? The $10k is for catastrophic injury, illness and/or other emergency, that might put the horse in a life threatening situation where in order restore it, long term nursing care and medical attention might be necessary. Or in case of a natural disaster a way to evacuate the horse and provide for its temporary stabling and care, or any other unforeseen thing that might happen out of your control.
I know some of you are freaking out at these figures, however, remember the goal here: No more Failed Sanctuaries and no more Failed Rescues.
Next Blog: Foundational Care Part 2: The Formula and how to use it to sustain a specific living horse
Friday, August 19, 2011
While you are gathering info: The Experience Factor
Right now while, you are gathering up your information and background statistics on your project, this would be a good time to reassess your experience and see where you are weak. If you don't have the proper experience to run a non-profit, you either need to get the experience or you need to be prepared to hire some one to work with you that has the expertise you don't.
Part of the background information gathering you are doing can include spending time volunteering with a group or organization that is doing something very similar to what you want your organization to do. Taking classes or working toward certification as a riding instructor or in animal management wont hurt your cause. While working on the basics of your non-profit, including the funding, you can also be working toward educating yourself in as many aspects of everyday management as possible.
This can be done in several ways.
First search the phone directory to see who is local. You will be doing this anyway so you don't run unnecessary competition to other horse organizations. For instance if there is a local equine rescue then volunteer in the fall or winter when they have a shortage of volunteers because college or high school is in session. Make sure that they know that you are thinking of starting an organization for Mustangs and that you want to have the experience.
Please, also understand the ethics. it wont go down well if you try to steal their funding sources or mailing lists and if the need arises where there may be horses that come to you that need to go to their rescue they may not want to cooperate if you haven't been honest with them. You want your organization to be mutually beneficial and vice a versa.
If you cant volunteer with a horse organization then Volunteer with a local humane society or other animal rescue. Sometimes Dog and Cat rescues will receive larger animals and if they discover that you are in the process of establishing your own non-profit they might support you in exchange for a place to hold the over flow. Generally they do pay or collect money for upkeep if that is necessary.
If there are no animal organizations then try to volunteer with organizations that have a thrift store or food bank. These can be valuable experiences in dealing with the public and seeing how fund raising works.
The more variety you have in your experience the more helpful it will be both to those who will be investing in your project and in the success of your project.
Another thing if you are planning on doing a specific type of rescue net work and try to find one that is successful and established and find out if they would allow you to visit and ask you questions. If possible, and they are doing almost exactly what you hope to do see if they will let you spend a few months volunteering at their organization. This may require that you have three to 4 months of living expenses saved up or you can write it into part of your budget as ongoing education expenses. It will be worth it and your organization will benefit from the experience.
I suggest that you get the most variety as possible in your experience that will help you do exactly what your goal is.
Here are a few classes that might be helpful in managing your non-profit
Small Business Administration
Writing a Business Plan
Accounting
Grant Writing
Large Animal Maintenance
Vet Tech training
Farm Management
Horse management
Riding Instructor Certification
Pasture maintenance
Eco system management.
Plus any number of courses that might be offered that would apply but are not listed above. They are creating new courses every day. Some are continuing eduction courses and others are toward certificate programs.
Remember anytime you make a contact like this through a class, gather and keep as many business cards and contact information as possible for you reference resource book.
Next Blog Post: Formulas For Management ( getting ready to do that proposal budget)
There are three ways you can get experience:
-Take classes at the local Community College
-Volunteer at a local Non-profit that benefits Animals
-Work for or operate a For-profit business that is similar to the one you want to found as a non- profit.
Part of the background information gathering you are doing can include spending time volunteering with a group or organization that is doing something very similar to what you want your organization to do. Taking classes or working toward certification as a riding instructor or in animal management wont hurt your cause. While working on the basics of your non-profit, including the funding, you can also be working toward educating yourself in as many aspects of everyday management as possible.
This can be done in several ways.
First search the phone directory to see who is local. You will be doing this anyway so you don't run unnecessary competition to other horse organizations. For instance if there is a local equine rescue then volunteer in the fall or winter when they have a shortage of volunteers because college or high school is in session. Make sure that they know that you are thinking of starting an organization for Mustangs and that you want to have the experience.
