crowdfunding for animals – The Chuffed Academy

April 12, 2018April 12, 2018

ARCH Rescue Centre: Helping Ankara the mare face a better future

“I’ve always loved working with horses, probably stemming from growing up in Zambia in the 80’s where it was one of the few available options for entertainment. My parents moved to Spain several years ago and I’ve been spending a lot of time visiting so I decided to join the local horse sanctuary. I wanted to spend some time volunteering and horses seemed to be the natural route.

I contacted the ARCH stables and they were only too happy to have more hands on deck. They are purely not for profit and run by volunteers. (Supported by the ARCH charity shop that just about manages to cover the stable’s daily expenses). They tend to take only the worst cases at the stables when abused or neglected horses or donkeys are confiscated by the local police. The confiscated animals that are in relatively good condition (i.e stable, not critical) are fairly quickly re-homed but the more severe cases take quite a bit of time to recover and rehabilitate and get accustomed to a loving human touch.

The average morning consists of clearing out the several wheelbarrows of manure, feeding the horses hard feed and hay, grooming and medicating where necessary and generally making sure everything is in order. We then get ready for the afternoon feed and later the afternoon volunteers ensure the feed is turned into manure ready for the morning wheelbarrows.

Then there are the days where someone needs to go and investigate a claim or attend a police confiscation, and it can get a little hairy at times I can tell you! It’s obviously better to educate the owners than to resort to confiscation, but sometimes it’s the only way.

The worst cases at the stables have helped me overcome my squeemishness, one just has to get on with it. It’s also great just to be around the horses and make new friends, of which there are many! The hard work and heartache is all worth it in the end when you see the healthy horses in their new homes, happily running free. ”
Leon Patras, ARCH Rescue Centre

For more on the awesome work of the ARCH Rescue Centre, check out their crowdfunding campaign page:

March 26, 2018

The Pacific Hope Project by Alice Forrest

“I’ve spent a lot of time in Tonga, it’s not far from my home in Australia and it’s an incredibly beautiful place with a wild ocean and a simple lifestyle. I’ve always been sad to see the dogs there – skinny, unloved, and often lying sick or dead on the side of the road. However last year, while visiting with my partner Ángel (a vet from Spain), we realised we could make a real difference.

We visited a family on a small island called Nomuka who have spent several years taking in strays and doing what they can, but are overcome by the amount of dogs. We surveyed the whole village, and found out that overwhelmingly people wanted neutering, but had no access to vets. When back in Spain we spoke to our friends Martha & Manu, who have worked on many street dog campaigns in the past, and put together the Pacific Hope Project to get back there with the supplies needed to completely change the life of the dogs on Nomuka Island.

We figured that many people have been confronted by overpopulation and lack of care for dogs while on their travels, and opened the campaign up to Crowdfunding on Chuffed to fund the cost of transport, medicine and local help. The humbling support and donations, alongside several requests for similar projects on other nearby islands, showed us that this project was much further reaching than we’d initially thought. Incredibly, inspirational Australian philanthropist Philip Wollen spotted our campaign on Facebook and offered to match donations.

We’ re on the way to getting the campaign totally funded, and this will enable us to not just neuter and care for dogs, but improve life for the humans on the island too as they will no longer share their home with parasite-ridden dogs, or packs of angry street dogs at night. This project has turned from us wanting to help some puppies, into something that may completely change the island in a positive way, and hopefully will spread to other nearby islands. Ultimately, our short term goal is neutering and health care in these small communities, but long term we hope that through our education campaign & local training we can step out completely and leave self-sufficient, healthy and happy populations of dogs behind.”
Alice Forrest, Conservation Biologist

For more on the Pacific Hope Project and Alice Forrest’s inspiring work, check out her crowdfunding campaign page below:

January 12, 2018

Greyhound Rescue is Moving!

