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Any Poodle Patrons
out there?
Greetings from Carolina Poodle Rescue.
Over the past 9 years, we have re-homed over 1200 animals. This could not have been possible without your help. We have expanded due to demand and moved from foster home based in our first five years to facility based now. We currently employ 6 dedicated people. Needless to say, it has been a challenge to find just the right place and just the right people and we are fortunate to now have that infrastructure in place. It is not easy to find people who enjoy the work necessary to manage 70+ barking dogs, who are reliable and who more than anything, love what they are doing. It can often be dirty work, stressful and at barely more than minimum wage. They are worth much more than we can afford to pay. Those of you who have volunteered countless hours know what we are talking about. Further, they are coming together as a team, a team that works in harmony to provide for the animals in our care. It is a joy to be a part of.
To provide the care necessary, it requires over 200 man hours per week (which does not including grooming). Payroll runs approximately $1700 per week. Please keep in mind that these personnel currently have no benefits, vacation or sick pay. They toil daily because they enjoy what they do. Most of these dedicated people would find it difficult to find work elsewhere since unemployment in this area is around 20%. We need them and they need us.
Our current weekly expenses are approximately $3,000. This includes payroll, food, electricity, water, gas, heating propane, and an allotment for non-recurring costs such as insurance for our vehicles. It does not include veterinarian bills or grooming costs. Depending on which special needs dogs we have taken in, this runs around $1,500 per week. For a complete rundown of our expenses click here to see Where The Money Goes.
The recession has had a profound effect on each of us, some more than others. The negative effect on non-profits has been no exception. So far, we have been able to meet budget through these challenging times. We have had just enough adoptions and donations to continue to meet expenses. That is no longer the case.
Because of the shrinking adopter base, we have had to forgo many “luxury” items such as fresh gravel for the runs, lime for the yards, additional fencing, and building materials for physical improvements, new grooming supplies and other items that we need to further provide for the well-being of the animals.
Most of you have come to know CPR because you adopted from us. We don’t have to tell you the joy these pets have brought to your lives because you tell us with your happy tails. We have every intention of continuing to fulfill this mission, this calling. However, as the economy continues to slow, adoptions have dropped off while the request to take in animals has increased.
We are currently running approximately 40% below projected adoption numbers. If we stay dependant on adoption fees to pay our bills, we are faced with a few options, none desirable.
1. We can begin laying off our employees and Donna go back in the kennel at no pay, while trying to also work her own job and work on continued development of CPR funding. With the hours required to provide quality care, this could compromise the safety and well-being of our precious animals, our first priority. We can not cut employee pay. Most are at or just above minimum wage ($6.55 per hour). Further, minimum wage increases in July to $7.25 per hour. This will increase our weekly payroll by over $100 per week.
2. We can reduce the animals we currently house. This means reducing our standards to adopt and risking placing our existing pets in sub-standard homes.
3. Further, we can then discontinue bringing in new animals, which leaves those animals to an uncertain, and likely limited future.
4. We can reduce other expenditures and risk undermining the safely and well-being of these pets. For example, we can cut quality of dog food, or stop giving vaccinations and spaying and neuter pets until they are adopted. These measures would diminish the health and well being of all of our animals, putting them at risk for disease.
Or we can increase our support base, and find ways to cover our overhead without being dependant on adoption fees alone.
This is where you can help - by contributing to CPR through regular, systematic giving. We currently have 36 regular donors in our patrons program. We need many more. Our target figure is 480 monthly donors (at the minimum level of $25 per month) to meet budget.
We are not accustomed to asking for help that is not for a specific cause or project and a specific dog. This is the first plea we have broadcast to all our former adopters and contributors simply for support money. We would not do this if we were not at a critical point in the life of CPR.
If you are not giving regularly to your church, United Way or some other non-profit, would you consider tax deductible donations to CPR? One-time gifts are more than welcome, however systematic giving makes it easier to budget for both you and CPR.
Below are instructions and benefits for our patrons program. Please consider committing to a monthly gift or on-time donation if more convenient. We ask that you consider a minimum of $25.00 per month tax-deductible donation.
What benefits can we offer you in exchange for this donation? We’ve increased the dream. When you adopted your pet from CPR, you knew that there would always be a safe place for that pet to come back to. Now, by becoming a regular contributor, CPR commits to providing a safe place for all animals in your home, not just ones adopted from Carolina Poodle Rescue. We call this the Covenant Pet Care program. Further, if you’ll pass this information to your friends and family members who have pets, we can offer their pets a commitment to care for them should their owner become disabled or pass away.
If you are already a patron, thank you. You are an essential part of keeping our program going. If you are not, please consider doing so. We want to keep this dream alive and we ask that you help us. That special pet you adopted from us brings you much joy, just as ours does. Working together, we can continue to give other worthy animals an opportunity to find their forever homes and bring joy and contentment to those such as you that found that special dog at CPR.
Wayne and Donna Ezzell
Dreamweaver Farms
Home of Carolina Poodle Rescue
www.carolinapoodlerescue.org/poodlepatronsHowToSignUp.shtml
Our levels of planned giving:
Toy patron: $25 per month
Miniature patron: $35 per month
Standard patron: $50 per month
Seniors and sanctuary patrons: $75 per month
And now available – assurances for you and your pets -
Offering the pet owner an affordable, caring and safe haven for pets displaced from their families by death or disability of the owner.
Toy patron: $25 per month provides a secured spot for one additional pet not adopted from CPR as a covered pet of Covenant Pet Care.
Miniature patron: $35 per month provides a secured spot for two additional pets* not adopted from CPR as a covered pet of Covenant Pet Care.
Standard patron: $50 per month provides a secured spot for three additional pets* not adopted from CPR as a covered pet of Covenant Pet Care.
Seniors and sanctuary patrons: $75 per month provides a secured spot for four additional pets* not adopted from CPR as a covered pet of Covenant Pet Care.
For households with over 4 pets*, additional coverage will be extended pets for an additional donation of $10 per month per covered pet.
*Program currently limited to small (under 25 lbs) of any age or breed, standard poodles and labradoodles and golden doodles. Larger dogs and cats will be added as the program grow. Special requests outside these requirements will be assessed on an individual basis.
How we try to thank you
Poodle patrons receive recognition by having their names written on our Wall of Thanks in the kennel and published monthly on our webpage and in our online newsletter. Senior and sanctuary patrons names are also listed on the special seniors and sanctuary section of our web page by the pet of their choice.
Poodle patrons who have sponsored continuously for six months receive an attractive lapel pin to proudly display on a coat or sweater or use as a tie tack or hat ornament.
Patrons who have given continuously for one year are honored with a permanent engraved river stone in our serenity garden.
Poodle patrons who have donated for one year continuously receive free a CPR T shirt or tote bag.
Poodle patrons (who are also approved adopters) who have sponsored a poodle for one year continuously may adopt a poodle for ½ our normal adoption fee (normal screening and evaluation applies).
Poodle patrons (who are also approved adopters) who have sponsored a poodle for two years continuously may adopt a poodle for ¼ our normal adoption fee. (normal screening and evaluation applies).
How do you sign up for poodle
patronage?
click here
Want to help out but don't know how? Too far away to volunteer at our kennel? Please
Click here to find out how we need YOU!
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