All dog lovers want to help with the homeless pet situation in their area, but not all of us can foster, and we can’t adopt them all ourselves! However, there are other ways you can help local shelters or rescues help dogs in need. Here are 10 fundraising ideas that you can use to make a difference.
#1 – Dog Food Drive
Go around to local businesses and ask them if you can put a bin out to gather food for local shelters. Make sure you contact your local newspapers and let them know, this is the kind of thing they will want to publicize.
#2 – Blanket & Toy Drive
Like the dog food drive, you can easily go around and ask stores if they do not mind putting a bin out. And don’t limit yourself to pet stores! Remember, dog lovers work everywhere!
#3 – Internet Auction
A lot of rescues are doing this themselves, but it takes time and most would love to have someone else do it for them. All you have to do is ask people to donate items, put them in an album on Facebook, and tell people to start bidding! If you are doing it for a breed-specific rescue, be sure to have breed items, those always do well.
#4 – Bake Sale
Everyone loves a good bake sale! You can have human and dog treats with proceeds going to a local shelter. Ask friends and family to donate baked goods so you don’t have to do all the cooking yourself. Ask a local store if you can sell them outside or sell at a farmer’s market or even online through Facebook.
#5 – Office Change Jar
Work in an office? Put up a jar asking people to donate all that change they get from their morning coffee to your local shelter. You will be surprised how quickly pennies add up.
#6 – Birthday Donations
Instead of gifts at your birthday party (or your dog’s!), ask people to bring money or donations for your local shelter. There are even websites that make it easy for people to donate in your name, such as www.crowdrise.com.
#7 – Sponsorships
Sometimes shelters and rescues get dogs that need a lot of vet care. These dogs need to be sponsored so the rescue can afford all they need. You can sponsor these dogs yourself; sponsor one as an “office dog” at work; or get others to donate toward the full sponsorship amount by campaigning on social media.
#8 – Donate Sales
If you own your own business, donate a portion of your sales to your local rescues. Maybe you have specific products that are on special each month, or you can do a general percent of all sales.
#9 – Garage Sale
Most of us have one of these almost every year – a way to clean out the junk. Why not have it be a charity sale where all money made will be donate? Ask others in your neighborhood to get involved and make it a multi-family sale for better results.
#10 – Charity Event
The sky’s the limit with a charity event. Maybe you put on a black-tie, dog friendly ball, or maybe it’s a walk or run. Whatever you decide to do, the ticket sales will help out your local shelter.