“

“I became involved in Greyhound Rescue several years ago after we adopted
our first greyhound, Zac. He changed our lives completely and I knew that I had to help more greyhounds. Now, I volunteer and run the social media and fundraising for Greyhound Rescue, and it gives me new and interesting challenges every day. I really have to take my hat off to the volunteers who do the hard slog at the kennels day in and day out, taking care of the dogs and showing them human kindness, helping to prepare them for their new life as a pet.

Greyhound Rescue has been looking for a new property for a while, as Sydney expands, urban sprawl is taking over. We have the challenge of making sure that we are near enough so that all of our volunteers can continue to come and care for the greys, but also rural enough that we have enough space. We searched for ages to find a new property and we really need to move! The current kennel land has been sold.

Our team of volunteers are absolutely the most incredible bunch of people you’ve ever met. Unending compassion and care for these dogs, some of whom have really been through some tough times. Volunteering at the kennels is hard work and certainly not glamorous, but the reward of seeing these beautiful animals come out of their shell is worth it.

The campaign has really taken off. We’re happy to say that we will be able to make some fabulous upgrades to the facilities so that we
are able to care for these dogs at the highest standard, and hopefully will be able to rescue many more in the future.

It’s not my first time running a campaign on Chuffed, I’ve done a couple of other fundraising projects using this platform, including Pointy Pembleton, a children’s book that I wrote to raise money for Greyhound Rescue. Chuffed is a great platform for social causes, and I look forward to being able to continue to use this tool in our fundraising.”

Learn more about the awesome Greyhound Rescue cause on their latest crowdfunding campaign:

October 26, 2017November 2, 2017

Bring Back the Birdwing, by Wildlife Queensland

“My name is Natasha and, as the communications person for Wildlife Queensland, it’s my job to help raise funds and awareness of the species we target with our wildlife conservation campaigns throughout the year. From the iconic platypus to a little-known butterfly called the Richmond Birdwing, these species all have a unique and very important story to tell, but no voice to tell it with, no way of reaching people. That’s where me and the dedicated team at Head Office come in.

Apart from being a huge advocate of the many ongoing projects that Wildlife Queensland manages to run without government support and very few grants, I have personal reasons for loving my job: saving the world one native animal at a time was actually my sister’s passion, and she has passed away. I work at Wildlife Queensland to honour her memory and support the work she dedicated her life to. The team here is like a family, drawn together by the desire to leave their patch of the planet in a better state than they found it in. Who wouldn’t want to be part of something like that?

We are excited to report that our campaign to Bring Back the Birdwing by planting 500 vines essential to the species’ survival has been very well supported on Chuffed! But it’s only got 24 hours left to run! We all have our fingers crossed for a really big finish for this really special butterfly!”

For more information on this awesome story, check out their crowdfunding campaign page below:

October 21, 2017

Healthy Dogs & Cats Clinic in Krabi, by AWARE

“The AWARE Foundation is co-founded and run on a part time basis by Shirley, Vivian, Alfreda, and Rocky, who are animal professionals and Harry, an entrepreneur. We are all very passionate about promoting good animal welfare practices in Asia.

Our story started 3 years ago when Shirley shared her experience of volunteering at a rural animal clinic in Thailand. She noticed that despite their best efforts, the lack of resources, especially man power, was desperately lacking in these areas. Thus we decided to setup AWARE as a platform for animal nurses and veterinarians to volunteer at these rural animal clinics.

AWARE, which stands for Animal Welfare Awareness by Real like Experience, is a win-win situation for all. Not only do the animals and clinics get the help they need, but the volunteers gain valuable knowledge on real world animal welfare issues, and also gain practical animal surgery skills. AWARE also holds talks and seminars at organizations such as schools. So far our results have been very encouraging, having operated on over 400 dogs and cats, and recruiting nearly 20 volunteers.

We are very motivated when we see healthy animals, as well as when we receive positive feedback from our volunteers, clinics, and locals. With your support, we hope to continue to fulfil our goals as AWARE Foundation – to join forces with local animal charities, bringing veterinary care to stray animals, to educate local communities and raise animal welfare awareness across Asia.”

