Animal Rescues -- Is It Just Me?

[Rackonteur]

Is it just me, or do you wish that animal rescues would be as good at acknowledging donations as they are at asking for more and more?

I’ve been donating to two local rescues for several months now and they never acknowledge any donations. I know donating is not about being thanked, but I felt frustrated this morning when I logged onto one site to see them asking again for one particular type of item I had just sent them last week and wouldn’t have known they’d received it if not for Amazon’s delivery update. Yes, I know Amazon’s delivery “updates” can be about shipments delivered to the wrong recipient.

But do you like knowing that things you’ve donated were actually received by the right rescue and are useful?

It’s easier to just do it anonymously, dropping food into the donation bins at the grocery store. But that’s only for food, not for other needed items.

Sigh.

[GoodTimes]

Meh, I don’t expect thanks or acknowledgement when I donate. IMO Anything personalized would be a waste of time and resources. Anything generic is irritating like junk mail.
Other than old towels and blankets I just donate money to rescues that I trust. It might be selfish, but by donating money I get a receipt for tax purposes. Win - Win.

[B_and_B]

I don’t expect personal thanks, but (I’ve been trying to beat this into some heads on the boards that I am on) I do think that people want to know whether or not, and to what extant, a fundraiser drive was successful. Don’t just send out mass bulletins about ‘we need food!!’ also send out mass bulletins ‘because of your help we have gotten x amount of food which has feed y for z weeks!’ Emails are very, very cheap as is social media.
Now, if your fundraiser is the sort that has personalized, hand written, letters expecting big requests (in the thousands say?), those personalized requests had better be followed by immediate personalized thank yous.

[Willesdon]

Demand exceeds supply in the UK and so rescue dogs are imported into Britain from around Europe by the various charities. I find this dubious, at best. For example, a friend “rescued” a bitch, from Eastern Europe, that had obviuosly whelped recently. I always wonder if she was dog-napped on demand and sent to the UK for “rescue”, leaving her pups behind.

All of which, to answer the original question, means I would do some serious research before donating to any animal charity. The specific requests and calls for cash due to crisis are too often just part of a normal cycle of fundraising.

[rockonxox]

I’ve been sent thank you cards from time to time. Some are generic that they just mail out and some have been handwritten. I most often donate locally, but have made out of state donations during major disasters. I still have the handwritten one from Houston for my donations during the flood. The equine rescue side of things didn’t send anything out. Considering they were busy catching horses in flood waters and performing first aid (which is 90% of what I sent) I’d hope a thank you would be the last thing on their list. That one I donated through Tractor Supply in the area and Tractor Supply informed me when the items were picked up so I knew they got to the right place. I do not ever expect a thank you, but it is nice when it happens. I don’t need any recognition and just hope whatever I send helps as much as possible. If a shelter asks for an item then surely it is in need and will be put to good use.

[Djones]

Meh, I don’t operate on the expectations of thanks. I have a scheduled Amazon donation to a local rescue and I don’t expect anything in return.

[S1969]

No, I don’t think most rescues are equipped to thank donors for every Amazon delivery. How would they do it? I’m sure they don’t have a software program elaborate enough to automate that kind of response, and presumably they may get 20-30+ donations every week from individuals. I can’t imagine them devoting an individual to send 30 emails a week rather than deliver some type of actual service or perform a task.

I bet if you donated a larger chunk of money at the end of the year you would get a response. But for individual items throughout the year, no.

[trubandloki]

@Rackonteur

But do you like knowing that things you’ve donated were actually received by the right rescue and are useful?

I think that is one of the plus sides of using some place like Amazon for the donation of things, you get to know that it was safely delivered from Amazon.

Useful is another thing. The rescues I deal with typically have a wish list on Amazon so one can assume that if the time is on their wish list it is something they need/want so buying that item it will be useful.

[clanter]

the feed store we use is of a small privately own chain, during that one last hurricanes that hit the Texas coast the chain collected from its vendors and customers ten tractor trailer loads of feed/hay/buckets/pet supplies that was sent to help… the chain came back to acknowledge the support from its customer base and with the assistance of suppliers offered the customers a 20% discount on everything but hay, which was not expected but greatly appreciated

[Rackonteur]

@trubandloki

I think that is one of the plus sides of using some place like Amazon for the donation of things, you get to know that it was safely delivered from Amazon.

I’ve had things from Amazon delivered to wrong address, or not delivered at all. That is one reason I do not like to make donations by Amazon orders. Amazon Smile is different, and hopefully more reliable! IME the most reliable method is just put food in the donation bins at the grocery store, but rescues need a lot of other things too.

[trubandloki]

@Rackonteur does the rescue(s) that you are wanting to donate have a location that you can simply drop things off at? That way you will know they got what you wanted them to have.

Do the drop boxes at the store allow for non-food items to be put in them? I can’t see why you can’t drop in other items that the rescue is asking for.

[lenapesadie]

Well as long as said rescue isn’t hopping on social media bashing folks for not donating “enough”, I’m pretty pleased

[Rackonteur]

I may try ordering from the Amazon wish list and having the things sent to me, then drop them off in the donation boxes.
One reason I support rescues in the first place is because of stories like one I just read on one’s website – they have two dogs up for adoption, two young littermates, whose humans dropped them off because they (the humans) just had a baby and now there’s “no room” for the puppies. I am so glad the rescue took them in and I hope and pray whoever adopts them will keep them together.
Horrible humans. 2 small-breed puppies don’t take up that much room.
Which is worse? A cage at a shelter and possible separation upon adoption, or being thrown out into a hopefully fenced yard and ignored?
Don’t answer that. Sigh.

[Rackonteur]

They post huge public THANK YOU notices to people who buy them new office machinery and pay huge vet bills for rescue animals, and that’s nice. But then they should not say “Every little bit helps” and “donate whatever you can no matter how small.”
I will just keep putting stuff in the bins at the grocery store and assuming the shelter will get it. I trust the grocery store more than I do shipping services. At least the local grocery store won’t send the donations to Nevada!

[S1969]

@Rackonteur

They post huge public THANK YOU notices to people who buy them new office machinery and pay huge vet bills for rescue animals, and that’s nice. But then they should not say “Every little bit helps” and “donate whatever you can no matter how small.”

I think you’re taking this too personally. I don’t think rescues should refrain from saying “every little bit helps” because they cannot thank every donor for a $12 bag of cat food.

Do you really want rescues to devote a person to email every donor back every week/month? Is that really necessary? “Thank you (AGAIN!) for your monthly donation of food.”

Or - you can save your money and make an annual donation of cash, although you may or may not be acknowledged. But at least you know they received your donation and will buy what they need.

[trubandloki]

@S1969

Do you really want rescues to devote a person to email every donor back every week/month?

I want to add on to this. Most rescues run on a pretty tight budget (money and manhours). Contacting every donor to say thank you would be a full time job for someone.

@Rackonteur here is a great idea - why not become that amazing volunteer who gets this done for them? (Or rally a group of people you know to do this.)

I think the campaigns that remind people that every small gift counts are a good thing. That kid who donates their $2 allowance should know that their $2 is a big deal too.

[Simkie]

We donate considerably at the end of the year, generally to smaller, local places.

I think we got a personalized thank you from just about all of them, either mailed or a mention on the FB page.

It wasn’t expected but it WAS a nice little shot of warm fuzzies to be recognized.