Partnering with the Community:Foster Care Volunteers are Life Savers!

Brenda F. Barnette, CEO

The Seattle Humane Society

▪ Private Open-Admission Shelter.

▪ 4,881 adoptions last fiscal year, on target for over a 15% increase this year.

▪ 88.6% Asilomar Live Release rate for FY 08-09 and 90+ so far this year.

▪ 2,775 in house spay/neuters; 1,508 public spay/neuters; 659 life-saving surgeries.

•▪ Behavior department temperament tests dogs and is starting to test cats too.

•▪ Staff of 70 with over 1400 volunteers.

•▪ Older facility being upgraded to provide enriched environment for our shelter guests when money is available.

•▪ There is are two public shelter in King County that we try to help

•and one in the City of Seattle.

Prior to 2006 was a different view of sheltering:Standards of care were minimal.Poor morale among staff and volunteers.Resistant to change.Did not trust volunteers with responsibility.Killed cats because of age.Campus in state of disrepair.Animals had no enrichment programs except walks for some dogs.Live save rate was 77.6%.

▪ Not ready for large Capital Campaign. ▪ Economy took a downturn.▪ Public shelter desperately needs our

help.▪ Holding space for animals limited.▪ Huge spay/neuter bottleneck in our tiny

and outdated veterinary clinic.▪ Moose and his friends were still

counting on us.

We brought on new leadership, improved staff morale and started trusting our volunteers,

Our Dilemma

Shelter Guests Who Benefited From Foster CareCalculated monthly

30%27%33%66%23%50%FYTD % Change

1639114383255752618113969FYTD Total

121109551263123March

12068421313625February

11312049544731January

9716483402326December

17522179573925November

275129127692125October

253209145462414September

32826321311277442124August

365337203144102532811July

35923520097118382612June

36817711194121242912May

219131105110108223510April

2009-102008-092007-082006-072009-102008-092007-082006-07FY

# Cats/Others# DogsMonth

Volunteers = number available to fosterDays = number of days animal in foster home

38%9%32%36%0%19%FYTD % Change

18356113061027770382071133113351074FYTD Total

250318771921409276279March

201114451661385255272February

162619951757303237250January

188921211937288312252December

244724821829305163227November

261327682121310315233October

221222741732291306233September

3302256925711780372286299232August

3911286427031594392289292228July

4671229521821299477274279216June

3645171818171310469240290213May

2827186010041055361242175185April

2009-102008-092007-082006-072009-102008-092007-082006-07FY

# Days# VolunteersMonth

Foster Volunteers

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

Dogs Cats/Other Volunteers Days

2006-072007-082008-09

Create a Sense of Urgency

Like cats, Volunteers are COOL! You don’t have to pay

them. They clean up after themselves (if you train them).

They say good things about you to their friends…….and they are

worth a fortune.

$1,616,375.25

Value of animal care from Foster Volunteers

$20.25 Value of Volunteer time per hour *

79,821Total Hours of Foster Care

3Average Hours/day per pet

26,607Number of Animal Day in Foster care

3,001Number of Animals

FY 2008-2009

* From Independent Sector/Research for Value of Volunteer time per hour for 2008.

Questions I asked our team:1. What are the key things that make our foster program successful?

2. What were the biggest hurdles to overcome or best lessons learned?

3. How would you like to enhance our foster program?

4. What other information should I share with a group starting a foster program?

1.What are the key things that make our foster program successful?Board and Senior Management support.Provide orientation/training for Foster Volunteers.

Provide dedicated staff who build relationships with the foster families.

Give Foster Volunteers phone numbers/email to get help quickly.

Provide supportive vet services.Treat your Foster Volunteers like the life savers they are.

2. What were the biggest hurdles to overcome or best lessons learned?

It’s great to be organized, but it helps to be able to go with the flow. Prioritizing animals on campus, send out

the animals with the most need first. Know what your foster parents can

handle. Start them off with someone relatively

easy. Make sure they take breaks when they

need it!

More foster parents! More accessible medical resources like

customer friendly exam rooms or equipment to loan like scales for weighing puppies and kittens.Continuing education so some foster

volunteers can take more challenging shelter guests.

3. How would you like to enhance our foster program?

4. What other information should I share with a group starting a foster program?

Work to develop a diverse range of Foster Volunteer abilities/experience. No delay between sign up and getting a

foster pet. Be ready to send a foster animal home as soon as the volunteer has completed orientation. Create a sense of urgency around the

need for foster volunteers.

Does Foster Care ReallyMake A Difference?

111,823300188.60%669542862602008-09

100,683221286.00%660420049652007-08

80,300137583.30%1020519262752006-07

71,800101977.80%1463511566862005-06

59,700123277.00%1635549971702004-05

55,200101076.90%1562521568142003-04

59,20070476.40%1585514067492002-03

59,20974877.70%1223425555132001-02

58,578unknown79.90%1090433254822000-01

Volunteer hours

Received Foster CareLive Save Rate

Put to Death

Outbound AliveIncomingFiscal Year

2,1452512,3353,017YTD Total

4055983459859695%August

4676935646659390%July

4776884946152491%June

4697405745478590%May

3275385535651987%April

Foster Care

AnimalsTotal Animal

InventoryPut To DeathAdoptionsIncoming

Live Release

RateMonth

Fiscal Year 2009-2010

“People give to organizations that meet needs, not to organizations that have needs.”Kay Sprinkel Grace, CFRE, author and organizational consultant

“Do a good job.Tell people about it.Ask for help.”Richard Avanzino

Things I have come to believe to be true:

The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence…. A culture of discipline is not a principle of business; it is a principle of greatness. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and the Social Sector