Today I read an interview on the progress of ‘No Kill’ from one of my favourite animal rescue spokespeople Nathan Winograd.

The thing I like about Nathan is that someone in rescue has come out and publicly challenged the status quo, asking “are we doing it right, or are we just doing what we’ve always done?”

Now there are a suprising number of people in rescue who, when they hear the words ‘No Kill’ blackball Nathan’s ideas. But why would an initiative based on improving efficiency, having maximum effectiveness in the community and ultimately reducing the number of animals killed, be met with such resistance?

My expert is bigger than your expert

Few rescues in Australia call themselves No Kill even though I know of many, many groups that are operating in exactly that way. Why is there such a bad reputation for something based on only doing good? Because we’ve been told by the experts that it’s only what unprofessional crazy pet rescuers do.

There’s an article in the New York Times about something social scientists call a ‘information cascade’. This is a process by which one expert’s wrong opinion spreads to other experts until they all believe it must be true because all the experts say so. This bad information then spreads until it becomes common knowledge, and any dissenting or new data is ignored. As the idea grows, skeptics are ostracized and debate quashed with everyone accepting this information without question – suddenly it’s ‘fact’.

No Kill has been accused of everything from promoting hoarding to animal abuse and these misconceptions have become accepted as facts. Despite having never actually read Redemption, or taken the time to understand what the No Kill movement have been able to achieve, there are many in the rescue industry who have strong unshakable beliefs about why it can’t work.

However consensus is not science. With the lack of studies done on rescue in Australia and No Kill groups too scared to openly announce their success (lest they be accused of hoarding) improvements largely go unannounced. The misconceptions around No Kill continue to be an impediment to celebrating the innovation and ingenuity it represents.

It’ll never work

It is human nature to reject new ideas that oppose your existing beliefs. Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling you get when someone challenges the beliefs you hold, with new information.

Cognitive dissonance is often associated with the tendency for people to resist information that they don’t want to think about, because if they did it would create cognitive dissonance, and perhaps require them to act in ways that depart from their comfortable habits.

The problem is that if we’re not open to innovative ideas, new research and stifle anyone with a conflicting point of view, then we remain stuck – unable to develop or improve. Modern life dictates those who don’t change fall behind. We owe it to our animals to be challenging both ourselves and our industry to constantly get better at what we do and really, that is the essence of the No Kill movement.

In the immortal words of Mark Twain, ‘Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect’.

I’m not suggesting Nathan has all the answers, there’s absolutely no one solution to all the complex issues in rescue. However what he and the No Kill movement do have, is completely different approach and that is a very, very good thing.

All is not well at the Sydney Dogs Home. Seems new management have entered the place with all the decorum of a bull elephant and now some ex-volunteers are peeved: I’m not going to link out to the several dozen places it’s getting flamed, but rest assured it’s getting a very public flogging.

Now it’s worth noting this situation is nothing special; groups have been in-fighting since rescue began. What is interesting is how it demonstrates that we’re live in an age of word of mouth. People ARE talking about you and the problem is that it’s only a tiny percentage that do – and unsuprisingly it’s much, much more likely to be the people you’ve pissed off than the ones that are happy with you.

Now you can absolutely ignore that this goes on and hope that won’t effect you – but personally, I wouldn’t want my first foray into social networking to be trying to fix a giant issue caused by a bunch of unhappy campers. I’d want to have some sort of safety net in place already.

Queue your Fan Club. While it’s very easy for the happy 99% of people who deal with you to be silent – they should actually be your loudest voices. You should be asking them to help you spread the good news about what you do! People are always a little wary of speaking up – they don’t want to look stupid – but if you ask for their help directly and they feel strongly that you deserve to succeed, then they’ll go into bat for you.

Of course this only works if you actually have supporters. If you work with people to meet their needs, treat your volunteers well and wow! people with the experience they have when they deal with you. People don’t talk about average. They don’t talk about the time they were treated OK.

