From the desk of Janet Showley:
Beyond Fundraising: 5 Ways Shelters & Rescues Can Generate Revenue
Donations and grants will always be important, but they aren’t the only ways to bring money through the door. With a little creativity, shelters and rescues can turn existing assets, expertise—and even other people’s unwanted stuff—into revenue.
1. Turn Donations into Dollars
Have space? Consider a thrift store selling donated clothing, furniture, housewares and more. Vanderburgh Humane Society’s Happy Tails Resale Shop is a great example: it raises nearly $250,000 annually to support shelter programs and operations. Foster-based rescues can try a smaller-scale version by selling select donated items online through Facebook Marketplace, eBay or other platforms. https://www.vhslifesaver.org/get-involved/happy-tails-resale-shop
2. Create a Pet Memorial Program
Give supporters a meaningful way to remember a beloved pet while supporting animals in need. Humane Indiana’s Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden offers personalized memorial bricks for $150—a tribute that can generate revenue for years to come. https://www.humaneindiana.org/rainbowbridge
3. Put Your Pet-Care Expertise to Work
Low-cost vaccine and microchip clinics can serve the community while generating income. Fulton County Animal Center, for example, operates a low-cost vaccine clinic offering vaccinations, testing, deworming and $20 microchips. Nail-trim or microchip pop-ups can provide an even simpler starting point. https://www.fultoncoanimalcenter.org/low-cost-vaccine-clinic
4. Offer Grooming, Boarding or Training
Already have animal-care expertise? Consider turning it into an enterprise. Home Away Pet Spa provides grooming and boarding, with profits benefiting Warrick Humane Society. Pet training is another possibility for organizations with qualified staff or partners. https://homeawaypetspa.com/
5. Make Your Space Earn Its Keep
Meeting rooms, outdoor spaces, pavilions and even visible signage can potentially be rented. Kokomo Humane Society’s Cat Café offers event space and has hosted small parties—proving that sometimes the assets you already have can become revenue generators. https://kokomohumane.org/cat-cafe/
The takeaway? Fundraising asks people to support your mission. Earned revenue gives them something they want while supporting it. A little entrepreneurial thinking can help diversify income—and create more resources for animals.
October Shelter/Rescue Support Group
Purdue University’s “Priority 4 Paws Program” and Pet Friendly Services of Indiana have joined together to offer monthly Shelter/Rescue Support meetings. Any employee or volunteer of an Indiana animal shelter or rescue organization is invited to attend virtually or in-person.
Speaker: Dr. Hill, Purdue Priority 4 Paws Program
Topic: Reducing Stress in the Kennel: Practical Strategies for Dogs & Cats
Join Dr. Hill for a practical webinar focused on reducing stress for dogs and cats while they are housed in shelters and kennels. Dr. Hill will explore how the kennel environment affects animal behavior, well-being and physical health, including how prolonged stress can contribute to illness and complicate recovery. Attendees will also learn realistic strategies staff and volunteers can use to help animals feel safer, calmer and healthier during their stay. A Q&A discussion will follow.
Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2:00–3:30 PM (ET)
Attendance Options
In Person: (Humane Society for Greater Lafayette)
Virtual: Attend live via Zoom.
Please complete the form below to register. In-person attendance is limited to 25 participants and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once in-person capacity has been reached, additional registrants are welcome to attend virtually.
Are YOU talking about fixing kittens?
When it comes to preventing unwanted litters, when a kitten is spayed or neutered matters. United Spay Alliance’s Feline Fix by Five campaign recommends fixing kittens by five months of age, before they reach sexual maturity.
Shelters, rescues and clinics can help make Fix by Five the norm. Talk about it with adopters, fosters, volunteers and community members. Include the message in adoption packets and social media, and encourage families to schedule surgery early.
Every conversation matters. Early spay/neuter prevents accidental litters, and fewer accidental litters mean fewer kittens entering already-strained shelters and rescues.
Limited Space Remains: You're Invited to Participate!
Pet Friendly Services, the ASPCA and Tom Wood Subaru are excited to host the “Love Them for Life” Adoption Event once again on Saturday, October 3.
We’re looking for 20 groups to attend and showcase their adoptable animals! Participating groups will receive spay/neuter coupons for the animals they bring to the event (one per cat/dog, up to 3).
This event is our largest adoption event of the year AND features a free cookout! Sign up today to secure your spot!
New Grant Alert: PetCo Love Access to Care
Share with your veterinary partners!
The Access to Care Grant provides funding to increase access to affordable veterinary care and reduce economic euthanasia and pet surrender. Full-service veterinary providers offering free or low-cost care, spay/neuter clinics, and TNR/community cat organizations may apply through September 30. Organizations that provide sheltering and adoptions should instead apply during the Animal Welfare Organization grant cycle. More information
More Grant Opportunities
Pet Friendly Services maintains a list of grant opportunities for animal welfare organizations.
Each grant has different requirements, deadlines, and application processes, so please review the linked websites to determine which opportunities best fit your organization’s needs.
We know times are challenging, and requests for spay/neuter assistance are higher than ever. We hope this guide helps connect you with more funding opportunities to continue your lifesaving work.
Reminder: Be Social With Us! Join our Partner Facebook Group
Join us! We’ve created a Facebook Group to help connect employees and/or key representatives of animal shelters, rescues, TNVR Groups, veterinary professionals, and other members of the animal welfare community that are current partners with Pet Friendly Services of Indiana.
You’ll find meaningful conversations and receive important updates about animal welfare.
Another reason to join? Monthly contests where your group can win extra spay/neuter coupons just by sharing the Pet Friendly Plate!
Help Drive More Spay/Neuter in Your Community
We’re doing our best to market the Pet Friendly Plate far and wide – but YOU can help us reach even farther!
Every time you share the plate and its lifesaving work with someone, you’re helping Indiana’s entire animal welfare network. 100% of the funds we receive from the Pet Friendly Plate stay in Indiana communities like yours and every penny goes directly to spay/neuter.
The Pet Friendly Plate is our statewide, shared resource. We need your support to keep the momentum going!
Our Contact Information
Pet Friendly Services of Indiana
1100 W 42nd Street, Suite 205
Indianapolis, IN 46208
317-767-7771
http://PetFriendlyServices.org