Please, also understand the ethics. it wont go down well if you try to steal their funding sources or mailing lists and if the need arises where there may be horses that come to you that need to go to their rescue they may not want to cooperate if you haven't been honest with them. You want your organization to be mutually beneficial and vice a versa.
If you cant volunteer with a horse organization then Volunteer with a local humane society or other animal rescue. Sometimes Dog and Cat rescues will receive larger animals and if they discover that you are in the process of establishing your own non-profit they might support you in exchange for a place to hold the over flow. Generally they do pay or collect money for upkeep if that is necessary.
If there are no animal organizations then try to volunteer with organizations that have a thrift store or food bank. These can be valuable experiences in dealing with the public and seeing how fund raising works.
The more variety you have in your experience the more helpful it will be both to those who will be investing in your project and in the success of your project.
Another thing if you are planning on doing a specific type of rescue net work and try to find one that is successful and established and find out if they would allow you to visit and ask you questions. If possible, and they are doing almost exactly what you hope to do see if they will let you spend a few months volunteering at their organization. This may require that you have three to 4 months of living expenses saved up or you can write it into part of your budget as ongoing education expenses. It will be worth it and your organization will benefit from the experience.
I suggest that you get the most variety as possible in your experience that will help you do exactly what your goal is.
Here are a few classes that might be helpful in managing your non-profit
Small Business Administration
Writing a Business Plan
Accounting
Grant Writing
Large Animal Maintenance
Vet Tech training
Farm Management
Horse management
Riding Instructor Certification
Pasture maintenance
Eco system management.
Plus any number of courses that might be offered that would apply but are not listed above. They are creating new courses every day. Some are continuing eduction courses and others are toward certificate programs.
Remember anytime you make a contact like this through a class, gather and keep as many business cards and contact information as possible for you reference resource book.
Next Blog Post: Formulas For Management ( getting ready to do that proposal budget)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Starting the Organization from the Ground up: Making A List and Checking It Twice
There is basic information you must have before you can begin the process of setting up a non-profit. This means making a list then researching each point on that list. Then organizing it so you have the information at your finger tips. This needs to be done before you apply for your corporation status or obtain a single horse for your project.
Being a non-profit does not mean that you don't use good business sense in making your organization and putting it to work. Bad business practices will not ensure the horses in your care have a permanent safe home. Our goal here is No more Failed Rescues and No more Failed Sanctuaries!
By the time you have gotten to this post you probably already have an idea or you may have already started and are functioning as a non-profit. If this is your first time out, this information I'm about to give you will help you avoid a lot of funding problems down the road. If you are already a non-profit or business run for charity this information can help you correct organizational issues you may already have. It never hurts to go back to basics if thing don’t seem to be reaching their potential.
To get started you first need to have your idea.
Second make a list of all the thing you want to do and need to accomplish the idea.
For example:
If your idea is to run a recreational /training facility with a sanctuary for Mustangs Your list might look like this:
Now you are going to figure out the list of what you will need for each of these. This is your wish list so get detailed. You might not be able to do everything right away but it will help see what you need. Here are some short list suggestions.
Sanctuary:
Handling area, feed area, fenced paddock, quarantine area, Horses,
Trails:
Trained trail horses, trails to ride on, insurance, equipment, stabling, pasturing ,trained guides, tack repair, horse trailer, vet care, feed, licenses, safty protocals, first aid training
Tip Program:
Horse trailer, special corrals and facilities, feed , training equipment horses, licenses, vet care,
Riding lessons:
Trained horses, Saddles and bridles, insurance, riding ring and outside courses, stabling, feed, pastures, paddocks, Horse trailer, maintenance, equipment, tack room, class room, lounge, certified teachers, PA system, parking area, restrooms etc. Zoning permits, waste management plan, safety equipment, special training
Now do the RESEACH and Documentation
This is really important because out of this information will come your 4 most important documents:
Your Business Plan
Your Management Plan
Your Marketing Plan
Your Articles of Incorporation
Suggestions on How to Proceed and Collect info:
I suggest you get a notebook binder that has clasp openings.
This is going to be your resource book and it can be upgraded and organized as you go. Be sure you get a minimum of 2 sources for each product or service you need if possible. 3 or 4 is better.
Always look at Full Price, Discount and free sources and include them in your information
Regulations and Zoning:
Will this part of the project be profit or non-profit
What are the local, state, and federal regulations?