If you’re having trouble gaining support and the only time people talk about you is to tear chunks out of you, then that’s not about them. It’s all about you.

Having a regular e-newsletter is key to having your members engage with your group and keep them up to date with all your achievements, but putting one together can seem like a huge job! So how do you put together a great newsletter in minimum time?

 

Getting started

If you aren’t already, you should be capturing contact details at every opportunity. Having a sign up form on a clipboard is a front desk necessity, all adopting families should be automatically signed up to your mailing list and anyone dropping off donations should be asked if they’d like to receive your newsletter.

 

Tip: Capture people’s email addresses, even if your newsletter is presently a printed one – then you won’t need to contact them again if you swap mediums in the future.

 

Also on this contact list should be any media persons you’ve dealt with, any businesses that support you and all your staff and volunteers.

 

Note: Legally, you are able to contact a person once if they have done business with you, or shown an interest in your group. It is important however, that you include a way for that person to “opt out” of future mailings either by unsubscribing or contacting you to request it. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP A GOOD TRACK OF PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO BE CONTACTED and don’t contact them again, otherwise you are “spamming” and that’s illegal.

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Taking the plunge

Most e-newsletters go out once a month (it’s really quite hard to put one together more often than that). Aim to launch the first week of every month and try to be as consistent as possible.

Regarding the length of your newsletter just follow one simple rule: shorter is better than longer.

Even if you only have a small newsletter mailing list, send out your email newsletter using a e-mail service such as Constant Contact. This also takes care of your newsletter template and all tracking of contacts, making it easy to remove people who ‘opt out’. This costs about $20 for <500 contacts and will save you heaps of time.

And finally, don’t undo all your good work by sending the newsletter out in a format people can’t open! Pdf’s are the most universal if you’re not ‘webby’ and doing it in html (and you can download a free 30 day trial of Adobe here).

 

Now all you need is some content!

The whole newsletter must be positive in tone and focus on your achievements. People don’t want to hear about the terrible time you are having, they want to hear how effective you are being in the community. People want to support groups who get results.

A good template for a newsletter might go something like:
(you don’t have to use all of these – just choose the ones that suit your group)
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Letter from the editor/manager

As discussed here having a ‘face’ for your group makes it easy for people to relate to you and a message from them will help build the relationship between you and your supporters.

Keep this and short and positive: feature something nice that has happened since the last newsletter, an event that’s coming up, or a new project you need help with.

 

Events, promotions or donation drives

Outline any upcoming events that are happening or external events you are attending. Hold open days, adoption events and be sure to have someone take photos and write a report on the day.

 

Feature pets

Pick really adoptable pets to feature in this section, even if you suspect they won’t be available when your newsletter goes out- you can always substitute them with your new intakes when people call.

Featuring only special needs pets does a major disservice to the majority of your pets who are healthy and adoptable – if you only ever feature abused pets, that’s all people will think you have!

 

An educational piece

From dog training to how to volunteer for your group – an information piece allows you to demonstrate your expertise on pet related topics. Don’t feel like you have to write it from scratch though – research the topic on the internet or at the library to collect your major points, then just put it into your own words.

 

Remember! Pick positive, upbeat topics – while there might be topical issues at your shelter, your newsletter isn’t the place to offload about your local council, overwhelming surrender statistics or political issues in your group – this is a MARKETING piece and should present as you would an advert promoting your group.

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News

Local news (like the opening of a new offleash park), information about businesses supporting your group, new pet products that have been released and will help people bond with their pets or anything else that shows how involved with the community your group is.

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Statistics

The good ones! Pets saved and happy stories about adopted pets.

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Call to action

Reiterate the successes your group has had and how support from the community has allowed you to do the fantastic work you’re doing. Let your members know exactly what you need next.

 

Note: this shouldn’t always be money for food, vet care etc as people can feel like they’re putting money into a never ending pit (donor fatigue). They want to see real results in how their support is used.

