How did you get foster homes?

Some large rescues I've s/w or looked at their sites seem to have an endless supply of foster homes. How did they get so many? How do you convince people it is a very rewarding thing to do?

On the flip side I've s/w rescues that would much rather keep it down to 2 or 3 (or none just a 1 man band)..easier to manage, they don't have to worry about so fosters taking vacations or backing out..etc.

Always looking to learn from people who have lived it much longer than I have.

I have tons of ideas- ranging from website content to eduational materials to volunteer/foster campaigns -plus this is something I've been meaning to do for Linda also and hadn't got around to it yet.

I started to write them all down and realized it might be better to send you an email so that you could print it out. I'll get it finished this morning and sent to you.

gotta get to work right now though :type:

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

YAY..now I'm all happy.

Hey Sue, could you e-mail it to me too! I'd appreciate it!

Susan

Having helped volunteered with several Lab rescues organizations (from a very well established group to a very small group) below are my thoughts/experiences.

1) Having more fosters does not always equate to a good thing--especially if the foster families decide after a dog has been pulled that they don't want to foster any more--then you have a dog on your hands and have to sometimes make emergency plans to find a place for the dog.

2) The quality and dependability of the fosters are most important. Fosters that are willing to help train the dogs (from poor mannered shelter dogs into good ambassadors of the breed) are worth their weight in gold as are those fosters that are willing to take a dog for a brief period until other arrangements can be made for the dog.

3) Make sure the person doing the temperament testing of your intakes is someone a) knowledgeable and b) knows that they can say no that a particular dog is not suited for your limited rescue resources.

4) In order to find those "good foster families", your organization has to be made known to the community you serve. Getting your organization name "out there" is the first priority initially. Attend community pet fests, and set up informational booths at any kind of event that expects a large attendance making sure to have informational brochures about your organization, applications, and business cards on hand to distribute.

In Indy we have a large Humane Society that sponsors a bunch of events; they allow other rescues to be a part of most. Get to know the other leaders of other breed rescues in your area. Develop "dog-friendly" contacts which will enable you to learn of other event opportunities that the organization can participate in. The events do not have to be all geared towards animal welfare to produce positive results. Host an informational booth at your county or state fair, or athletic event.

The more volunteers you have--the more events you will be able to participate in--the more the organization name gets out there--the more adoptions and fosters may be found. If possible, always let “new” foster people foster dogs from your organization that are “easy”—don’t start them out with the “work-in-progress” dogs. Maybe even having a multi-tier level for new foster families such that they can “test the waters” of fostering without a long term commitment to continuing fostering. Have all the “rules” for fostering spelled out – such as: what expenses fosters will pay vs what expenses organization will pay; will foster have to provide for dog while the foster goes on vacation or does the organization have a place to temporarily care for the dog; who will have the final say on which adoptive family gets the dog the foster or the organization.

5) Structure your website to serve your “adoptive family’s needs” and “potential volunteer’s needs” rather than just a “happy tail site”. Look at your site from an adopter/volunteer’s perspective – What is in it for them? – Why should they return to your site? What information is new from the last time they visited? Make the navigation to answer the typical adopter’s questions easy to find. As well as donors and potential volunteers. i.e. if someone wants to donate in memory of a friend who was an animal lover – will they have to work to find out how to do so or will it be easy? If someone wants to volunteer but they want to meet you first and get a feel for your group – can they EASILY find out what events you have planned in the near future, can they see what opportunities are available – many times volunteers may not know how to help some new volunteers can prove valuable immediately and some have to be nurtured

6) Make forms available on line if possible—doesn’t have to be a true programming script. A form that can be printed off and then mailed in is fine. Remember not everyone may have access to the same word processing software as you. Making forms available as a pdf file ensures that most will be able to access your forms (minimum to post would be your foster care application and adopter’s application). (Note: I have pdf writer software. Anytime you would like something saved as a pdf file so that you can post on your website, just let me know.)

7) Keeping non-fostering volunteers enthused once you get them signed up to help can be a challenge but is well worth the effort thus enabling you to spread the workload. if you have someone that can focus on mentoring new volunteers that is very beneficial to keeping them feeling a part of the group – sending monthly or weekly e-mails to all volunteers letting them know what events are planned, which dogs were adopted, or even # of “hits” from petfinder helps promote a sense of “togetherness in the cause”

8) I would suggest having a policy regarding intake because there are always volunteers who will search petfinder and send you listings of dogs that need rescued—which might prove to be discouraging due to limited resources. Some will have done research on the dog to get all the details and some will just have “surfed” and the listing they send you is either not up-to-date or the dog is already in a rescue or not in danger. If your goal is to save dogs from kill shelters, I would suggest intake be only those dogs that are truly in danger of being euthanized—if dog is at a no-kill shelter then you might decide to let the shelter use their resources to find the dog a home and concentrate on your goal of saving from “kill” shelters. If your goal is to take in owner surrenders or dogs from no-kill shelters, then obviously your policies will be different.

Please feel to contact me if any of this doesn’t make sense or you have questions. There's tons more ideas but this should get you going
Puppy hugs & kisses,
Sue Brockus
1-317-613-2259 (work)
sbrockus@diamondchain.com

1-317-247-8523 (home)
elvisNnosey@cs.com

Wow Sue - I am absolutely impressed right now! :ibow Great information! I hope it helps some of the others who have given up so much of their own time and money to start their own rescue, find some potential volunteers to help them! :cheers2:

Elvis helped. :angel:

Elvis helped. :angel:
I had no doubt about that! :)

That was awesome Sue (&Elvis!)! Lots of great info in there...

Sue and Elvis, WOW! That information is helpful and incredibly practical. Having plans for respite (e.g., fosters would like to go out of town for a weekend w/o foster dog) can really help sustain a foster home. That's one reason why the short term caregivers can be so valuable.

I wanted to add something that Kansas has done, in case other states have or will. A couple of years ago, KS passed a law that required animal-foster-homes be licensed by the state. The annual fee is nominal, but the foster home has to pass some basic requirements such as UTD shots, health records for pets of the foster home. I don't remember all the requirements, but they are basic and mostly what you would want and expect in a foster home. The definitions in the law are pretty broad and arguably include individuals fostering on their own without ties to a specific organization. If anyone wants the law, please let me know. I can't remember if it is state regulation (which has the same effect as a law) or a state statue, so it may take a little search by me. Or, I can get a copy from home, re-type in Word (sigh ... no scanner), and send to those who want to PM me an email address.

Some people thought the law was promoted by large humane societies that allegedly felt threatened by small rescue groups. In reality, the law was most probably aimed at collectors, hoarders, and puppy mills trying to pass themselves off as a rescue organizations that were "placing" their mill-produced puppies for an "adoption fee."

Susan