Who are the contact persons in each branch of the government?
Will an advocate be needed to go through the process?
Will a Lawyer be required?
Do you need to join an association?
Will accreditation be necessary?
Will you have employees?
Workmans comp and other insuraces?
Public Support: ( I will write in details about some of this later so make your answers general)
Who will benefit?
Who will you market it to?
How will you market it?
Will you out source your marketing?
Advertising options?
How will it impact your community?
What is your exact competition?(Get names Addresses and Telephone numbers)
What does the community perceive is your competition?
For equipment and infrastructure:
Who supplies it?
Where to get it?
How much will you need?
If its custom made how long will it take til delivery?
How much it costs?
Is it something you can get used, for free, or must it be purchased new?
If I’m not going to buy it out right what will it cost and who will supply it?
How you will store it?
How you will maintain it?
How will you replace it?
Is this something you need at the beginning or is it something that you can wait to purchase later?
Can you purchase some items that can only be used for one purpose or will they be multi purposed.?
How will it be used to generate income?
Can this be outsourced?
And any numbers of questions that may arise regarding your project's implementation that are not mentioned here, simply add them to your process to meet the needs of your individual project.
The Binder and why its important.
This resource binder will include names, addresses, emails, web address, notations, recommendations. And prices for what they supply.( you dont want to have to go back and do this again when you are making your budget for your business plan) Each page should have a different resource and you can organize it as to what part of the plan it fits into. Remember also that this is a living document meaning that you will be adding to it, and updating it as time goes by.
Its always good to put the government information in the front of the binder because you will need this on a reoccurring basis throughout the life of your organization. Regulations change all the time to avoid penalties and fines its always good to stay updated.
Grant it this part of the process will seem a little overwhelming to some, however going through this process will be an invaluable management tool for your organization and it should be guarded as an asset. If you do this now it will save you tons of time in research later and it will have all the resources you need at your finger tips.
Reality Check
Part of this process is to give you a realistic picture of what you think you want to do. It might be more advantageous to figure out one point and build your organization on that. Then later add the other portions in a step by step fashion. This will also help you understand what sort of resources and funding you actually need in real figures.
Additionally you may decide that you want a combination of interconnected organizations that service each other For instance your you start your sanctuary and then set aside an area to lease out to tip trainers or out fitters. This generates income for you organization while streamlining your area of management.
At any rate if you make it through this part of the process you will prove to yourself that this isn’t just a dream but that you are very serious indeed in making this a reality.
You will notice that I haven't mentioned property yet in any of these posts. There is a reason for that. Unless you have all of this information ready to go you wont know exactly what type of property you need and wont be able to answer how it is going to be used. The last thing you want is property that is suitable but zoned wrong. In addition the goal here is to have a free and clear land holding with no mortgage or leans, so we have to be able to raise funds for it. All of the collected information is going to get you to the point that you can get the land you need for the purpose you need in the amount you need. But you have to be able to prove on paper that you have a viable plan.
Next Blog Post: Formulas For Management ( getting ready to do that proposal budget)
Being a non-profit does not mean that you don't use good business sense in making your organization and putting it to work. Bad business practices will not ensure the horses in your care have a permanent safe home. Our goal here is No more Failed Rescues and No more Failed Sanctuaries!
By the time you have gotten to this post you probably already have an idea or you may have already started and are functioning as a non-profit. If this is your first time out, this information I'm about to give you will help you avoid a lot of funding problems down the road. If you are already a non-profit or business run for charity this information can help you correct organizational issues you may already have. It never hurts to go back to basics if thing don’t seem to be reaching their potential.
To get started you first need to have your idea.
Second make a list of all the thing you want to do and need to accomplish the idea.
For example:
If your idea is to run a recreational /training facility with a sanctuary for Mustangs Your list might look like this:
Mustang Heaven (fictitious name)
Sanctuary
Trails Recreational Program
TIP Program
Riding lessons
Now you are going to figure out the list of what you will need for each of these. This is your wish list so get detailed. You might not be able to do everything right away but it will help see what you need. Here are some short list suggestions.
