Tuesday, July 12, 2005
94621 is a long way from 90210.
Raising funds is an important part of the life of any non-profit. Especially one such as ours, which receives no government money, or any money from any national organization.A lot of people mistakenly think that the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is some national humane organization that doles out money to SPCAs everywhere, when in fact, the ASPCA is nothing more than the humane organization for New York City.
So we fundraise. We mail appeals. We have events. We keep in contact with donors and tell them what we are doing and how we are making our community a better one for animals. We keep them posted on the status of Goal 2007.
It's common in animal welfare to cater to the very wealthy, and provide events and adoption opportunities tailored to their tastes.
"The Lint Roller Ball," a star-studded event held in Los Angeles every year for an animal welfare group in Utah comes to mind. Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation, which hosts "Stars to the Rescue," is another.
These kinds of events cost a bunch of money to put on, but I guess they also raise a bunch.
But we set our sights a little lower: 94621 is the zipcode of the Oakland SPCA, just off of Hegenberger Road and International, in the heart of urban East Oakland.
That is also the zipcode of a region in Oakland teeming with animal control issues. It's the zipcode of a pilot project we are running to tackle the overpopulation of pit bulls in ONE zipcode, to see if we can get it right--something no shelter in the country has achieved--and then duplicate those efforts across Alameda and Contra Costa County.
And finally, it's the site of our Free Shot Fair this weekend, where we are vaccinating dogs and cats for free and scheduling appointments for free spay and neuter surgeries. Our goal is to get a bunch of the pit bull population spayed and neutered, stem the tide of overpopulation, and curb attacks by unneutered dogs, which is the single most common factor in dogs who bite.
I feel pretty good about what we are doing.
I don't think Lauren Bacall or Bob Barker will show up, though.