For more on the awesome work of AWARE, check out their campaign page below:

September 27, 2017September 27, 2017

Giving Evie A Second Chance at Life, by RSPCA Qld

“The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Queensland (RSPCA Qld) is the state’s oldest, largest and leading animal welfare charity, dedicated to improving the lives of all domestic, farmed and native animals throughout Queensland. We are the leading animal welfare charity in Queensland, currently rehoming more animals than any other organisation in the Southern Hemisphere. As a non-government, community based charity, we are the only charity with the power to prosecute animal cruelty and neglect. We care for displaced domestic pets across the state as well as native wildlife patients in our Brisbane RSPCA Wildlife Hospital.

Each year over 50,000 animals need assistance from the RSPCA. RSPCA Qld requires $48 million annually to support our animal centres, programs and services. RSPCA Qld, a community based charity, receives less than 3% of funding from the government and relies on donations, bequests and sponsorships.

Our emergency appeals are for animals that have been rescued and are in desperate need of specialist surgery and rehabilitation. These types of cases require urgent attention where we ask the general public for donations in order to help raise the required funding.

Our campaign #EvieMatters is no different, little Evie the Staffordshire Bull Terrier pup came into the RSPCA with extensive injuries to her face, head and hips. Evie was even forced to learn to walk on her front legs in order to avoid the pain of taking simple steps. Evie will undergo vital specialist vet surgery this week but her road to recovery will be long and expensive.

For this we turned to Chuffed to help us call out to the general public and raise the funds needed for Evie’s specialist surgery and rehabilitation care.

Chuffed’s platform gave us the ability to have a fundraising page up for Evie in a matter of hours, as well as being able to take and process donations immediately thanks to their Stripe plugin. Even providing our sponsors with immediate tax invoices is handled through Chuffed’s sophisticated system and for us this has meant taking the administration burden off our accounts department.

Crowdfunding has played a significant role for us in not only reaching our donation target for Evie but exceeding it. Evie has a long way to go and every cent will help go towards providing her the very best love and care.”
RSPCA Queensland

You can help Evie and support this awesome cause below:

September 26, 2017September 26, 2017

Helping Oscar See A Brighter Future

“I lost my beloved dog, Gus, at the grand age of 17 ½, in September last year. I swore I would never get another dog. But then. . .along came Oscar who managed to wheedle his way into my sad heart.

Oscar is an 8yo Schnauzer / Poodle X whom I adopted just six weeks ago from Saving Animals From Euthanasia (SAFE) in Perth. He has had a rough few years. Oscar’s first human was an older lady who had to go in to care. He was then passed from pillar to post & has spent the last 3 or so years in a back yard where he was fed & watered & that’s about all. Despite all this, Oscar is the dearest little dog. He has bonded very quickly with me & loves a cuddle & as the weeks go by I see more of his lovely personality. I will now do everything in my power to provide Oscar with a safe, secure & loving home to make up for the past few years.

But Little Oscar has very little vision due to cataracts. While he is coping remarkably well, it does affect his confidence. He is quite tentative & anxious around other dogs & is easily startled. However, once he feels safe, he is very friendly. While Oscar is not a young dog he potentially has another 8 or so years of life left & I would like to give him the quality of life he deserves. Oscar has seen eye specialist, Dr Rob Harris, who feels that Oscar is a good candidate for surgery.

As you can imagine, eye surgery doesn’t come cheap. Unfortunately, due to my own health issues over the past few years, my financial position is not great. So I turned to Chuffed crowd funding to try to raise the money needed for Oscar’s surgery.

I have been incredibly humbled by the generosity of people. . .some who don’t even know me. It is encouraging & so very heart-warming to be on the receiving end of such generosity.

Sometimes people think that they can’t afford very much but any contribution, no matter how small, is a step closer towards a brighter future for Oscar.

It would take just another 220 people to give $10 each & we would reach our target & Oscar could have his sight back. How wonderful would that be?”

Check out Rosie’s campaign below!

