We Love Pet Lovers
In 2007, BusinessWeek magazine reported that Americans spend about $41 billion annually on their pets. Many enterprising groups have figured out how to tap into that market to support their fundraising activities.
Pet Portraits
For Christmas or any time of year, contact a local portrait studio about conducting a pet portrait fundraiser. You can charge a sitting fee to cover most of the actual costs, then sell packages of portraits or greeting cards.
Pet Parade and Costume Contest
In conjunction with some holiday or event, hold a pet costume contest and pet parade. Assign a number to each entrant. Visitors “vote” for their favorite by making a donation by entrant number. To insure that more people attend, hold the contest as an event during your town’s festival or holiday celebration. Prizes can be a simple ribbon or inclusion in your next newsletter.
Pet Calendar
Produce a calendar which contains photos of supporter’s pets. Every photo submitted should be included somewhere in the calendar. Most people who submitted photos will then purchase a calendar. The calendars may be produced by a local printer or on a personal computer if the printer and paper is high enough quality.
Canine Carnival
What if you could get all the local pet businesses together in one place for a good cause? Hold your own “canine carnival”. Offer dog washes, dog grooming, nail trimming, veterinary consultations, pet store products and more in one place. You can sell booth space or ask participants to donate all or a portion of the day’s profits to your organization. Make sure to have one booth where people can donate dog food.
Pet of the Day
If your group has a website, sell space for the Pet of the Day. Post a picture and short story about the pet. If you have a willing & able webmaster, create a contest where people can vote online for the Pet of the Week/Month/Year. Count each dollar donated as a vote. If you’re lucky, people will solicit “votes” for their pet.
Tips for a Successful Pet Event
- Puppies can always get people to stop what they’re doing for a few minutes, giving you time to solicit donations. If you have a booth at a mall or event, put puppies where kids can see them and adults can reach them.
- The local TV weather people are frequently looking for venues where they can broadcast the weather report and look like the “good guys” at the same time. See if one of them will broadcast from your fundraiser.
- Think twice before you invite multiple species to the same event. All your profits may go down the drain if Fido eats dear little Furby.
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