 

Start interesting projects that help your community – keep your donators up to date with how the project is going and be sure to invite them to come see the finished product!

Alternatively, focus on one type of donation drive – blankets in the winter, towels for a “wag and wash day” or hold a major volunteer event and ask people to come garden or help clean something.

ALWAYS include a call to action in your newsletters – if you don’t ask you don’t get!!

 

Photos 

Good photos make a huge difference to your newsletter – but what do you do if you don’t have any? Just buy some. Individual stock photos are really cheap (even cheaper if you want web quality) and can make your annual report or website really stand out.

My favourite site to buy from is istockphoto.com where images are about $2 for web quality. If you’re really strapped for cash try the free photos at Microsoft Gallery Live.

 

Tantalising titles

Give your newsletter it’s title last using inspiration from the content.

“Shelter News: Issue 65″ doesn’t give the reader any motivation for opening your newsletter and all your good work is wasted if your newsletter just gets deleted. Don’t be boring!

“Smelly chickens and the tale of the lost kitten” will have your reader intrigued. “Ten tips for a well mannered dog” is informative and of interest to your readers.

Newsletters should be a fun process for both you and your readers. Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to producing a successful newsletter than will enhance your image in the community and help you grow your rescue group.

It’s a fact. Angry and negative people are bad for your brain.

For my birthday my partner bought me a brilliant DVD documentary on how the human brain works. One of the best bits was on visualisation and how it can help athletes learn new skills; watching someone else do what they want to learn or imagining doing the new skill actually activates their brain (and shows up on brain scans) just as if they were doing the new movement themselves.

But this brain effect goes deeper than thinking about perfecting your golf swing; you are observing and learning behaviours all the time. In effect you become who you associate with.

What you observe you can expect to act out. Picking up other people’s mannerisms, accents and attitudes is human nature, so hang out with happy, upbeat people and you’ll feel like all is great with the world. Hang out with neurotic or negative people and, you’ve guessed it, expect to start displaying negative behaviour and a bad attitude.

Whine fest

Negative people love to voice their negativity and unfortunately a career in rescue puts you in contact with a disproportionate number of people who are a drain on your mental health – often both external to your organisation and within the organisation itself. Whether jaded, powerless, resentful or gossipy, if you’re being constantly exposed to these negative attitudes, you run a high risk of being sucked in.

Over the long term your brain can make structural and chemical changes, putting you at risk of depression, stress or burnout. At the very least having people around you that are depressed is going to inhibit your performance and cause problems with your motivation and job satisfaction.

So how do we avoid picking up negative emotional ‘infections’?

1) Don’t let people whinge at you
While it may seem that the only way to get information is to get involved in gossip, whine fests will bring you down. It’s really not worth it – just walk away.

2) Shake it off
Realise that if you take your work home with you, then you won’t be able to recharge your emotional batteries. Spend at least some time each day doing something you really enjoy that’s completely unrelated to rescue. Meditation, music or exercise are all great for rejuvenating your mind.

3) Surround yourself with upbeat people
While you can never avoid completely, having negative people in your life, counteract them by spending time with people who make you feel good. In short: be around what you want to become.

4) Invite positive people into your workplace
Whether it be the new people you hire, motivational speakers from your community or just having social events for staff, build a workplace where a good attitude is encouraged and promoted.

By being aware that attitude is like a disease that spreads from person to person, we can take steps to protect ourselves and build an environment where negative emotional infections aren’t able to develop and that positive ones promoted and allowed to flourish.

Yesterday, I went to the hardware store looking for a door handle. I had the handle with me (which fell off – hooray for old crap houses!)  and I’ve walked up and down every isle looking for a similar one without success. Defeated, I’ve attracted the attention of a staff member and I waved my door handle at them.

“I’m sorry no – we don’t have one”. And that was that.

I really do need a handle on my door, so I jumped into the car to trek to the next nearest hardware store. The man at the front desk informed me that it indeed was a tricky handle to get a hold of, but that if I left my number he’d investigate for me.