Sanctuary:
Handling area, feed area, fenced paddock, quarantine area, Horses,
Trails:
Trained trail horses, trails to ride on, insurance, equipment, stabling, pasturing ,trained guides, tack repair, horse trailer, vet care, feed, licenses, safty protocals, first aid training
Tip Program:
Horse trailer, special corrals and facilities, feed , training equipment horses, licenses, vet care,
Riding lessons:
Trained horses, Saddles and bridles, insurance, riding ring and outside courses, stabling, feed, pastures, paddocks, Horse trailer, maintenance, equipment, tack room, class room, lounge, certified teachers, PA system, parking area, restrooms etc. Zoning permits, waste management plan, safety equipment, special training
Now do the RESEACH and Documentation
This is really important because out of this information will come your 4 most important documents:
Your Business Plan
Your Management Plan
Your Marketing Plan
Your Articles of Incorporation
Suggestions on How to Proceed and Collect info:
I suggest you get a notebook binder that has clasp openings.
This is going to be your resource book and it can be upgraded and organized as you go. Be sure you get a minimum of 2 sources for each product or service you need if possible. 3 or 4 is better.
Always look at Full Price, Discount and free sources and include them in your information
Some Suggested Questions:
These questions need to be answered for every item on your list including your marketing. Dont forget that your particular project might have additional info so adjust this list to meet your need. These are just some of the basics. Some of the questions will be N/A obviously or does not applyRegulations and Zoning:
Will this part of the project be profit or non-profit
What are the local, state, and federal regulations?
Who are the contact persons in each branch of the government?
Will an advocate be needed to go through the process?
Will a Lawyer be required?
Do you need to join an association?
Will accreditation be necessary?
Will you have employees?
Workmans comp and other insuraces?
Public Support: ( I will write in details about some of this later so make your answers general)
Who will benefit?
Who will you market it to?
How will you market it?
Will you out source your marketing?
Advertising options?
How will it impact your community?
What is your exact competition?(Get names Addresses and Telephone numbers)
What does the community perceive is your competition?
For equipment and infrastructure:
Who supplies it?
Where to get it?
How much will you need?
If its custom made how long will it take til delivery?
How much it costs?
Is it something you can get used, for free, or must it be purchased new?
If I’m not going to buy it out right what will it cost and who will supply it?
How you will store it?
How you will maintain it?
How will you replace it?
Is this something you need at the beginning or is it something that you can wait to purchase later?
Can you purchase some items that can only be used for one purpose or will they be multi purposed.?
How will it be used to generate income?
Can this be outsourced?
And any numbers of questions that may arise regarding your project's implementation that are not mentioned here, simply add them to your process to meet the needs of your individual project.
The Binder and why its important.
This resource binder will include names, addresses, emails, web address, notations, recommendations. And prices for what they supply.( you dont want to have to go back and do this again when you are making your budget for your business plan) Each page should have a different resource and you can organize it as to what part of the plan it fits into. Remember also that this is a living document meaning that you will be adding to it, and updating it as time goes by.
Its always good to put the government information in the front of the binder because you will need this on a reoccurring basis throughout the life of your organization. Regulations change all the time to avoid penalties and fines its always good to stay updated.
Grant it this part of the process will seem a little overwhelming to some, however going through this process will be an invaluable management tool for your organization and it should be guarded as an asset. If you do this now it will save you tons of time in research later and it will have all the resources you need at your finger tips.
Reality Check
Part of this process is to give you a realistic picture of what you think you want to do. It might be more advantageous to figure out one point and build your organization on that. Then later add the other portions in a step by step fashion. This will also help you understand what sort of resources and funding you actually need in real figures.
Additionally you may decide that you want a combination of interconnected organizations that service each other For instance your you start your sanctuary and then set aside an area to lease out to tip trainers or out fitters. This generates income for you organization while streamlining your area of management.
At any rate if you make it through this part of the process you will prove to yourself that this isn’t just a dream but that you are very serious indeed in making this a reality.
You will notice that I haven't mentioned property yet in any of these posts. There is a reason for that. Unless you have all of this information ready to go you wont know exactly what type of property you need and wont be able to answer how it is going to be used. The last thing you want is property that is suitable but zoned wrong. In addition the goal here is to have a free and clear land holding with no mortgage or leans, so we have to be able to raise funds for it. All of the collected information is going to get you to the point that you can get the land you need for the purpose you need in the amount you need. But you have to be able to prove on paper that you have a viable plan.
Next Blog Post: Formulas For Management ( getting ready to do that proposal budget)
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