[FEL-L] Sanctuary closing....needs help!!

[Hawk Creek]

Hi.
I do not know any of the answers to your questions but I do have some 
info re: the situation.
1.  At a wildlife rehab seminar a year ago they stated that 1/3 of the 
centers have closed in the past 2 years and another 1/3 will close in 
the next 2 years.  i believe that is what we are seeing.  Simple 
marketing: too many centers to be supported across the country and a 
fickle donor base-you have to work very hard to keep their interest.
2.  I talked to a very nice man in Colorado who is also closing, he said 
that there were two other centers in Colorado that were also closing.  
He was closing because he was tired of the fight of raising dollars.
3. I currently have a Center in W New York and am finding increasing 
difficulty in raising dollars because there are more sanctuaries to 
compete against-some good, most are not. 
4.  If we dissolve the Center, any assets will be donated to a similar 
Center, it is the law.  Our board would not continue to run the without 
a passionate staff that is already in place that would continue my 
work.  It is not easy to find a replacement-lots of work & no money in 
this field.
Loretta

culvers at voltage.net wrote:
>
>
>> Very sad, but a good case for DO NOT TAKE IN TOO MANY!!! You can never
>> count on the donations to keep coming in. Never.  If the money stops 
>> coming,
>> how long can you get by before this happens?
>> ( or is this just a fundraising ploy.....?)
>>
>> Laura Morin
>
> Not knowing the particulars on this facility, I can't comment other 
> then to say, if it is a 501 c 3, it has a board of directors. What are 
> their thoughts? Do they agree that closing down the facility is the 
> answer? I would like to read an interview with the board members, not 
> just Craig.
>
> Leaving a piece of property full of animal enclosures and no animals? 
> Does that make sense? Send the animals somewhere else where new cages 
> will have to be built? And then what happens to the assets of the 
> corporation?  They have to be given away to another non-profit. Does 
> the corporation own the land the cats and bears live on? What exactly 
> is going on here?
>
> Pat may be the executive director running the place, and deciding he 
> needs to shut down and get rid of the cats, but considering it has 
> been around 27 years, and the cages are in place, already housing 
> animals, perhaps a more realistic answer is to have the finances and 
> budget overhauled and maybe the board of directors needs to remove Pat 
> as executive and find someone else to manage the place?
>
> Downsizing might help, outplacing a few of the animals so that theyir 
> income matches theri inventory. Maybe some rearranging of the budget, 
> slashing some things, etc, might help them make ends meet.
>
> A $15,000 weekly operating budget seems pretty high for 150 animals.
> A sanctuary is a business, just like any other. Their income is from 
> public donations. Their product is providing homes for cats in need. 
> If they are short at the end of the year, then they need to make 
> changes to reduce expenses, not shut down.
>
> If this is just a standard fund-raising motivational cry for donations 
> they are doing themselves and the sanctuary industry more harm then good.
>
> Lynn
>
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