Two hours later I got a call; he’d located the door handle and it would be in store in a week or so.

Now, neither store had what I was looking for, but guess which store I’ll go to in the future? Which store I’ll recommend to people? But more importantly, which store do you think would be more profitable in the long term?

If you want people to support you, then you can’t let an interaction with you be a waste of their time. You have to invite them in and not let them leave until you have found a solution for them. Certainly you might not have the pet they want available at that very moment, but what can you do to help them find one? Get smart people on your phones and give them the resources they need to become solution finders. “Sorry we don’t have one” simply doesn’t cut it anymore.

If you think of every interaction with a  client as a chance to be remarkable, you’ll quickly build a base of fanatically devoted supporters who will spread your message to others.

It’s hard to think about anything except raising funds when your rescue group is constantly struggling for cash.

Unfortunately the problem with constantly asking people for money is that… you’re constantly asking people for money! You get sick of it, they get sick of you and eventually they stop returning your calls for help.

So in a world full of non-profits asking for donations, how to you engage the community in a way that makes them want to hear from you and give you their support?

 

Lighten up

“We are the only rescue in this area doing something for these animals,” Suzie Smith of City Cat Rescue. “It’s hard work and a lack of funding keeps us from helping more pets. We can’t save them all.”

If this sounds like your last donation pitch then you have a giant problem – people don’t want to hear how crappy your situation is.

Sure, there’s never ending supply of animals and sometimes people treat pets horribly; but if your donation drives are always based around severe cases of injury, neglect or despair, I’m not going to look forward to hearing from you. In fact I may unsubscribe altogether.

Any contact with the public should be brimming with enthusiasm for all the fantastic things you’ve been able to achieve;

“We’re the only organisation in the area, but we’re making an enormous difference in the lives of these animals. We’ve been able to save over 100 cats, have started a low cost desexing program and are working with the local media to advertise cats in need of homes – and all on a shoestring budget!”

Constantly dwelling on the negative will make trying to save pets seem hopeless and why would I put money into something that’s hopeless? Instead, tell your public the great things you’ve achieved and they’ll want to be part of it.

 

Have personality

Presently, you’re just another faceless organisation trying to get me to support them.

There’s a reason businesses owners often feature in advertisements for their company and celebrities can generate huge public support; because they are a face who people can trust. “I know him – saw him on the telly. He seemed like a good guy”.

If you want my attention, my trust and for us to have a relationship, then you have to have a face (and no, a cute pet representative won’t do – I wouldn’t give my wallet to my dog any more than I’d give it to a hopeless cause).

Is there someone in your organisation willing to be your spokesperson? They needn’t be professionally trained – just someone willing to stand up and put their name to what your organisation is trying to achieve. They should be likeable, tactful and willing to speak to the media if required. We shall call them your ‘Champion’.

All emails to your supporters in future should come from the inbox of your Champion and feature a few enthusiastic words from them (the whole group can help write these words if needed). Even if replies aren’t answered by directly by your Champion – having a “personal” email address at my disposal will make me feel that I have a contact with one of the head honchos in your organisation. This is a great thing for getting people to engage with you.

 

Stop asking for money and start creating a Fan Club

Does your group have team members who meet regularly and discuss how things should be run, share information and keep each other motivated; and a bunch of people who give you money and get nothing at all?

No wonder you’re having trouble finding people wanting to sign up for that deal!

Not everyone who donates to you will want to have any deeper involvement in your group, but the days of taking money then making secret decisions on what to do with that money are long gone. The most successful groups in the future will be those that realise people are expecting to be able to talk directly to the groups they support. Rescue groups can no longer have a ‘donator base’ but instead need to develop a ‘Fan Club’.

