An animal sanctuary is a location where endangered, injured, disabled, and aging animals can live happily and safely. While this is a wonderful place for these animals to reside, there is a lot that goes into the business operations of a non-profit facility such as this. There is a need for donations coming in to help home and feed the animals. Medical care can be quite expensive. Let’s consider three ways to improve the business operations at an animal sanctuary.
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1- Assess Your Budget Regularly
There is a lot of money that’s necessary to run a successful animal sanctuary, regardless of the size of the sanctuary. The yearly amount of money that you bring in should be more than what you plan to need. There are certain expenses that you can expect, such as food, shelter, routine vet care, and more. There will be unexpected expenses as well, such as emergency medical care and unexpected rescues.
Like any business, you will want to assess your budget to see if changes need to be made. You may have had a busy year with a lot of animals brought in. This might not be the same in the coming years, but you may feel like you need to adjust your budget to allow for these unexpected occurrences in the future. This may include setting up an emergency fund that money goes into periodically but will only be used for certain scenarios.
You may also want to have a plan in place to generate money for emergencies or special causes. This can include selling limited-availability shirts or other promotional items.
2- Develop Partnerships
It helps if you can partner with local businesses that provide you with donations and provisions each year. This can include feed stores and veterinary offices. Make sure that you promote these businesses on your website and on-site to thank them for their support. Look for different ways to expand your partnerships within the community. You can schedule an open house to invite members of the community to your sanctuary so they can see what you work so hard to accomplish. Once people see the animals that you have given a home, this can motivate them to contribute however they can.
3- Enlist Volunteers
See if you can find volunteers to help you run your day-to-day business operations. Breaking the day into short shifts can make it very easy to find people to show up and assist. Have a team of volunteers for feeding time, volunteers for cleaning up, and volunteers for running special events. By separating your day-to-day activities, you can turn a lot of work into small chores that easily get accomplished. Having local volunteers will also spread the word about your animal sanctuary so you are increasing your word-of-mouth exposure and saving money at the same time.
Working together with your volunteers and supporters will ensure that your animal sanctuary is a successful venture that serves the community and the animals living there. Planning accordingly and periodically assessing your business operations will ensure that everything runs smoothly and productively.