Non-Profit Animal Rescue - advice

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Hi, all

Recently, myself and a few close friends have been looking to begin an animal rescue organization. This is not going to be something that will happen quickly over night and certainly will not turn a profit. It will require a lot of volunteered time and money from our own pockets in the beginning. So far, we've thought of a bazillion and one names and just can't seem to come up with the name we need for this organization.

The main goals are as follows:

1. Take in unwanted and stray animals, rehabilitate physically and psychologically, and relocate.
2. Help needy families who own pets with their pets needs such as food, toys, dog beds, etc..and also facilitate low cost/free vaccination clinics at our facility.
3. Educate owners and future owners alike on basic needs for their pet, offer obedience training courses/resources, etc.
4. Ultimately, change some lives - not just for the four legged ones, but 2 legged folks as well.

We can't seem to find a name, so I need some ideas!
Naturally, PAWS was the first idea...Preservation of Animal Welfare Society or something like that...it's a dud. there's a million PAWS' out there.
Then we came up with SpaceCoast Animal Welfare Association(no acronym), but that limits our organization to our local region, and ya never know, it could be huge.

It doesn't need to be an acronym or anything extra clever, just appropriate and will hopefully make a statement.

Any and all input on a name for such an organization is appreciated.

I can't help with a name but if you all are doing this for-real then form a corporation and get your 501c3 status before proceeding.

Yes, this is for-real. Incorporating and filing for a 501(c)(3) will of course be done-thanks for reiterating. I am only asking for name suggestions at this time.

Yikes.
It would be best if ONE person takes responsibility and is in charge. The others can *help*.
HUGE responsibility.
Money??

Any prior experience in this area? I have volunteered at two animal shelters. Also done volunteer work at a battered women's shelter, and a homeless shelter.

None of them run on love or good intentions alone.

The name for now is not important. Just call it "The Shelter," "The Rescue," whatever. You will have a name by the time it gets off the ground.

Furthermore, not to throw another wet blanket on anything - don't ever underestimate the number of "pets" out there that are in terrible circumstances, nor the base nature of your fellow human. It's ugly out there.

This is all understood, and not the advice I'm seeking. I appreciate your input, though.
You have to have a board with a minimum of three directors to qualify as a not-for-profit business, per the research that I've done anyways. These board members and their job duties have been discussed - the job duties continue to grow of course. As mentioned, some start-up money will come out of pocket. One member is currently working as a grant writer and program manager for the Sexual Assault Victim Services department at our State Attorney's office - there are many grants available to organizations such as the one that we plan to develop.
Two of us have volunteered at the local Humane Society, although it has been some time.
The local Humane Society is currently operated by our county Sherriff's office, with a family member being a detective under the Sherriff for over 30 years & has a close relationship with this individual. This resource will go along way, as we anticipate working closely with the Animal Services department at the Sherriff's office.

Yes-it's ugly out there. There are cruel circumstances that will be encountered. Unpleasant interactions each and every day. None of us are expecting a perfect situation or to run some sort of sanctuary for unwanted pets.

If anyone can think of a name, shoot it my way - please!

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Originally Posted by SteveySingle

Yes, this is for-real. Incorporating and filing for a 501(c)(3) will of course be done-thanks for reiterating. I am only asking for name suggestions at this time.

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Well, you can play the name game like we do in government... figure out a cool acronym and work back from there (j/k!).

But seriously, based on your location, as an example if you were going to focus on exotics only you could be Titusville Exotic Animal Rescue (TEAR).

Nice - I want to keep location out of the mix in hopes of growing outside of my small town and area - I greatly appreciate you suggesting a name though. If ya think of anything else, let me know!

If it were me, I'd want to have "animal rescue" or "animal adoption" in the name, reason being that when someone does an internet search, you want your name to fit what they will type in as a search. Then I'd start it with a positive adjective word or phrase, the way retirement homes to to keep them from sounding like a prison for old people. Something like "helpful hands animal rescue and adoption".

I think it's admirable what you're seeking to do; I see a lot of these places fail, though. There were two exotic animal rescue shelters in my city; they both shut down because they became overwhelmed with time commitment and financial issues: it's easier to find animals no longer wanted than people who will want them. Best of luck!