 

Starting a Fan Club

You should be aiming to create a long term relationship with everyone who has contact with your group, not just those who donate. Your community of supporters can come from anywhere, for instance;

• Volunteers and employees
• Adopters
• Potential adopters who have visited you
• Your suppliers
• Previous donaters (not just money, but food and other items)
• Local media contacts
• Local shops in your area
• Vets in your area
• The family and friends of everyone in this list

Note: by becoming members of your Fan Club these people aren’t going to be asked to pay to be members – they’re just going to receive contact from you (which is going to be filled with all your success stories and show just how effective you are being in the community) and be on your mailing list for your new Fan Club meetings.

 

Fan Club meetings? Why?

Because people who’ve met you feel more for you.

Just think of the last time you went to a live music concert – the next time you heard someone talking about that band, or heard them on the radio you felt something personal. If you loved seeing them in the flesh, you feel pleased when you hear they’re having success. It becomes all about you.

By meeting you and being gratefully acknowledged for their supporting role in your achievements (no really, we couldn’t do it without you), people will continue to want to play a part in something bigger than themselves.

 

Other Fan Club activities

See my post on Petworking. Being visible in the community and allowing your members to be involved in social networks while identifying themselves as from your group is incredibly valuable exposure. People will talk about you whether you like it or not, so better that you are there to have a say!

Ask your Fan Club to spread the word – encourage them to make MySpace pages and talk about you on forums. Ask them to become your walking advertisements! People like to help in these non-committal ways.

 

Turning all this into donations

By changing your philosophy from ‘finding money’ to ‘creating long term relationships and a Fan Club who supports your work’ you will change the whole dynamic of your relationship with your community.

So when the time comes that you actually do have to ask for something specific, your previous history of successes and strong relationships with your Fan Club will mean you will have no problem finding people willing to help.

And in the end, cynicism is a lousy strategy.”

Seth Godin so simply puts what we in rescue seem to sometimes forget

This morning I at 7.30 in the morning, I was on the hunt for a certain girly item that sometime girls can’t do without (hint: it’s featured in tv commercial with a girl scrambling around the bathroom going through drawers). Since I’m working in the suburbs at the moment, I was seriously struggling to find a shop open that early. Two shops I visited only sold newspapers and lottery tickets (I’m running late for work at this stage so am really rushing) while the third (thankfully!) had what I was looking for.

It got me to thinking – what is the price of convenience? At that moment I’d have happily paid double, if not triple for my item. In fact I probably did – but I didn’t even think about it.

What other things do you not mind coughing up extra for: professional, friendly and efficient service? The help of someone knowledgeable? Good follow up support and advice?

I think we sometimes forget that we’re offering a customer based service – and explain away any poor performance with “if people aren’t willing to be inconvenienced then they’re not going to be good pet parents”. This is rubbish.

People will pay more if you offer more. Offer more than any other source of pets and you’ll have no shortage of adopters willing to pay.

Imagine if ducks were the pet of choice. These ducks are special – they can breed twice a year and live happily in people’s homes.

Being adaptable, these ducks do very well both as domestic pets and in the wild. Pet ducks are usually inside part of the time. Their owners get them desexed, since girls breed twice a year, it would be a giant problem for the owner to keep a girl duck undesexed. Boy ducks are stinky and are desexed to stop them being so macho. It turns out over 90% of owned ducks are desexed.

Sometimes wild ducks will show up on peoples’ doorstep and people feel sorry for them and feed them – in fact 1 in 5 people feed ducks they don’t own! The wild ducks fed by people do very well, but live in the wild and breed and breed and breed.

The local duck rescue society comes out and says “there are too many ducks and we’re having to kill them” but now, instead of focusing on the breeding wild ducks they try to punish duck owners (which is strange given most of their donations come from duck lovers) and say “all you owners are irresponsible and the government should make you desex your ducks”.

So they lobby and lobby to get the government to bring in ‘compulsory duck desexing’ for all owners.

But that makes no sense you say – what about the wild ducks? Aren’t they the ones breeding?

Exactly.

I don’t have anything to add to this except LOL…

(Don’t panic – it’s a joke. The phone number apparently is one of the numbers you can call for the time)