August 11, 2017

Success Story: Rescued Cat & Kittens

“I was brought up in an animal loving family. I remember the injured birds that we picked up off the road as a child. When I was 25 I stopped to check on a possum that had been hit by a car. The possum was dead, but she had live babies in her pouch. I remember seeing her belly moving. I got those babies into care after many phone calls, and providing the recommended first aid (keep warm/dark/quiet).

From that experience I learned that people who do animal rescue and care are often self-funded volunteers. That was the start of my “official” rescuing. I joined groups and sought training. I now have well over 10 years’ experience with rescue, care, education and advocacy, with a particular focus on native wildlife.

My rescue work is not limited to native wildlife. The number of stray, abandoned cats in Australian suburbs is alarming. Whilst wildlife is certainly falling prey to cats, the destruction of habitat by humans is the greatest threat. By rescuing and homing cats I can educate to reduce the impact on Wildlife (desexing to reduce unwanted populations, keeping contained indoors and to cat runs). Street cats can live difficult lives. Shelters and Foster carers are inundated with rescue cats. Thousands of healthy animals are being euthanised each year.

Funds raised are dedicated to the care of rescue cats. The 2 kittens, Mack and Gizmo, have transformed from wild street kittens shivering in a corner and scrounging for food, to a beautiful cuddly pair of bonded brothers.

The campaign is going extremely well, raising $693 within the first 5 hours. It was heart-warming to see donations coming in. I hesitated for 3 months to launch as I was not comfortable asking for money! Taking the chuffed teams advice of seeking 5 donations pre-launch really helped kick start the campaign, and I believe gave potential donors the assurance that the cause was legitimate. I contacted people via social media and the donations started rolling in. I was able to officially launch within 20 minutes.

Funds have mostly been spent on vet fees and medications – all 3 cats required health checks, desexing, microchipping and vaccinations, and flea and worm treatments.

I am seeking a loving home for these kitties and am committed to providing the best care in the meantime. The funds are really helping, and the supportive messages have been very comforting.”

Check out Mel’s campaign page:

August 9, 2017

Quick tip: The most popular perks in the history of Chuffed.org

What makes for a great donor reward?

In our previous research on the best crowdfunding perks, we’ve found three categories that work well. Today, we’re going to look at some of the most popular perks of all time to get your creative juices flowing.

Pre-release products or services

Care packages – 304 sold. For $64, supports got two care packages—one for themselves, and one donated to a domestic violence shelter on Mother’s Day.
Get Pointy – 280 sold. For $25, supporters received an early release of a the children’s book Pointy Pembleton, with proceeds going to support greyhound rescue.
Early edition of Australian Vegans – 226 sold. Supporters got an early print edition of the magazine for $15, which told the story of veganism and ethical leadership in Australia.

Unique experiences

Swimming with the whales – 429 sold. For $50, donors could be entered into the running to join a documentary team swimming with minke whales with the Great Barrier Reef Legacy campaign. The concept was so successful, the campaign raised over $20,000 with this perk alone! (If you choose to run a raffle, be sure to get a license from your locality.)
Special screening of Oddball– sold out at 200! For $30, supporters got to attend a private screening of the movie and guest speaker presentation, along with popcorn and a drink. The funds went toward Vets for Change. Seats were limited to 200, and sold out!

Special recognition

- The $10 Challenge – 438 sold. For $10, individuals purchased the rights to get their name placed on a plaque at the Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary. Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary also had two other high-performing perks—a $25 and $50 perk with “digital kisses” from the animals, plus the name of the supporter on the recognition wall.
- No Place Like Home – 409 sold. For just £5, supporters could get their name on a plaque at the new shelter for disabled bullock Duke. Campaigner Sharon Lawlor raised over £90,000 for the shelter!

Get your location on the map – 248 sold. Supporters could be placed on a map of supporters for the African Data Initiative for just £1, helping to produce and teach statistics software to native Kenyans.

No matter what your cause, you can create a perk that pulls at the heartstrings of your biggest supporters.

Show your donors they’re part of something bigger, and provide them with rewards they can’t find anywhere else.

By creating unique perks specific to your campaign, you can grow a cause like never before.

What will you try?