Good luck with the rescue! I hope it works out for you!
This name popped in my head: Overlooked Exotics (Rescue and Adoption)

So I know you are focused on the name, which is fine, but the name would be the least of my worries at this point, I know there are tons of grants out there, but the statement "a little startup money out of pocket at first" is what raised my eyebrows. Even if this isn't the advice you want to hear it needs to be put out there, from a rescue, non-profit stand point, grants will not be enough and you will constantly be putting in money out of pocket. I dedicate my time with an all volunteer rescue that has been going for 10 years. Everyone up to the founder works full time, and volunteers their off time to the rescue, we generally at any given time have 17 dogs in our care. The amount of money spent on 17 dogs with vet bills, boarding, adoption events, food, etc. is enormous. You just need to be ready for the realization that you are not talking about a little money out of pocket, our biggest fundraiser every year is a 5K charity run. We raised 21K dollars, that will last us 1 month.

My last message came across as a deterrent, and I by no means meant it that way, as I fully support the rescue I work at, and wouldn't have it any other way, but I have seen a lot of rescues fail because they didn't anticipate the revolving cost. We very rarely get in dogs that are perfectly healthy, we get dogs that have been shot, broken bones, sick, on deaths door, it is not uncommon for a single vet bill to hit $5000. Now if you add reptiles into the mix, a lot of the reptiles you will see will be sick as well, you have to worry about transmission with all animals, generally the "unwanted" reptiles will be large snakes, monitors, tegus, are you going to be willing to build proper enclosures for these animals, you can't rehab them if their husbandry isn't being met. You also have to realize that volunteers will come and go, they get burnt out, you have disagreements, so as they leave you take on more responsibility. When I started out I was dedicating about 5 hours a month to the rescue, as I progressed with them it is essentially now a second job for me, I probably dedicate close to 20-30 hours per week on top of my normal working schedule.

Again good on you for wanting to do this, I just want you to be very aware of what is ahead of you....good luck.

One thing I have noticed is that rescues tend to specialize - even down to the breeds. There are rescues for Huskies, and other rescues for Malamutes. One woman I am familiar with is involved in British Shortair cat rescue. Focused missions just seem to last longer. I certainly wouldn't want to deal with someone's starved pregnant pit bull one day, and a burned boa the next. Kittens show up by the dozen at our local shelter every spring. The kindest thing can be to euthanize the all - they tend to end up diseased.

We live in a very small town, and on average, I'd day the shelter takes in one animal a day. We have one animal control officer (with other duties) and one tough as nails lady in her late seventies who does all the basic care, cleaning, and feeding. It is more than a full time job for her. She spends her own money if an animal needs surgery. Our corrupt town officials spend money like water, but she has never been recognised nor in any way compensated for any of her efforts.

A name is not the only point of concern or focus right now...just one of the items on the list of things that needs done. From my understanding, you have to have a name to incorporate and register as a non-profit...I'm not ungrateful for the unsolicited advice given above, but certainly a little bummed that people are doubtful... No offense to any of you, just wish people in general weren't so quick suggest someone will fail at something - especially without knowing the person, what they've done, or their game-plan/strategy to be successful in what they want to do.

I'll figure out a name. Thanks to those who were helpful with that..

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Originally Posted by SteveySingle

A name is not the only point of concern or focus right now...just one of the items on the list of things that needs done. From my understanding, you have to have a name to incorporate and register as a non-profit...I'm not ungrateful for the unsolicited advice given above, but certainly a little bummed that people are doubtful... No offense to any of you, just wish people in general weren't so quick suggest someone will fail at something - especially without knowing the person, what they've done, or their game-plan/strategy to be successful in what they want to do.

I'll figure out a name. Thanks to those who were helpful with that..

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There is actually nothing doubtful about it at all. People rescue animals every day. They also tend to organize when the efforts get expensive, time consuming, and the work becomes more than one person can handle. At that point, they start making things "official." Legal documents can have a temporary working name until a permanent name is chosen. I can't remember the legal term for this, but there is one, and the practice is accepted.

I would not get hung up on the name. You will come up with a good one eventually. Until then, just go ahead with rescue work, and don't get caught up putting the cart before the horse. If you aren't already, you will learn an immense amount by volunteering with local organizations that are already established.